<p>Is it true that most college graduates find a "real job" after they graduate from college, if they are able to find a job? By "real job", I mean that jobs that are decent paying, in their chosen field, and require at least a bachelors degree. Or do more college graduates still find minimum wage jobs that are not in their chosen field and only require a high school diploma or GED?</p>
<p>I think there is this mindset that college graduates expect to get a decent paying job in their chosen field that requires a college degree either right after they graduate or a few months after they graduate? Is this mindset true among the graduates? </p>
<p>The mind set shouldn’t be an expectation that someone “deserves” a job because of a piece of paper they got after four years; it should be that they have spent four years honing their analytical skills and working jobs that prepare them for full time, salaried work.</p>
<p>If you are going to college and looking to join the workforce after you graduate, you should be doing everything possible to position yourself for success - get jobs of some kind during school; pick up skills that make you more marketable; look for jobs well before you graduate, not after. There is no guarantee that you will get or keep a good job right away, but you should shoot high and adjust downward, not the opposite.</p>
<p>Thanks for the reply Chris. Just so you know, I graduated from college a month ago and currently work in my chosen field, although the job is in a different part of the field than I hoped to be in, requires a high school diploma, and is part time and maybe only for the summer. I worked the same job I got currently last summer, except I worked full time and I worked in a retail store before that.</p>
<p>So it sounds like you are successful in finding something, but that you should still have a highly active job search to try to get a full time, salaried job.</p>
<p>If your primary concern is getting a job in your chosen field, your options are limited; if you can afford to struggle to start, by all means go for it! If you cannot, then you’ll likely need to expand your search outside of the area you generally want to be in. When I was looking for jobs with a political science degree, I applied to industries from retail to marketing, consulting to restaurant management, and I eventually found something full time that could support me.</p>