ideas!

[gildedage]

Here's a really interesting article on the job market
This sounds like it really sucks for those interns. As I was reading it, I reflected on my own situation as a 25 year old who just graduated. I only got this job because I said I was willing to work for free, it turned out that it pays really well (because I passed the bar and can be paid way

Comments

[rainy_day]

I enjoyed that article!! I agree with their point that college students should be more educated about job markets and labor needs... it's not always possible to anticipate, but it's not something I thought about when I picked my major. I have so many friends who went into teaching due to a shortage of teachers (I mean, Texas used to provide "emergency teaching licenses" to anyone with a BA, teachers were in such short supply), only to find that when they got out of their programs there were NO jobs because so many other people had the same thing in mind

[rainy_day]

wow, tl;dr SORRY I GOT EXCITED.

[gildedage]

No I love it

[cacophonesque]

When I was working at Columbia, there were a lot of resources available to improve your skills set, and opportunities for training. And what I observed was that pretty much no one in my office utilized them, unless they were expressly instructed to do so during working hours.

I started to do a little bit of learning how to use the Office Suite products on my own, because it was there and I figured it would be good to know more in case I wanted to apply for a promotion or look elsewhere for work. When things were slow, my direct supervisor in my last work area even let me work the modules while I was on the clock, because it could be justified as a responsible use of my time.

I recognize that people see me as silly for having an English major. But, I am smart enough to know how to market the skills that I do have--as you mentioned, writing, research, effective communication. I'd love to get into technical writing... but by the time it's feasible for me to return to work, I don't know that I'll still want to do that.

[cacophonesque]

I had a lot of friends who went into computer science right before the dot com bubble burst

[gildedage]

Yeah, exactly! I think the problem with the people in the article is that they're so stagnant, and sort of propped up by support so they keep trying to break into DC, and they just won't.

I think it's understandable for moms coming back into the workforce- we just hired someone like that and it was NBD. And the computer skills are awesome! A lot of people want someone who can do administrative stuff and also build a website. That's a skill I sort of wanted too.

It's just keeping yourself marketable- I went and took this "Strengths" test, by these pyschologists who believe that if you invest in your strengths and combine with people who have strengths you don't have, you can be successful more easily than constantly trying to improve on weaknesses. I already have ideas for cover letters that I want to write using my strengths.

[cacophonesque]

On the one hand, I do think the internship system is messed up. On the other, it does reek a little of "Poor little privileged kids aren't as successful as their parents!" As someone who grew up with minimal privilege, I don't really bemoan that privilege doesn't get you as far as it used to. I finally read the full article (instead of just your commentary) and it just seems like they totally miss that there is more to the country than DC/NY/LA/Boston. Are those the places with the "best" jobs in certain fields? Well, sure. But, while you're going from internship to internship hoping to catch a break, someone who went off to be a big fish in a small pond has decided that they're ready for the bigger pond--and they're applying for those open positions with resumes that say "Arts Editor" or "Accounts Manager" instead of just "Intern