Any job can be a learning experience with the right mindset. I have a dear friend with an MS degree in nutrition. Took a job at the local supermarket when her kids were uoung because they were flexible with hours. She’s still there, 20 years later, having built out a great organic section, nutriton/product counseling for special needs (and a partnership withthe local hospital), cooking classes (including ones for kids), and having expanded several of these to other stores in the chain. Not saying that every bagger will do this, but this shows how a person with their eyes open can make a ho-hum job something more.
Grocery stores have lots of issues around waste, and a creative person could work on some of that in a way that could be meaningful and revenue boosting. It’d also be a great way to network.
Absolutely. Both my kids have clinical anxiety too (GAD, SAD, OCD, and depression). My oldest has been super anxious since birth. The preschool teacher recommended we look for something other than regular school public kindergarten it was so noticeable and bad.
But when my super anxious kid was ready (in the freaking middle of the pandemic before vaxes were out) they applied and got a job at Starbucks. It did great things for their confidence.
My younger one also has anxiety, but is not as prone to falling apart in a puddle of tears like my oldest. My younger one tends to get loud and angry as a manifestation of her anxiety and depression. But she wanted money and got a summer job in high school. Going through interview process at multiple prospective employers was very helpful (applied at Starbucks, Subway, Panera, and a consignment shop – which is where she ended up) and I think having a job has been very helpful for both of them with their anxieties and depression.
And actually I think working retail was super helpful. They naturally compared themselves against others in high school and felt they didn’t measure up to the kids who were at the very top of the class, but when they got out amongst the general public they realized that there are all kinds of people out there in the world and they are by far not the dumbest in the bunch. There are a lot of stories they would come home with.
That said I think the time to work in the grocery store was during high school and college. My college kid has so much free time and working part time while in school is really helpful to keep them in money and on track mental health wise. They would lay around in bed all day if they didn’t have somewhere to go and that ain’t good for anybody’s mental health.
I would definitely recommend doing something over nothing and if a grocery store job is the only thing that is available then do that, but I also recommend trying to get some kind of job or internship related to their field first.
My nephew is 34 now and in the 12 years since he has been out of college he has probably had 5 jobs. The first job might not have been the best but it led to the next one which led to the next one and now he is senior vice president of the investment firm he works for.
You gotta start somewhere and sitting on your butt waiting for the perfect job to land in your lap is not where to start.
Maybe kids from upper middle class families can afford to take unpaid work while their parents support them, but many kids don’t have the luxury of taking unpaid work to build their resume. Unpaid internships used to be the norm but, fortunately, that has changed - it was taking advantage AND it favored people from UMC+ backgrounds.
my D16 just got a real job (architecture). SO HAPPY! 140 applicants applied; 35 interviewed; and they chose her.
they told her they talked to her firm where she interned last summer.
going backwards, getting that internship was a b****. she is introverted; shy; and putting herself out there was hard, she hasnt formed connections, nor learned to use them yet. But she had a good portfolio, and the school name behind her.
she’s taking off two months this summer before starting; which is her first real break in 7 years of higher education.
but my point (besides being so proud and thankful that its over!!): that internship reference was what helped her in this field. **editing to add, her connecticut internship said she could work there, but she’s a midwest kid; and wanted to move westward. landing in . . .Denver!
There are many industries that as a whole have a shortage of workers. However, it’s also relevant to choose a job is fulfilling, adequate earnings, and supports long term career goals. For a college grad, this usually involves a job that has some relation to degree and expects employees to have a college degree. Working in a grocery store is often a better option than being unemployed, but hopefully, those aren’t the only 2 options for a new college grad.
As a whole, unemployment rate of college grads is low, but underemployment can be high for many majors. There is a good variation in employment by location as well. Some example stats from the US Census ACS survey are below. In the totals below, “underemployed” means a job that does not typically require a college degree, such as the working in grocery store example from first post. I only noted % with grad degree when it exceeded 50%.
From Lowest to Highest Unemployment + Underemployment: Age 22-27
Nursing – 1% Unemployed / 10% Underemployed
Electrical Eng – 3% Unemployed / 15% Underemployed
Civil Eng – 3% Unemployed / 15% Underemployed
Pharmacy – 5% Unemployed / 15% Underemployed
Mechanical Eng – 5% Unemployed / 16% Underemployed
I just finished a year at Americorps tutoring math. I was an ‘older’ person returning to service and my partner was a kid just out of college applying to law schools. We both really liked it and he did an extra year. I was going to but it didn’t work out because there was no school near me that needed a tutor.
You get paid (not quite minimum wage in our city, but that’s $17.29/hr) but you get a Segal grant which can be used to pay off student loans or for future education, and ‘education’ is very loosely defined. I can use it to take art classes, yoga, a few travel opportunities. I can also transfer it to my kids (because I’m old). I think my buddy figured out it would be about $25k for the 9 month school year if you counted the salary and the Segal grant.
We sort of kept a school district schedule, but we had training on Friday (online) and there were a lot of things you could do on your own time (cont. education, paperwork) so it was easy to get your hours in.
No job is a “bad job” (unless you are making and selling crystal meth in your grandma’s garage).
I recently interviewed a senior candidate for a management level role, who had been downsized at the beginning of Covid. He spent the last two years working as a warehouse operations manager for Amazon (at less than half his old salary and significantly less prestige) and it is definitely a plus for him as he’s interviewing for a job back in his old field at a similar salary level to where he has been. Everyone who has interviewed him has said “wow, he shows a lot of resilience” or “he’s learned a lot in the last two years”. This is someone who went from managing other professionals to managing hourly workers- and rather than complain, blame the universe, or whine, has turned it into a great narrative around his people skills and adaptability.
Everyone understands that at some point, you need to pay your bills and have health insurance for your family.
There is NOTHING wrong with a job at a grocery store, waiting tables, driving Uber, taking extra shifts at a child care center. You can look for a job in your intended field before or after work, on weekends. But sitting on the couch poking at your phone is not a good transition strategy for a new college grad.
Based on my experience, looking for a job is a full time job. It is not something you could do before or after work. I always know when a candidate is well prepared for an interview.
I would support my kid for a while so he could focus on getting a job in his field of interest. But I would have had my kid doing internships while in school too.
I’ve asked this person for their background - any internships (not all have) or work experience.
Financially, from what I understand, there’s a divorce, the mom downsized to a 1 BR with two kids (one has summer housing from work) and I don’t think the family is financially secure - at least the mom. Not sure if a dad is involved.
Trying to get more info - but not every family is in the same situation in regards to being able to help.
And honestly, preparing for a job interview - if one is lucky enough to have one - shouldn’t take longer than 20-30 minutes.
Aren’t most job applications online now? It seems to be the case. Most first interviews seem to be online as well. That seems to be easily scheduled around work hours at an existing job.
My oldest son’s first job was working as a cashier at the local Dollar General store the summer between HS and college. He got paid minimum wage, dealt with the public first hand and wasn’t ecstatic about the position. He did an excellent job though and grew as a person. He became so much more comfortable around strangers, get insight into what working a job meant and got a good reference. I think it definitely assisted in him getting his federal internship after freshman year which has continued each summer and is potentially going to turn into a full time job after graduation.
I worked at a grocery store when I was young and between other jobs in my field. It paid the bills. I learned new things. I didn’t sit around.
Working in any job is better than sitting around waiting for the perfect job that might take a long time to come. You can work and job search. People with existing jobs do this all the time and get new/better jobs.
Might I remind users that the name of this site is College Confidential. You might want to be cognizant about how much personal info you reveal about yourself or your children and you should totally avoid revealing personal information about non-dependents.
Last summer, my 19 year old was making $17.50 per hour as a pool-side server at a country club (in North Carolina). This summer she got herself a 40 hour/wk internship in her major (pay is a little light at $22 per hour but she is just a sophomore, and the experience will boost her resume for the upcoming junior year recruiting season).
Maybe it’s a city-by-city thing in NC but I’ve seen signs for Chick-fil-A that advertise for $15-$17 per hour. I just saw an ad today for a higher end restaurant server here that claims the pay will range between $850-$1000 per week. The dining hall at D’s university (in a neighboring state) is paying $17/hr.
My kids were expected to get a part time job in high school. Non-negotiable. Not a lawn-mowing/dog-walking type of job or an office filing job that a family friend got for them, but a job that they have to seek out on their own, apply for and go through the interview process. Working for a company and getting a W-2. They were in the extreme minority of their friends who were required to work in high school. Other parents would tell me that their kids’ “job” was to get good grades and study - well, that was my kids’ “job” too, in addition to working part time, EC’s and playing varsity sports. They chose on their own to work while in college because they liked having money to spend on incidentals.
I don’t know how kids who have never worked can answer the standard interview questions when it comes time to apply for an internship or find first job after graduating. Even the interviews for internships can be grueling, often there are several rounds of interviews - some with multiple interviewers. I keep telling my daughter that every interview she does makes her better at the next one.
However, that may be because employers actively recruit people who are currently employed in apparently similar jobs, but not those who are unemployed or employed in completely different jobs.
