Modern day job postings for "entry level" jobs...

[IndyColtsFan]

Yea they go with the lower salary no matter what. I'm so tired of heading over to visit my mother every now and then and I have to hear her blabber about go get your masters because you need it. Like 70k of loans isn't enough I should just take more on. In my line of work a master's is not needed and even so, if you didn't work and went straight to school after undergrad well you still need experience.

I've waffled on the whole MBA thing for a number of years. I'd definitely never go into debt for one and would likely consider someone like WGU for it if I decide to do it.

But, as I mentioned, I'll turn 44 this year. Retirement age for me is 67, but I have no intention of working until then. I'm thinking that once my house is paid off in 12 years or so, that will be the end of my full-time working career. I'll probably just work sporadic contracts for a few years at that time. So at this stage, even a cheaper option like WGU may not be worth it for me if my plan is to stop working full time within 10 to 15 years.

 

[sze5003]

For me I would get a masters in Information sciences or software engineering. Supposedly my company "pays" for it but I found out you have to pay for it first, then you get reimbursed up to 9k a year, but of course that reimbursment comes as a second check usually really late and it's taxed at 40% since its seen as extra bonus. Which would leave me paying out of pocket of course.

They used to just send a letter to the school saying so and so will be attending this school for this program and said company will provide the tuition money directly. If they were still doing that I would do it in a heartbeat.

But I guess what happened over time was people dropped out or left the company after they were done now it's a giant contract where you can't leave for 4 years after you are done.

 

[SunnyD]

I never let the job requirements stop me from applying.

This. You definitely won't get the job if you don't apply.

There are 18,000 parking lot attendants in the U.S. with college degrees. There are 5,000 janitors in the U.S. with PhDs.

So? Especially in the case of the PhD's, there are many plausible cases where those individuals actually sought out those positions. They could easily have been burnt out from their job and wanted something more meaningful to pass the days rather than just sit on their asses or something. They could have retired and be working part time at a children's hospital to give back something to the community. All sorts of reasons.

Best job I ever had was working at a particular retail store. If the pay didn't suck, the location was better and I didn't have a family to raise, I wouldn't have a problem being a stock monkey thanks to the people I worked with and the customers I got to see regularly.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

For me I would get a masters in Information sciences or software engineering. Supposedly my company "pays" for it but I found out you have to pay for it first, then you get reimbursed up to 9k a year, but of course that reimbursment comes as a second check usually really late and it's taxed at 40% since its seen as extra bonus. Which would leave me paying out of pocket of course.

They used to just send a letter to the school saying so and so will be attending this school for this program and said company will provide the tuition money directly. If they were still doing that I would do it in a heartbeat.

But I guess what happened over time was people dropped out or left the company after they were done now it's a giant contract where you can't leave for 4 years after you are done.

You're young enough where it might be worth it, but I'd do a business degree instead in all honestly.

A couple of jobs ago, the company paid 100% of the cost for an MBA -- 75% up front and the remaining 25% when you graduated. I probably should've done it then. Towards the end of my stay, they instituted a rule where you had to stay 3 years after you graduated or you had to pay them a % back. I would've stayed if it came down to it.

 

[shortylickens]

So you used networking to get your job?

the first job.

 

[Coalfax]

Its all about who you know anymore, not what you know. Most of the items on those requests are there to scare away those whop may either not be serious, or not have most of the qualifications anyway. If you have people on the inside to vouch, or the like, you can at least get an interview. From there, its all up to you.

 

[Rage187]

I never let the job requirements stop me from applying.

same.

I never went to college and make more than the people around me that went to Ivy League schools.

It's:

1. What you know
2. Who you know

 

[Mai72]

We just had massive teacher layoffs in New Jersey. Camden is in the process of closing down a good portion of their schools, and over 50% of the teachers who work for the Camden school district will lose their jobs. Imagine if you're a teaching trying to secure a teaching position. You now have to compete with people who have years of experience. This was never the case 10 years ago. Once you got your degree in education you were guaranteed a teaching position.

Well unless someone from your family works for the school district. Nepotism is rampant in the teaching profession. At least, it is where I live.

 

[Mai72]

same.

I never went to college and make more than the people around me that went to Ivy League schools.

It's:

1. What you know
2. Who you know

My father was a contractor for the state of NJ. In the 1990's his job was to deliver the old voting booths to their specific locations. Those old machines were heavy, but it was relatively an easy job. He had 5 days to deliver the voting booths, and when the elections were over he had 5 days to bring them back to the county shop.

He worked for a total of 10 days. He made over $14k. In one year, he made over $60k. This is counting state and local elections. He lost the contract when the state went over to the computerized voting booths. They got their own people to deliver the new voting booths, and in the process they saved a lot of money.

 

[Ns1]

Its all about who you know anymore, not what you know.

As rage pointed out, this is incorrect. the correct statement is:

Its all about who you know AND what you know.

We just had massive teacher layoffs in New Jersey. Camden is in the process of closing down a good portion of their schools, and over 50% of the teachers who work for the Camden school district will lose their jobs. Imagine if you're a teaching trying to secure a teaching position. You now have to compete with people who have years of experience. This was never the case 10 years ago. Once you got your degree in education you were guaranteed a teaching position.

Why is this a bad thing? Looking at things objectively: seems you'd want kids to be taught by teachers with experience, not fresh meat out of school.

 

[Mai72]

As rage pointed out, this is incorrect. the correct statement is:

True. You will be found out very quickly if you don't know what you are doing.

Just ask the worst NFL quarterback of all time Ryan Leaf.

:biggrin:

 

[Mai72]

As rage pointed out, this is incorrect. the correct statement is:






Why is this a bad thing? Looking at things objectively: seems you'd want kids to be taught by teachers with experience, not fresh meat out of school.

How are new teachers supposed to gain classroom experience? Should they have to work 10 years as a substitute teacher?

Sometimes experience doesn't matter. I've seen people who have gotten teaching positions because their parents were on the school board, or their father was an ex mayor. Educators with years of experience weren't even considered for the open positions.

Nepotism is a big problem in education.

 

[Ns1]

How are new teachers supposed to gain classroom experience?

That's an answer (in the form of a question) to a question I didn't ask.


I have friends who are teachers and they started out as subs. didn't take them 10 years either.

:shrugs:

 

[alkemyst]

Ignorant and out of touch HR departments. Its a curse.

I swear the only way to really get into a job right now is through a headhunter/temp agency.

Not really...there is too much competition out there.

My brother hired a couple out of work Ph.D's at like $10/hr to just pack boxes for a few weeks. They were happy with the work.

It's pretty expected now for most to have a four-year college degree and not much real work experience.

Too many just work fast-food/restaurant crap until they graduate and then expect to manage the place...it doesn't work that way.

I started off around 12 years old going to work with my dad on breaks/summer vacation and learned loan documentation and banking. By the time I was 16, I was making $12.50/hr doing it full-time on summer and other breaks and part-time during the school year (1986-87). I was making more per day than some friends made all week. On top of that I also took on chinese-food delivery on the weekends. I used the bank job for savings and the delivery job as my spending money. I'd make an easy $300 in a weekend just from that which was more than enough to go out drinking and wine and dine some women too.

Yeah, I was underage.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

seriously. i hated my last job and the ad for the one i have now was crap. they listed a ridiclous amount of skills they were seeking...i dont do development, sql, db administration, yadda yadda.

but i do most of the other stuff.
AND there was staff that do what i dont anyways.
took the interview just to get back into the feel of interviews and landed a GREAT job.

Thinking about doing the same thing soon. They want a help desk tech with SQL skills. I've done, and managed a helpdesk team, but never need SQL but I might as well try anyways.

 

[sze5003]

Thinking about doing the same thing soon. They want a help desk tech with SQL skills. I've done, and managed a helpdesk team, but never need SQL but I might as well try anyways.

Sql should not be tough you will pick it up in a week or two maybe less.

 

[LetsGetReal]

You have an abundance of college grads who can't find work. The more grads you have in the workforce, the greater the chance that the minimum requirements for certain jobs are going to increase.

I've heard that to get a $10 a hour job at Starbucks you need a college degree. I don't know how true this is, but I bet there is some truth to it.

how smart can someone be who pays 50k and 5 years of time to get a job that pays $10 an hour? All normal in upside down world.

 

[Ns1]

I've heard that to get a $10 a hour job at Starbucks you need a college degree. I don't know how true this is, but I bet there is some truth to it.

There is no truth to that.

 

[LetsGetReal]

This is precisely why our thinking on work, in general, needs to change. What are we going to do in 20-50 years when the computers are writing better code than any of you ever could? It's time to explain to people what a guaranteed income is and why everyone should be in favor of it, even if you previously held the naïve notion that it is a *gasp* handout. What worth will human labor have when there are robots who can think at the speed of light and repair, design, and build each other?

by that logic, instead of making laws guaranteed income, make laws banning robots that take jobs away. I mean what is the goal here, to make human beings obsolete? Whats the point of making stuff faster cheaper and better if nobody has any money to buy the stuff because nobody has jobs?

 

[Kroze]

Company hiring procedures managed by mindless Human Resource drones asking for years of experience on top of a college degree for an entry level job paying $10/hr.

Managers then go online bitching and complaining how there's no job shortage because they can't even find people to hire. LOL. Go talk to your useless HR drones.

 

[Hugo Drax]

College is now high-school 2.0

With the huge glut of college graduates flowing into the workplace every year, you are going to see such a shift in the hiring practice.

 

[Fayd]

Electrician is low skill too? I would agree that a flight attendant doesn't need a college degree, but they have important responsibilities (in addition to getting my drink right) and are critical during emergencies.

electrician isn't low skill, but if someone goes in to it after getting a college degree, they wasted their time getting the college degree.

trade school < = / = > college degree

 

[alkemyst]

electrician isn't low skill, but if someone goes in to it after getting a college degree, they wasted their time getting the college degree.

trade school < = / = > college degree

MBA's pay off in trade jobs.