Life after college? Any advice on where to go next?

<p>I just graduated in August with my B.S. in Psychology. I had a job lined up in Human Resources but it ultimately fell through. I’ve tried applying everywhere in my area (for example at banks for teller/collections positions, admin assistant positions, retail management, etc.) but I’ve had absolutely no luck. I started to panic and enrolled at a community college to finish a paralegal associates degree because I wasn’t sure what else to do. Ultimately, I do not qualify for any more financial aid and my parents are unable to help me with school. I cannot qualify for a private loan without a cosigner and I’m worried about what to do next. I can pay for this semester but that is all of my savings and graduation money. I have no methods of obtaining a private loan because I have no one else who can act as a cosigner and my parents have terrible credit. </p>

<p>I’m contemplating going to graduate school; however, I’m not sure going into debt further is a great idea especially since even at a master’s level, most psychology degrees do not guarantee better job prospects. I realize grad school is not something to be taken lightly and I was hoping to gain some real world work experience prior to applying to grad school. I’m interested in Industrial/Organizational Psychology, Human Factors Psychology and School Counseling but those three fields are pretty difficult to break into. I have internship/research experience but I have not yet taken the GRE and my GPA is not exactly strong at a 3.3. Any advice or input on what I can do? I’ve been looking for serving jobs/min wage jobs at this point, but I’m really tired of waiting tables and would prefer to find more valuable work experience even in an unrelated field.</p>

<p>I also have the option of pursuing a certificate in cognitive sciences and taking human factors or I/O electives to gain “education experience.” Basically the program would allow me to get my foot in the door, take some graduate coursework, meet important graduate faculty and be a little bit more competitive when it comes to applying for a master’s/PhD program. Certificate programs at my school are eligible for fin aid. I thought that doing this combined with an RA or TA position could cut down the cost of tuition. OR I can apply as a non degree seeking student but I’d have to finance a semester or two out of pocket assuming I can find a serving job or something in the meantime.</p>