<p>Well, it is always better to be healthy. But even more so the way US medical insurance is such an expensive mess (with or without the PPACA), especially for those not on the socialized insurance scheme (Medicare). Those who do have some pre-existing condition like asthma that can make them unable to buy an individual policy have no choice but to either self-insure or find their way into a group plan like an employer plan. So the way to avoid the US medical insurance mess as much as possible is to minimize the amount of medical care one needs by staying as healthy as one can be.</p>
<p>But even if the value of medical insurance is relatively low (e.g. for a young healthy man), it is still non-zero and needs to be considered when comparing employment or contract offers (at least with the realization that contract offers are typically significantly higher in pay than similar employment offers because of the benefit and tax differences).</p>
<p>Very surprised at how much responsibility they are assigning my DS. He has a BEE and just started his job with the federal government 6/2011. He did two summer internships and worked during his last two academic years. He supervises contractors at two locations 5+ hours flight each from his job with monthly site visits. He has gotten about 7 weeks of training recently so far, as well as orientation & other training.</p>
<p>He has not had all those interesting work experiences that LP’s DS has experienced so far. Have not heard complaints from S yet–he did take the GRE & LSAT, in case he wants to go to school–employer has a program to pay for it, so will see how it goes.</p>
<p>The ‘supervising contractors’ part is all too typical these days; the majority of my friends who left my company for more $ or more lucrative job descriptions essentially spend their time writing documents or handholding software developers off-shore. </p>
<p>As history has shown, tho, such positions that involve little technical skill of their own are often the ones likely to cause serious grief down the road in case a job change is needed; attending conference calls all day does not exactly introduce one to new and desirable skills…</p>
<p>In the IT world, there is an entire array of acronyms and certifications just for managing such projects and resources… If that’s what people want, fine, but there’s little to be added expertise wise for those who want to remain in the technical track. </p>
<p>So, again, if companies are complaining new grads don’t have the skills, maybe a little soul-searching as to exactly where those skills are to be used and by whom. It is quite disingenuous to be asking five years of dot this and dot that only to outsource the technical work to Elbonia.</p>
<p>Re: the failings of the current crop of job seekers relative to their predecessors. “Things ain’t what they used to be, and what’s more, they never were.”</p>
<p>The differences:
DS attended private, residential university, then to Toronto as grad.
He found that the detail, dedication, work level, & collaboration amongst students where lower at state flagship. </p>
<p>Nearly all of his coworkers are local and from state school.</p>
<p>While there is no question that it is very difficult for new graduates to obtain work, I think much of it has to do with how willing they are to adapt to the job market. S1 graduated in '08 in Construction Management Engineering. Thru college he worked at odd construction jobs to gain experience; concrete, flooring, specialty car installations, dry-wall. In his senior year, he took an unpaid internship with a very large general contractor. He worked many extra hours and did everything he could to make himself stand out. When he graduated, they said they could not hire him on salary at that point, but offered to keep him at an hourly, fairly low rate. The other intern said no way- not enough money and no benefits. My son stuck it out and continued to put in extra unpaid hours. After about 4 months, they offered him a permanent salaried job, with above average pay and great benefits. The intern who quit still doesn’t have a full time job. Also the company loves that S1 has a lot of hands on experience and told him that is one of the reasons they offered him the full time work. </p>
<p>D1 got her teaching cert. in 2007 when teaching jobs in So. Cal. were tough to find. She did her student teaching in a continuation school where no one else wanted to work. She was hired full time immediately on graduation by another District in their continuation school. She did not even apply- they contacted her. Her friend is finishing school with a special ed certificate and has already been offered a job. </p>
<p>I think that many times, those who are willing to put in extra time at possibly low pay for a while, and who adapt themselves to the existing job market are much more apt to land jobs. Unfortunately, we see far too many kids who say they are worth more than what pay scales in our area will support. Some of these kids need a reality check! Of course, there are many grads out there who are willing to sacrifice and still can’t find work-no doubt it is tough out there!</p>
<p>BTW, hard work and sacrifices:
Although DS wasn’t paid a whole lot while he was a staff eng. at state u. But, He was making more $$ than what he is making now in the private sector. </p>
<p>He was making more as a post grad intern at Microsoft, Redmond.
He was making more money (local currency wage plus R&B) as post grad intern, India.</p>
<p>His new group manager, who hired on after DS, is also not happy. Although he sold his company and doesn’t need the money.</p>