It may be different in different parts of the country but retail, food, and service jobs are not hard to come by here. Lots of places are hiring. Wages may be low but something is better than nothing.
And if you work one of those type jobs you may be motivated to get something more related to what you want to do sooner rather than later.
Low - in Nashville - is like $16 an hour +.
I started at $4.25 an hour, 16 hours a week out of college and my first real job was $7.50 an hour for 40 hours a week (the other 40 hours I worked were unpaid - I should sue Disney - not the owner then - for back pay :))
But it’s a different world today!!
It was reported that this recent grad had no experience. If that is the case, I see nothing wrong with working in a supermarket while looking for a job in her chosen field, as it may take awhile to find employment. I also recommend volunteering in her chosen field while working.
I think Americorp is a great idea. There are jobs related to environmental science that will provide valuable experience.
I agree 100% that resume building is very important while in college, but unfortunately doesn’t always happen.
Great advice for those who major in humanities and have no specific career goals.
I certainly hope u do not intend to be offensive but that sounds v condescending re: the humanities!
Just dealing with realities. Those who do not major in humanities typically have a specific career in mind. And, no, I do not intend to offend anyone.
So do those in humanities and I know many!
Much lower than that in NC. You could start at $8. That’s what my D22 started at for her job she got in high school. She is still working it this summer, but is up around $13 now. Minimum wage is still $7.25 here, same as the feds. Of course food service tipped positions can still start lower.
You need to read my posts more carefully. I specified: “and have no specific career goals”.
To other posting about wages: The lowest I see is $15 an hour, but many pay about $20 an hour.
Honestly I wasn’t offended by this and my kid is majoring in Creative Writing!
I am encouraging her to get internships, although she is working her same high school job this summer. Her college does a January short term and she will be looking for a month long internship this Jan (school helps them). And she should be getting one next summer too although she does have out of the country travel plans as well.
It is a good option for anyone looking for employment. One should not be 21 years old ( or 18, in my opinion) and have never been gainfully employed in some job.
I don’t see anything less than $16 - Dunkin - maybe Nashville paying better.
Yes, servers make less.
5 years ago $7.25 meant something - no longer. Now it’s just a statute but not a reality.
It’s getting better, but plenty of jobs here in NC still start at $8-$10. My D22’s job I think is up to $13.50 now and she is a key holder and has been working there off and on for 2 years.
My son’s GF ended 2 years with Americor. She got great experience and paid off her college loans.
You need to move :). Not since covid…
Pay has gone waaaaaaaay up - I got my two biggest raises the last two years.
We are in a hugely inflationary compensation time.
One only has to look at the big nationals - the Walmarts which have minimum wages much higher than you list and can’t find people.
I have encouraged both of my kids to work “Avg Joe/Jill” jobs. D has worked as a hostess in a restaurant and S has worked as a busboy. While both were employed in their fields after graduation, the fact that they worked “real” jobs and had them on their resumes IMO helped them in their full time job searches. Working these types of jobs signals to the potential employer that the applicant is “hungry”, they are not afraid of hard work, nothing is beneath them and that they have learned to work with others and take direction. These are all qualities that employers are looking for in entry level jobs, as import as (and for certain jobs, even more important than) book knowledge from an undergrad degree.
Of course if you can find a job that has some relation to your field, that is first choice. Sitting at home waiting for the “perfect job” to fall in your lap is last choice. At least find some part time work in whatever industry to show that you have some sense of initiative and that sitting on your hands is not in your nature.
So going to make a big assumption here. My kids always had some sort of job since middle school. Anything from chess coach to babysitting to selling coins on ebay (made real money at that).
They also worked in college. Getting jobs is just not an issue.
I just wonder if the people having issues getting jobs didn’t work in college? People underestimate how great that looks to internships/companies. They want active students mostly. Not just those that study all the time.
Bingo. But there’s tons that never have !! I was one ( through a year of college til summer).
Lots of silver spoon kids out there
My daughter did TFA for 2 years and then stayed for an extra year. TFA is part of Americorp. She was also on the teacher’s pay scale, which was pretty good in the city she was living in. She got extra pay for having more biology and chemistry credits, and received an extra $14,000 for giving up a prep to teach a class.
Americorp paid for her masters in education (required in our state), and although she is not staying in education and is returning to school, TFA/Americorp provided a useful learning experience and became a very big talking point at her grad school interviews.