Most College Graduates With A Bachelors Degree Have A Job Says BLS

According to a BLS jobs report in August, only 5% of college graduates holding a bachelor's degree is unemployed. Those with some college experience or with an associate's degree has an unemployed rate of 8%. The unemployment rate climbs with less education -- those without a high school diploma has an unemployment rate of over 14%. 


As someone who is apart of the 5%, I find this a bit false. I've seen people who have gotten jobs who don't have a college degree. As a matter of fact, I know someone who was recently hired at two jobs that doesn't have a high school diploma. I can't get a job at Wal-Mart, but a high school drop out currently has two jobs. It doesn't make sense. Most people I do know have a job -- whether they have a college degree or not. Of all my friends, I'm the only one who is out of college with a bachelor's degree and is unemployed. 


In about 6 weeks, it will be time to start paying back my student loans and I have no income. Hopefully I will be approved for a deferment or I'm screwed. 

Should An Unemployed College Grad Go For A Masters Degree?

Due to some family problems that ended with me staying a hotel for one night, I was able to have a talk with my pastor. We discussed the economy and how my being unemployed is causing problems with my mom and step-dad, even though they know I'm looking. He told me that I should go to grad school. Well, being unemployed, it should be the wise thing to do, correct? Well...


Right now I owe so much money in student loans. I know by the time I graduate from grad school, I will probably owe over 80k in student loans. What's worse is that money options for grad students are more limited than undergraduates. Being unemployed college grad with no experience, it would be hard to pay to further my education. 


Right now, I feel as if the pressure is on to complete the GRE or the GMAT to get into a graduate school. I would like to go into a different field than English -- perhaps getting my MBA, MPP, or MPA. If I do make the decision to go to grad school, it will probably be January 2013. 


Another thing my pastor told me is that he would think it would be best if I go to grad school in a different state. Honestly, I think that is a good idea. I live in Mississippi -- a place where it's more of an attraction for those who want to retire rather than going to college and settling down. 


Until January 2013, I will not stop trying to find a job. And I hope within a year that I would have educated future/current undergraduates on picking the right major, because let me say that being a unemployed college graduate is not fun. 

Suze Orman: Think You're Not Going To Get A Job For At Least Two Years

Late last night, I watched Suze Orman was on The Joy Behar Show (Amazing show! So sad it's ending.) and discussed the housing crisis as well as unemployment. When asked about what is the first thing a person should do once they lose their job, she says: 

It's to think that you're not going to get another job for at least two years. 

Yikes! Two years?! 

She goes on to say when one loses a job, they continue to spend money as if they still have a job. And thus going through their savings within six to eight months. They think they will find a job right away. 

Talk about a wake-up call.

That's one thing I love about Suze Orman. She tells it like it is. She doesn't sugar-coat the truth. I wish I would have listened to her before I went off to college and racked up over 41K (oh didn't I mention I actually owe 38K + interest instead of 25?) of student loans. I believe my life would have been much different. One thing it would be is less stressful. I believe I would not have been unemployed. 

But now I'm wide awake and I'm listening. It's better late then never. 

Me? Teaching?

Since I was having no luck in finding a job, a church member of mine told me I should teach. Teach? Really? Yeah.. Since I have so much pressure of me to find a job, I decided to apply to be a substitute teacher in my district. Two days ago, I had to go to a substitute workshop where I had to be finger printed and listen to a retired teacher explain the rules and regulations to substitute teaching. After about 20 minutes, I was allowed to leave since I had a college degree and would not have to take a test. 

Four hours later I got a phone call from the retired teacher saying she forgot to send me to be interviewed by the district administrator (Yikes!). I've only been interviewed once and that was for an internship -- which I did not get, so I was nervous. But I did well. As a matter of fact, the DA told me "Well, I don't need to tell you you passed the interview." *laughs* 

I should be receiving calls within the next month. I was all for it until I went on Pro Teacher and read horror stories of substitute teaching. Will I be able to handle it? Should I still do it? What if I mess up? 

There were also stories of those who've barely been called and are struggling financial wise because of it. It makes me wonder is it worth it. 

For some reason, I decided to go on the school district's website and I saw two schools currently looking for a teacher's assistant. I've already turned in a teacher assistant application months ago, so all I have to do is pay a visit to the schools. 

I honestly do not know what to do at this point. I am now being pressured to go for my teacher's certification! Yikes! My mom is already trying to borrow books from a fellow church member. I believe 2012 will be an interesting year.

Is Nursing Really Recession-Proof?

Is Nursing really recession-proof? Before English, my major was Nursing because I was told this was where the money was at. This is where I will have a job until I retire. THIS is a recession- proof career.

Well... the times have changed. Although I am not a nurse, I am a member of All Nurses. It's a forum for nurses to vent, seek advice, and engage in conversations about nurses in the news -- good and bad. 

One of the things I have noticed about All Nurses is the fact many of the nurses have been either getting fired, quitting, or new nurse having a hard time seeking employment. It's definitely an eye opener from what the media has been telling us. Ya' know, that "shortage" thing. 

In one of the forums, a nurse talks about how she has been looking for a job since 2009. Say what?! Yes, 2009. This nurse has never worked as a nurse outside of nursing school. And you want to know what the worst part is? No one will hire her because she has no experience and she cannot get into any new grad programs because she's no longer "fresh." 

In November 3, Forbes wrote an article about Who's Getting Hired Right Now and yes you thought right. Nursing was at the top. How did they base this? They based it on the amount of job postings. Yes, that's right. Job postings. 

In the article it states that Nursing had 132,283 job postings on Indeed. Forbes does not take into account that many of these jobs could be fake or a scam. It one would actually look at these postings, some, if not most, require at least a year of experience -- something new graduates obviously do not have. 

Unfortunately for Forbes, the comments at the bottom spoke the opposite. Here are a few:

I am a RN recently graduated with BSN.Unemployed until recently. Unless you have experience, getting a job is difficult.

My daughter graduated in May with a BSN, passed her NCLEX in July. She has completed about 10-15 applications a week since August and has only been on two interviews. If she's fortunately enough to even get some kind of response from the hospitals, its telling her that they've selected someone with more experiene. Unfortunately hospitals only want you if hou have experience! I know there are many very talented people out there with much to offer... Too bad these companies/hospitals are not willing to give these people a chance. I certainly wouldn't recommend anyone in the Chicago area bother going into nursing... The market is saturated.

I don't believe the registered nurses one, my cousin is a new grad and can't find ANY jobs. I bet it's only to those with prior experience. Nobody wants to hire new grads. 

They are only hiring for experienced RNs. Good luck if you're a new grad, jobs are hard to come by :(

This article is bananas...there's tons of unemployed nurses out there

There are over 800 comments like these. I doubt they're lying. It seems like one of the most recession-proof careers out there isn't so recession-proof at all.