<p>Just a quick update - S1 has completed his first two weeks on the job - loves it - all going smoothly. He has rented an apartment and is busy furnishing it within his small budget. I know I am a worrier extraordinaire, and I want to thank those of you who posted for your support. Once again, I remind myself that things have a way of working out. To any of you whose recent grads are still job hunting, hang in there.</p>
<p>Wonderful to read successes. D has flown back to LA to move her things and job hunt. Hope she does well. She did go and talk with job counselor on campus.</p>
<p>Good going for rvm’s son and good luck to HImom’s D.</p>
<p>I can relate to being a worrier extraordinaire to quote rvm. I was at a family function this weekend and got several eyerolls from both S1 and, especially, S2 when they thought I was getting a little ridiculous with the questions I was asking or concerns I was voicing (putting on sunscreen, not drinking too much alcohol, how early we had to get to the airport, etc). I’m sure they’re glad we’re all back in our respective homes.</p>
<p>S1 and DIL are paying triple RVM’s S’s rent for a small 1 BR in Silicon Valley – and they are at the low end of the rent scale! (no granite countertops, no laundry in the apt, no A/C…but they have redwood trees next to their windows…)</p>
<p>Congrats to all who have been landing positions and launching – you have great advice which I will be keeping in mind for S2, who has been growing roots on the couch vs. wings of late.</p>
<p>D is warning us that rent for a small one bedroom and street parking may be $2000+ or more. <sigh> We told her to just please find a SAFE place.</sigh></p>
<p>^^Maybe she could check into a shared apartment? I’ll bet she can get far more for her money with a roommate. S1 was looking into a single apt in NYC, then put out the word on facebook that he was looking for a roommate. Within a few days, found a friend of a friend, and another roommate…$1500 each for a very nice place in Lower Manhattan, right by Wall Street. Could never have gotten as good a deal on his own, not even close.</p>
<p>Agree with bus. It’s funny how big the differences are between place to place.</p>
<p>Of course, rvm s son is making a NC style salary too go with the low cost of living. If he was doing that ion elsewhere it would pay more but the cost of living will be much higher.</p>
<p>I have 1600 sq foot in my house do for about 900 a month. My friends in new York pay double me and have half the space. Then again, they make double me too.</p>
<p>RVM - I’m so happy that all is going great for your son and most importantly, that he is happy - great news!! </p>
<p>Thankfully, our update on S1 is the same - he also just finished his first 2 weeks this past Friday and is loving his new job. </p>
<p>Best of luck to all the kids looking for reasonable housing. S1 has many friends living here (DC area) that are spending a small fortune on housing. For now, S1 is living at home to same money and it has been a pleasure having him around. He is greatly appreciative.</p>
<p>RVM and DWhite: I’m glad to hear that your sons are loving their jobs. Things do have a way of working out.</p>
<p>Rents in big cities are outrageous. My D1 is transferring from Boston to NYC, so she’s going from one tough housing market to another that’s even worse. Fortunately, she’s moving in with college friends who already have a nice apartment. This will save her a broker’s fee and some other initial costs. She had to come up with 4 months rent when she signed the contract on the Boston apartment: broker’s fee, security deposit, first and last month rents.</p>
<p>Good luck to HImom’s D and any others still looking for a job.</p>
<p>Life has been crazy lately–mostly good things!-- but I wanted to check in and update.</p>
<p>S2 graduated with his MPP and has started his dream job, with good (but not great) salary and excellent benefits. Loves what he is doing, loves who he is working with (both the organization and the individuals he is working with). He is on cloud nine. He came back from his Birthright trip on Friday June 28 and started work on July 1.</p>
<p>I just came back from moving him into his DC studio apartment–the rent is making me ill. $1550/month for a studio! I am very envious of RVM’s son!</p>
<p>But he wants to live alone, and he wanted a secure building because he will be traveling a lot on business. He is in a great location, near the Metro, all kinds of nightlife, and his girlfriend. He can afford it (barely) but we are helping by keeping him on our health insurance (it doesn’t change the cost of our family plan) and our family cell phone plan.</p>
<p>S3 is in a very weird position. Like RVM’s son, he wants to work in the sports industry. He had a fabulous internship with a DC sports franchise a year ago–they loved him, and even after his internship ended, they had called him in frequently to help out with various projects. He expected to work with them after graduation. Unfortunately this spring there was a major internal organization and a hiring freeze.</p>
<p>So–two weeks ago he got a strange phone call telling him that there was a position available and asking him to come in and interview. He came in the next day–and was told that they had created a position especially for him, doing exactly what they knew he wanted to do–but that it would be paying a generous hourly wage, and that for the time being it could not be guaranteed as a full time, permanent position–although they hope that they can morph it in to one.</p>
<p>So S3 accepted the position even though the situation is far from ideal. For him the advantages are that at least right now he is making good money, has a real job and title to put on his resume, he is gathering all kinds of real and growing experience and expanding his network and contacts. His plan is to be indispensible and ubiquitous and he is hoping he can help them decide they cannot do without him. In the meantime, he is still actively job hunting (although now from a better position) because of the uncertainty. He is also continuing to work for another internship he has had in the past, maintaining their web presence and writing their blog, to supplement his income.</p>
<p>H and I are willing to subsidize him for the time being. This job is a real first step into his dream career and it is not like he is sitting around waiting for things to happen for him. But he is afraid to sign a lease, etc., because his job search is national in scope as his present situation is so unstable. So he may be homeless after July 31, when his lease expires. Unless his brother lets him sleep on air mattress on his floor. He is hoping to find a short term sublease on Craig’s List.</p>
<p>boysX3 - S2 is also in DC where his shared rent (he lives in a townhouse with 2 other people) just went up $60 per person per month. I asked if he should consider looking for something else, but he didn’t want to move further away from work. He has his BA in public policy and knows he needs his MPP, but isn’t ready for it yet. Maybe if I let him know he could afford your son’s rent with a MPP, maybe he’d consider applying to grad school.</p>
<p>It sounds like a great opportunity for now for your S3. I don’t think he’d have too much trouble finding a short-term sublease on craigslist if needed, but who knows how affordable it’d be.</p>
<p>shellfell–I asked my son about MPP employment, and he said that as far as he knows, everyone in his MPP program (he went to AU) has done well, at least among his friends and study groups. </p>
<p>By the way, it seemed most people in his program worked or had internships while pursuing their degrees. The classes were primarily in the evenings, even for full time students like my son, so students could pursue experience opportunities. I believe a full time load was three classes/semester, with each class meeting only once a week. Students also take classes in the summer between the first and second year of the program.</p>
<p>I do not know how I missed this thread early on, but the job search is driving me crazy. DD graduated the end of April and is home. She has two positions in the works, but is waiting to hear about the next step. </p>
<p>I am THRILLED to hear that there are jobs out there though.</p>
<p>I too am so happy to hear that things are falling into place for your recent grads. For anyone still looking: [Tell</a> The Kids: 10,000 Jobs at Pharma Companies - Forbes](<a href=“http://www.forbes.com/sites/ycharts/2013/07/22/tell-the-kids-10000-jobs-at-pharma-companies/]Tell”>Tell The Kids: 10,000 Jobs At Pharma Companies)</p>
<p>boysx3 - I hope it works out for your S3 - I think it sounds promising.</p>
<p>MD Mom - it’s a tough process. I actually think it was worse than college admissions, and I thought that was incredibly stressful! Patience, gentle encouragement and more patience.</p>
<p>momjr - it is amazing how different rental markets are. I fully expected S1 to need a one month security deposit, but it was only $150. And they prorated July’s rent - so he moved in for roughly $400.</p>
<p>Thanks, rockvillemom. I agree about the job hunt being worse. I knew she was getting into college. I know that she will get a job too, but I have been reading lots of ads and even when you do a search for entry level, they want two years of experience. The other awful thing now is that government and government contractors are at a standstill. Wish the boys south of here would get to working together and moving forward. DD had a government internship fall through two summers ago where she would have picked up a security clearance. Wahwahwah.</p>
<p>Three years ago when I finally took my daughter camping in the part of the Adirondacks that I grew up vacationing in, she fell in love with the area said, “I have to convince the family practice center in town to hire a PA when I graduate”.</p>
<p>Two weeks before we were scheduled to go camping there this year for her birthday, she looked through the PA job listings and discovered that, lo and behold, they WERE looking for their first ever PA. She contacted them and said she’d be in town, so they arranged an almost immediate phone interview, then asked her to stop in while we were in the area.</p>
<p>This afternoon she received the contract in the mail.</p>
<p>Sometimes it’s almost perfect!</p>
<p>Wow,KKmama, I love it when dreams do come true! Mazal tov to your daughter!</p>
<p>She already contacted a no kill shelter in the area and told them to hold “her” dog for her. Odd priorities this kid has! First she has to get through graduation next week and the national licensing exams the week after that.</p>
<p>That is great! DH and I dream of having an Adirondacks lake house some day. Our dog also loves it up there. :)</p>