<p>Just graduated from University of South Florida, finance major, 2.6 overall GPA, 2.8 major GPA. No experience/internships. No connections/networking. No accomplishments. Only work history has been a series of dead-end jobs.</p>
<p>Do I have any realistic hope of ever getting a decent job? Don't sugarcoat anything, be totally honest.</p>
<p>well, roughly 1/3 of Americans have an associates or bachelors degree. So you are in the top 1/3, at least. Probably you will be fine.</p>
<p>life is not defined by your GPA.</p>
<p>You need to start looking for internships and start asking around to see if you can get an internship. Chances are, it will be pretty difficult to get a decent job without any experience and a 2.6. Once you get that one job/intern experience, it will get easier.</p>
<p>Plenty of successful people with poor GPA in college. They just had to work much harder and want it more.</p>
<p>My son went to a top 25 university and had the same grade point. Not that it mattered much as his class was hit with the economic recession, and few got great paying jobs. Son took a job in retail, moved up very quickly until middle management/admin position and stayed there for some years. He finally got a career level job this year. A lot of his friends are in the same boat. You get what you can and try to get positions within that job that touch upon what you truly want and kind of climb your way up, looking for opportunities. It’s not always a straightforward path to getting the jobs you want.</p>
<p>So to answer you question, if what you are seeking is a job that will pay a living wage in the field of study, that is the type of job most people in your field want, you are indeed screwed for the near future, unless you get very, very lucky. But you are in good company, as very few new grads will get that anyways. Even those in the top echelons of qualification do not always get the job they want.</p>
<p>agree with post above. </p>
<p>you are not alone. most grads do not get a “good” job right out of college.</p>
<p>Don’t worry about finding your full time career just yet. Most grads, even with GPAs in the 3s and 4s don’t find their full time forever job right away. Just take whatever you can get, whether it’s in your field or not, and build up your work experience.</p>
<p>Any advice on the best places to look for a job/internship? I don’t know anyone or have any connections.</p>
<p>You get out what you put in.</p>
<p>Of course some people seem to be able to get more with less at certain things, in these cases you are looking at someone who has found their strength and knows how to use it. With that gpa you either didn’t try or you aren’t super strong at the theory of you chosen field. IMO, success at school and success at career aren’t necessarily related. You will have to try harder at getting your foot in the door, but maybe that will be something you excel at, or maybe you’ll excel at the politics once you get in, etc.</p>
<p>Basically, I don’t think you’re screwed, you’ll just have some trouble getting a position and will therefor have to try harder. With a finance degree there are many routes to get in, just pick one and go.</p>