<p>I’m a grad who has been totally SHOCKED by the lack of opportunity I have. And I wasn’t a good-off or an Art major. I went to a good school and was in a decent major. I won’t give you direct advice, but just want to put out some information that you should know before it’s too late. </p>
<p>(1) A college degree is the new high school degree, meaning that it’s just a minimum educational requirement, doesn’t make you stand out unless you’re in the top 10% of college grads (in terms of your alma mater, grades, internship experience, etc.). So unless you’re going all-out to try and capitalize on your educational stint, your degree will merely make you average. </p>
<p>(2) Companies today do not have positions that are entry-level. In what seems like a Catch-22 situation, positions that are listed as “entry-level” require 2-5 years experience. </p>
<p>(3) To go off the previous point, on-the-job training is a thing of the past. A company is not going to interview, be wowed by your intelligence and then spend money to bring you up to speed for the position. Companies have become very lean and efficient, don’t have the budget to take on inexperienced candidates. </p>
<p>(4) In general, the market is saturated with young people expecting to work white-collar jobs. Since there’s a limited number of white-collar jobs, many college grads are having to settle for less.</p>
<p>(5) At the same time, blue-collar jobs (electrician, linesman, mechanic, etc.) are becoming in-demand, because the Baby Boomers are the verge of retirement and the college grads don’t have the skills to work those jobs and don’t want to work them anyways (due to the stigma against blue-collar workers). </p>
<p>(6) If you’re already in college and don’t have a viable plan set up, realize that you’ll have even less opportunity if you rush yourself into graduation. Because once you graduate, internship opportunities, career counseling, and all those other opportunities are cut off to you. </p>
<p>Just some food for thought. </p>