<p>I graduated in 2009 with a degree in Econ (concentrated in finance) from a pretty good state school. I couldn't find a job for about six months. When I was eventually offered a job I took it even though it has not related to my degree. I've been there for a bit longer than a year and I feel like I'm screwing myself. I'm not learning anything and its a dead end job. The job consists of copy and pasting things and a bunch of other pointless tasks. The longer I stay here the more I feel like I screw myself. </p>
<p>I thought about going back to school for a MSF, but I'm not sure that's the best route since I'm still $30k in debt from undergrad. </p>
<p>Can anyone provide some help/direction? Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>Have you started looking at other job possibilities? Try to find jobs that would interest you, and look particularly for those companies that would pay for at least part of advanced education (MSF, MBA, etc)… it is tough and could take a LONG time but it could be worthwhile…</p>
<p>What I’d like to do is find any sort of job that could set me up for a good MBA in the near future. I think with a good MBA I could reposition myself and land a good job. The problem is I’ve spent a year not really learning anything, and I feel like the only other jobs I could move to are jobs that are equally as crappy. Therefore I’ll never have the work experience to get into a good MBA program.</p>
<p>A possibility to think about is doing an MBA which could help you qualify for better jobs. In a few years, hopefully a company would sponsor you for an executive MBA, since that’s your ticket to the top</p>
<p>I’m in the exact same position. I graduated in 2009 from an undergrad business school and couldn’t find a job for several months. I eventually enrolled in school again in a graduate program that I had no interest in, only to leave school for my current dead-end job. I’ve only been here for about 6 months though, so I can’t just quit. I really hate my job and am convinced that it’s one of the most boring out of all boring office jobs. Not only do I have to do pointless, tedious Excel tasks, but I also have to work overtime and deal with being pulled in multiple directions by different people. I would love to get another dead-end job, anything at all to get out of here.</p>
<p>I think grad school is the only option out of a dead-end career. Of course, a graduate degree guarantees nothing, but there just seems to be no other way back on track. Have you thought of working while going to school in the evening/weekends? That should offset some of the costs of school while still allowing you to build up work experience.</p>
<p>I’ve thought about it and its still a possibility. I’m just not sure taking on more debt is the right answer, especially considering I’m not even sure what I want to do in the future. I do realize grad school could sort of be a reset for undergrad though, and may help me out of this situation. New GPA, more networking, good internship opportunities, etc…</p>
<p>Have you given any thought to what you plan on doing? Grad school in the near future?</p>
<p>I started applying to an MAcc program, but I don’t meet all of the requirements because I have no background or experience in accounting. I don’t even know if I would like accounting, but at least it’s a useful degree and the job market is decent… It’s been hard getting reference letters because some of my former supervisors aren’t responding to my voicemails/emails. Also, there’s no way any of my professors remember me, especially from the intro to accounting classes I took back in 2007.</p>
<p>I think anything up to $60k of total student loan debt would be manageable with a full-time job.</p>
<p>I’m currently applying to jobs here and there, but I’m pretty much underqualified for everything. Have you been applying to other jobs?</p>
<p>I also looked into going back for a MAcc, but when I remembered how much I hated my two intro to accounting courses, I decided it wasn’t the right path.</p>
<p>I’ve applied to a few places, but haven’t been spamming my resume. That’s something I have to start doing. I’ve added my newest job to my resume, and it sucks because its 1 year+ with very little to add. </p>
<p>I’m also struggling on pinpointing what career I even want to pursue. It would obviously be helpful if I knew I was on a path to a career, and I could set goals and follow through to achieve those goals.</p>
<p>I hated financial accounting, but I liked managerial. It was financial accounting that turned me off of majoring in accounting. I’m hoping I just didn’t like the accounting department/curriculum at my school. I feel like grad school would be my last shot at carving out a career and finding a true profession. Nowadays, every mid-level job requires 5 years of relevant experience.</p>
<p>^good read. Thanks. Now I hate my life even more.</p>
<p>Something I was considering was the military… particularly an air force or navy officer. Its definitely a possibility, but there’s still a few things holding me back. It seems like my options are really dwindling though.</p>
<p>Are you looking all over the nation or just in your current geographic area? I’m not saying this in an accusatory way, but it is hard to believe that, with a quantitative degree like econ/finance concentration, you have been struggling to find any job with growth potential for two years straight. Did you have a 3.5+ GPA? Or atleast a 3.0+ (both major and cumulative)? I could see if you had bad grades and no strong work experience since then, employers are not willing to give you a chance (I am not saying that is the way it should be). But if you have had decent grades, I just do not see what is going on here. A masters in finance is not going to help you at all unless <em>maybe</em> if you had bad grades before and you make superb grades this time around.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice. I finished with a 3.5 overall GPA, 3.7 in my major. I’ve been pretty much looking in my geographical area, although I plan on expanding the search. My internships were kinda crappy and irrelevant. I tried and tried to land anything decent, couldn’t, but luckily landed something at the last minute.</p>
<p>I’m going to try and do some things that won’t be too capital intensive that will help benefit my career… whatever that may be. I’d like to start learning a language or try and learn some programming after work hours. At least it’ll be something productive rather than waste my time figuring out where my life is headed.</p>
<p>If none of that works, I’ll still look towards the military.</p>
<p>How about teaching? Many places have accelerated programs that allow you to teaach while getting a teaching certificate, especially for math & science.</p>
<p>We have met kids who went to grad school for an advanced degree because they couldn’t get a job when they graduated and a year later, they had more debt and their grad degree but still no job had materialized. </p>
<p>Our S has opted to wait until after he works a while before deciding what he would want to study in grad school rather than just going to grad school for more education & degrees (tho he loves school). He’s still awaiting his security clearance so he can start his job.</p>
<p>It is a tough job market–is there any department/job at your current job that does interest you? Is it possible for you to ask to be transferred there, mentored, and work your way up there? A lot of beginning (& other) jobs have a significant amount of routine and repetitive work, but it is still work that needs to be completed.</p>
<p>I would counsel against taking on more significant debt, as it limits your future options and will really tie you to getting and keeping ANY job, just to keep up with your loan payments.</p>
<p>Speaking from personal experience, it’s very hard to find a job outside of your current geographic area. Most interviewers wouldn’t bother trying to fly you out for an interview in this economy, especially to fill an entry-level position. A good idea is to commute to interviews in nearby states, but even then, it’ll require taking a full day off of work to make the trip.</p>
<p>What a coincidence–I also had a 3.5 GPA overall and a 3.7 in my major. My major is a dime a dozen though (BSc in marketing).</p>
<p>funemployment, I disagree with you there. My personal experience involves four superdays, three of which required travel either via air or via Amtrak, and one of which required a hotel stay. All was paid for in full… it just depends on the industry and particular job.</p>
<p>Chris, what you experienced is only limited to college students during recruitment season. It is very rare for companies to fly you out after you graduate or invite you for an interview if you live out of state when there are so many qualified local candidate for an entry level job.</p>
<p>Microsoft flies you out to WA for their final rounds in college. Once you graduate, you are lucky if they reimburse you for lunch unless you are applying for an upper management position.</p>
<p>Nope, I had two second round, all expense paid interviews where I was the ONLY college student (one in NYC and one in Los Angeles), neither or which were during recruiting season. Then again, my experience is only my experience…</p>