<p>One of the benefits of going to a small LAC is that it is much easier to access the alumnae network. They tend to be tightly tied in to the school, and they have fewer graduates vying for their time and attention so they’re often a bit more open to inquiries. She should ask at the career office or the alumnae office how she can get the contact information for alums in a city where she might be interested in living (since she doesn’t know what field to look for, geographic location is the best bet). </p>
<p>She should call or email the alums and ask to do “informational interviews.” explain that she’s a new grad, interested in their field, and ask if she could call them and ask questions. They’ll probably say yes, then all she has to do is call them up and ask them questions about their jobs. DO NOT under ANY circumstances ask them for a job. Instead ask them why they chose their fields, how do people get started with entry level positions, how did they get started, do they have any advice for someone just starting out, etc. That’s it. </p>
<p>These are extremely helpful and a lot of people never think of them. Many professions or businesses are hard to get into unless you know the mechanisms that feed them, so getting insight from someone who’s been there and done it, is key. </p>
<p>If she wants to work in poly-sci, but she hasn’t had relevant internships, she should brace herself for the fact that she’ll probably have to take an unpaid internship if she wants to work in that field. But she should take heart in the fact that many political organizations (from congress to tiny think tanks and lobbying groups) hire from within. An unpaid internship, even a part time one supplemented by a second job, maybe some babysitting or other work, can end up paying off big. </p>
<p>Temping is another option. It’s not exciting, but temp agencies do have temp-to-hire positions and if you are a hard worker with a little bit of office experience you can find your temp position turning into something with regular benefits. </p>
<p>She should not go to grad school just to defer loans. All she will do is rack up more debt and maybe in the end realize she doesn’t want to work in whatever her graduate degree is in. Nursing might be worthwhile, but education is not going to pay much right away, so that’s getting deep into debt to take a low-paying job, in order to avoid temporary debt? Seems like an unsound strategy to me. Also, if she’s interested in nursing, but majored in poly sci, she may not even have the pre-reqs to qualify. </p>
<p>Finally, she needs to get her financial situation straightened out and understood. “I’ve heard that private loans are harder to work with” does not sound like a person who understands her loan situation. Also $900 a month? That seems high even for a person with her debt load. And why does she have 72,000 all in private loans? Something here is not adding up. She needs to sit down with someone in her financial services office or in her career office or at the bank that gave her the loan and find out what this kind of debt means and the impact it will have on her. </p>
<p>Bottom line, jobs are out there. You might have to work more than one, or work one you weren’t thinking of, but they’re out there. Many of my fellow recent grads that have office jobs also have things on the side. They’re babysitters, beer promoters, waitresses, they design and sell handmade crafts. You do what you have to do. But the jobs will not come to you. You’re going to have to put work into networking, into searching, into polishing your resume or picking up extra skills. So get going!</p>