<p>In this economy, I’ve been getting the vibe that a lot of businesses aren’t thrilled to hire college students, even the ones involved in “skilled” vocations, presumably because we can’t work for them as much come fall and we’re not likely to continue the career (long) after we graduate anyway.</p>
<p>Now considering that a large part of my achievements that would attest to employers my discipline, work ethic, etc. are academic, and one of my current positions is in a research lab, how do I go hiding this fact? And what would I replace it with? After all, most of my recommendations and references are going to come from teachers, professors, lab supervisors, coaches, etc.</p>
<p>Would it be dangerous to fake being a college dropout from UVA? Then come autumn I could simply pretend that I got readmitted… would it be dangerous to pretend to have stopped attending college while being on the fall Dean’s List, and having a 3.32 cumulative GPA etc. Or maybe I could pretend that I got a girl pregnant and that now I’m doing the responsible thing by dropping out and working to support the baby. (Plausible story?)</p>
<p>Also, right now it’s on my resume that my majors are neuroscience and physical chemistry – but would employers be more attracted to someone who was “keeping it real” like Commerce or something? And in so far that I’m trying to secure vocational/hourly positions, is coursework taken in a school you have ostensibly dropped out worth anything?</p>
<p>It’s a cutthroat economy … I sorta need to compete, pay the rent, pay for food pay for books and subsidise tuition next fall, hopefully get some discretionary income.</p>
<p>Try as I might, I can’t be honest. It won’t work. And plus, everyone’s doing it:</p>
<p>one of the most surefire ways to NOT get a job is by lying. It’s not going to impress anyone, and when you are caught, and you will be caught, it’ll ruin any trust your employer has for you. The goal of a resume is to make yourself look good, not make up stuff that looks good.</p>
<p>I’m not trying to make up my qualifications. If anything, I’m <em>hiding</em> my qualifications. And to me that’s perfectly ethical: you’re hiding a good thing.</p>
<p>(Just that too much of a good thing is bad.)</p>
<p>I just need to avoid looking a) overqualified b) that I’m going to switch careers in 4-5 years c) unavailable for the school year.</p>
<p>My employer will suddenly log into SIS and realise that I’m still a student at UVA? Huh? I could momentarily disenroll myself from fall courses, print off the transcript, and then re-enroll myself in those courses again. (Thankfully none of them are waitlisted.)</p>
<p>Konopka in the WSJ article hid her qualifications fine with no problem. It’s just a tad more difficult when you’re still in school so I’d be indebted to anyone who’d help me.</p>
<p>A. You can never be overqualified and have that negatively affect how you do your job.</p>
<p>B. Why would they care if you’re going to switch careers? It’s not like they expect you to stay with them 20+ years. Any company that expects that from their employers should not be worked at.</p>
<p>C. Try finding a job where they would already expect this from you. Course my advice would differ if I knew what job you were trying to go for.</p>
<p>Um, I don’t think you get the mentality of employers.</p>
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<p>In an ideal world…</p>
<p>This is reality.</p>
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<p>(Accelerated) HVAC apprenticeship, and then hopefully into HVAC, which pays like twice minimum wage. (A grad student’s work study rate!)</p>
<p>Which is why I hope to use some of my college coursework – in calculus based physics, engineering courses like thermodynamics and fluid dynamics, physical chemistry, etc. because I would be able to learn HVAC theory really fast (cut that 1 year stuff to a month, maybe.)</p>
<p>I have no idea what HVAC is… but this is what I would recommend. Call one of these HVAC companys a far ways away from where you’re from. Talk to one of their employees who help the company hire new workers and ask him/her how being a college student will affect your chances for acceptance. Say that your in high school or something lol. Can’t hurt and you can always bs your name. Hell, if it’s to hot then just hang up.</p>
<p>As I have been applying to jobs this summer, the best advice my grandfather and mother gave me recently was, ‘do not let them know you are going to school in the fall!’ </p>
<p>Luckily, no one has even asked me. I give very succinct, quick answers to interviewers’ questions and try not to appear too intelligent. Anybody can be a bag boy at the grocery store, and they don’t want someone who will be gone in 2.5 months!</p>
<p>I side with the opposite. Most employers probably see college students as cheap labor. My boss knows I’m in school full-time and because of that he’s extremely lenient with my schedule, which becomes important come midterms and finals. </p>
<p>I also know my boss is saving a crap load of money using me as his sole programmer instead of hiring a team of professionals as he probably should be do. </p>
<p>I have to side with the old “if you have to ask, you probably shouldn’t do it.” mentality. But it sounds like you have your mind made up already. Good luck, whatever you decide.</p>
<p>I self-studied for some APs in less than a month and received a 5 on them. </p>
<p>Don’t see why I couldn’t cram for HVAC in the same way. I’m sure HVAC must be easier than Calculus II. Pick up extra experience after that.</p>
<p>So is it advisable to fake being a college dropout, or do I not even let on that I’ve been to college at all? How would I hint that I have taken engineering and neurobiology coursework (for the physical-vocational and medical office-esque positions respectively) without saying that I am a current college student?</p>
<p>Maybe if you tried applying for summer positions before May or June you wouldn’t have to worry about this stuff. Just a thought.</p>
<p>I’m on a summer internship (required for my major) in a major city away from home, and not getting paid for my time at the internship. When I found out back in March what city I would be located in, immediately began applying to just about any job I could find through online searches. I interviewed with 10 or 11 companies and had two jobs locked up by the end of April. All asked about how long I would be there (and I HONESTLY, answered, “until August when I return to school”). The only one that had an issue with that–they wanted a long-term person–is the only one that didn’t offer me a position. Outside of my internship, which is about 20 hours a week, I work 20 hours a week at a job similar to one of my on-campus jobs and 10-15 hours a week at another completely unrelated to my major.</p>
<p>You may not find the most glorious job or something really related to your major, but any job will help pay the bills. Any town with “college jobs” (coffee shops, grocery stores, etc) will probably have summer positions because of the number of students who go home/on internship.</p>
<p>I tried doing that, but I ended up being questioned about my education in a couple of interviews. A lot of places wanted to hire someone who would stay for a while and not just the summer. I understand places like Starbucks where you actually have to have a certain amount of training, but other places, whatever. If you are a better, I don’t want to say “liar,” but if you don’t think you’ll crack under the pressure of an interview go for it. Or you could always just say you go to the local university. They don’t really care if you’re a college student or high school dropout in most places, just that you’ll be around for a while. </p>
<p>Also, beginning of the summer is the absolute worst time to look for a job. Most mom and pop places I tried to find a job (because my friends worked there scooping ice cream or whatever) already had plenty of kids my age on staff they had hired in the fall and weren’t really looking. So yeah, that’s maybe the one and only disadvantage I can think of of not going to a local college. I went job hunting over part of my freshman year spring break. Not the most fun, but I ended up ahead of the curve.</p>
<p>Also, the only background your employer cares about is your criminal background. If you’re looking for a restaurant job, they’re not going to check to see if you go to Local U like they would at a bank or law firm. On the off (very off, way off) chance you get caught…whatever</p>
<p>I’m a Neuro major too! I work at a bakery 35 hrs a week, where I use my knowledge of organic chemistry to bake muffins. :)</p>
<p>I tutor like 7-10 hours a week, and get paid $15-$20/hr (tutor 3 different kids). If you’re a Science major, and you have a high GPA, parents will pay you to teach their darlings Biology, Chemistry, and Physics. It’s really easy because they’re in Middle School/High School and they’re usually lazy rich kids, not even dumb. They just need someone to hold their hand and spoonfeed them information. Put up flyers around town advertising tutoring services for kids. Make sure to post you go to UVA, have a high GPA, do scientific research, are double majoring in Chemistry and Neurosicence (parents are getting the subliminal message: If I take Betsy to this guy, maybe she won’t grow up to be a pothead slut after all!) You can show off how smart you are and use it to get paid. Tutoring is awesome, you can even make the kids come to your house if you’re lazy.</p>