I'm graduating college in May, any advice?

I'm almost midway through my final semester of college and will be heading into the real world in May... thought some of you could give some advice on the first year out on what to expect and what not. Maybe something you did that really helped boost your career/lifestyle or something you wish you would have done. I'm sure I'm not the only one graduating or nearing graduation, so this could be a good thread to help us all out.

i already had a job in my feild before i graduated. start sending out resumes. its not too early. get letters of remondations from you professors and attach those to you resumes.

Depending on your career field, you may not actually find a job right now right out of college.

Be sure to prepare for that.

Make sure to enjoy your time, but stay serious about your goals.

No slacking.

Celebrate being done, but don't go overboard.

Enjoy the real world. Its an absolutely different place than college. :)

Well I just graduated last year and things didn't go nearly like I had planned. I was expecting to get out of school and use my degree to earn a better income. I've always worked full time even through school but having my BA in business I had hoped to accomplish more. Unfortunately we are graduating during the worst economic times since the great depression so there is a lot of competition in the job market.

My piece of advice would be to not get discouraged if you can't jump into your ideal job straight from school. Keep in mind that you are young and the economy should turn around soon (hopefully) and provide more opportunities to everyone.

I graduated from College almost two years ago....and STILL have not found a job in my field!! Thanx economy!!!

My suggestion....stay in school

Eh I don't know about staying in school. Usually I'm all for continuing your education but with the state of the economy its scary going and accumulating another 50k-100k of graduate school debt only to not be able to find a job. I pay about 300 dollars a month for my student loans, if I went to graduate school I think they would be double if not more. Think long and hard before committing yourself to any new debt.

I'm a business and economics major... I have a few interviews scheduled for this week and some more next week, plus my resume is out there with quite a few companies. To be honest, I'm not too worried about finding a job. There are jobs out there, you just gotta look and be willing to compete for them.

This option might be out of the question for you personally, but if you find that there is no satisfactory employment out there at this time, the US Army would gladly accept you and send you to Officer Candidate School with your degree. You could do a hitch in the Army or another branch of the military as an officer, receiving decent pay and healthcare through the recession, then go back to civillian life with a resume showing leadership qualities and being entitled to veteran's benefits.

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Originally Posted by dsirkle

This option might be out of the question for you personally, but if you find that there is no satisfactory employment out there at this time, the US Army would gladly accept you and send you to Officer Candidate School with your degree. You could do a hitch in the Army or another branch of the military as an officer, receiving decent pay and healthcare through the recession, then go back to civillian life with a resume showing leadership qualities and being entitled to veteran's benefits.

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I think Military is a great option. In hindsight I wish I had done that.

I also wish I had taken the time to travel a bit after college. I know the pressure is on to get a job and start paying off the loans, but if at all possible it would be a great experince to take a couple of months and go see a part of the world that you most likely will not have the opportunity to once you have more commitments (family, mortgage, job).

The way I see it, there's a whole lifetime to become a working stiff like the rest of us. Take advantage of your freedom!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dsirkle

This option might be out of the question for you personally, but if you find that there is no satisfactory employment out there at this time, the US Army would gladly accept you and send you to Officer Candidate School with your degree. You could do a hitch in the Army or another branch of the military as an officer, receiving decent pay and healthcare through the recession, then go back to civillian life with a resume showing leadership qualities and being entitled to veteran's benefits.

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I'm considering doing this, except I'll be going for an environmental gig with the coast guard, since my major is basically city planning/design.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dsirkle

This option might be out of the question for you personally, but if you find that there is no satisfactory employment out there at this time, the US Army would gladly accept you and send you to Officer Candidate School with your degree. You could do a hitch in the Army or another branch of the military as an officer, receiving decent pay and healthcare through the recession, then go back to civillian life with a resume showing leadership qualities and being entitled to veteran's benefits.

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that has actually been in the back of my mind... I almost signed up for the marines a couple years ago but decided to stick with college. In hindsight, I'm still not sure if I made the right decision.

I think the main thing keeping me in school was playing baseball all four years. I know a lot of employers like athletes, and I was voted captain this year which should show leadership skills. Like I said, I'm not real worried about not being able to find a job just yet.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dsirkle

This option might be out of the question for you personally, but if you find that there is no satisfactory employment out there at this time, the US Army would gladly accept you and send you to Officer Candidate School with your degree. You could do a hitch in the Army or another branch of the military as an officer, receiving decent pay and healthcare through the recession, then go back to civillian life with a resume showing leadership qualities and being entitled to veteran's benefits.

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The military is actually a really good deal in this economy, but I'd say go for the Air Force over any of the other services. With the Army, you're looking at 12 -18 month deployments, over and over again. My brother's been to Iraq 4 times in 6 years, for at least a year each time. If you hope to have a family, it makes it really, really difficult. Marines are the same deal, except even more dangerous most of the time. Navy's better, Coast Guard is the best, but Air Force is pretty close to the best military experience you can have, especially as an officer. Deployments are usually less than a year, we typically take air travel in hostile environments versus land convoys, and the working environment is not as "hardcore" as you might encounter in the other branches.

I've been enlisted Air Force for 3+ years, and was an Air Force spouse for 4 years before that, so I know what I'm talking about. With a degree, you can get a commission and be an officer, which is a much, much better deal. Pay isn't the best you can get, but it's competitive, and you get housing and food allowances on top of that, neither of which are taxable. It's a government job, which basically means you can never get fired, and you're pretty much guaranteed a promotion to Major (O-4) as long as you put in your time. I'm leaving the AF next year because I want to go back to school, and want to settle down in one place, but if you don't mind moving every few years, being an officer in the AF is a good deal all around.

Just my $0.02. :)

well I had an interview yesterday and a phone interview today that went really well, so I'm hoping something good comes out of it

Bit of advice from someone who graduated last summer:

The job market is tough, if not impossible at the moment for new grads. Everyone has mentioned it, I'm sure you've heard it and are expecting it.

With just about every company laying people off, there's a ton of well educated AND WELL EXPERIENCED people looking for jobs out there, they have a serious advantage over new grads in that regard.

I'm lucky that my GF's dad is in my field of education and gave me a job to tide me over and give me experience and good stuff to put on the resume. I haven't even gotten an interview anywhere after graduating in the middle of my class from one of the best liberal arts scools in the nation with a degree in computer science. I couldn't care less at the moment, while I'm not making much money, it pays the bills and I love coming to work every day. In fact I voluntarily work any hours over 40 a week for free :D

That said, enjoy the new stuff. I'm living completely by myself for the first time ever, I lived in dorms with a roommate all through college. The first thing I did was get a pet(since I wasn't allowed one in college dorms). Look forward to bigger and better things. I love that I cook more for myself, a which is a newfound bit of enjoyment every day. I own a car for the first time in my life. I don't spend every waking moment studying, reading, and writing papers. And did I mention pets(have to mention this again, this IS BP.net)? I finally have the time, finances, and ability to raise and breed reptiles like I've dreamed of since I was a kid.

That said, I do miss the friends and plenty other stuff from college, including the partying and... various activities(details have been left to your imagination for the protection of the guilty)... that went along with that ;) Sometimes being a real adult sucks, but it's totally worth it. I have too much fun looking forward to moving in with the GF, maybe buying a house, and getting a head start on that dream of someday living/being retired on a small farm where I can spend every day gardening, taking care of the animals, and going out fishing as often as I please.

Good luck on getting a job, start looking NOW. My best advice to you is to get yourself out there, and get a job, any job in your field if you can. Down the road, companies who are hiring will look at a resume, and long periods of unemployment are things they frown upon in potential new employees.

Just remember to find things to enjoy every day, being an adult can be damn fun.

my advice...

go for your masters, or phD!

Wear sunscreen.

If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice now.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Oh, never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they've faded. But trust me, in 20 years, you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked. You are not as fat as you imagine.

Don't worry about the future. Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blindside you at 4 pm on some idle Tuesday.

Do one thing every day that scares you.

Sing.

Don't be reckless with other people's hearts. Don't put up with people who are reckless with yours.

Floss.

Don't waste your time on jealousy. Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The race is long and, in the end, it's only with yourself.

Remember compliments you receive. Forget the insults. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.

Keep your old love letters. Throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch.

Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives. Some of the most interesting 40-year-olds I know still don't.

Get plenty of calcium. Be kind to your knees. You'll miss them when they're gone.

Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll have children, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll divorce at 40, maybe you'll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary. Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much, or berate yourself either. Your choices are half chance. So are everybody else's.

Enjoy your body. Use it every way you can. Don't be afraid of it or of what other people think of it. It's the greatest instrument you'll ever own.

Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but your living room.

Read the directions, even if you don't follow them.

Do not read beauty magazines. They will only make you feel ugly.

Get to know your parents. You never know when they'll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings. They're your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.

Understand that friends come and go, but with a precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle, because the older you get, the more you need the people who knew you when you were young.

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard. Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft. Travel.

Accept certain inalienable truths: Prices will rise. Politicians will philander. You, too, will get old. And when you do, you'll fantasize that when you were young, prices were reasonable, politicians were noble, and children respected their elders.

Respect your elders.

Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund. Maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse. But you never know when either one might run out.

Don't mess too much with your hair or by the time you're 40 it will look 85.

Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth.

But trust me on the sunscreen."

Author: Mary Schmich (USA)
First published: July 1, 1997
Copyright: Herald Tribune

I graduated in 1999 with an assc. in Tool and Die and spent about 3 years in that field. I have since found a job doing something totally different and making a heck of alot more than I would have ever made in that field. I am now an Air Emissions Tester (I get to climb those giant smoke stacks you see off in the distance) I know my degree helped me get this job so I will tell you first hand, never stick with something you are not enjoying 100% or you will regret it forever. I love what I do 99% of the time ( you can't love it all the time) One of the best things about this job it is not controlled by the economy it is regulated but state and federal government so I will always stay busy.

Good luck in your venture I hope things work out