Hi. I recently graduated with a Mass Communication degree, and I can not find a decent job in my area. my area either wants 10+ years of experience already, or just something entirely different than what my background can offer. I’m now faced with either return to school for a second bachelors, return to my community college for certificates in stuff related to my past major, or moving on to a Masters degree. I can afford the community college option but its less prestige than the other two options, while the other two options have a large debt string attached. I have no idea where to even begin to make a decision. any advice, or support would be helpful.
How about you just take whatever job you can get for now, and see how far you can work your way up in a couple of years?
all the jobs “I can get for now” are dead end jobs think call centers or Adminstrative assistants. the jobs remotely in my field are commission only with zero benefits.
Certificates in what specialty ?
I don’t think that you have shared enough detailed information in order for anyone to offer a reasonable response.
There is nothing wrong with commission only no benefit work for the right person. If you aren’t that person, then you are correct to skip those jobs. Call centers promote from within, but again the work isn’t for everyone. Administrative assistant can lead to higher level office management positions. So those might not be too bad.
But if the job market in your area is truly horrid, instead of going back for more schooling, it may make better sense to figure out a way to relocate to a job market where your college career center and alumni connections can help you find work.
the certificates would be in things like social media management, wordpress, accounting, and photo shop. I am interested in marketing. I have considered relocating for the right job. but first I must find the right job. I work at a call center currently, and while I am learning more about banking, I am also learning that the call center life is just not for me.
I didn’t know that about Adminstrative assistant positions, thank you for the tip!
Yeah, I think that you are posing a false choice. I don’t think the answer is to go back and accrue more debt or spend more money on another degree. You’d have to have a really good idea about what you wanted to do and how you were going to use that degree. And master’s degrees or certificates are not golden tickets to better employment prospects.
How recent is recent? Do you mean just in May or June? If that’s the case, keep looking: it’s not uncommon for it to take new graduates 3-9 months to find their first job. If you have to take a lower-level job to pay the bills for a little while while you’re looking for better employment, do that. If you have to live with your parents for a while until you get on your feet, do that (too).
The certificate might be worth it IF you could learn a concrete skill that you see lots of job ads want, but you are lacking. Like let’s say all the jobs wanted you to know WordPress; a certificate in WordPress that taught you how to actually use it would be useful. But if you’re not seeing that in job ads for the kinds of jobs you want, then it doesn’t really make sense to go get that.
You can also use administrative assistant positions to move up into higher level jobs outside of office management. for example, if you start as a HR assistant, you can move up to higher level jobs in HR. If you’re a marketing assistant, you can move into higher level jobs in marketing. Etc. So consider applying to those jobs, if you are qualified. Work for a while, see what’s needed to move up. If moving up means more or different education, consider getting it then.
If you do decide to get additional education now, and if you must stay in this region, then find out what’s in demand in your region. Don’t get a certification in Photoshop, for example, if that makes you no more employable than you are now.
And do research into whether or not any certificate you look at, or masters degree, has any real demand. For example, a bachelors in communications or similar, plus call center experience, plus a masters in something related to communication isn’t going to make you employable. Don’t make assumptions. Do research.
I’m not sure what a certificate in accounting, or social media, or Wordpress, or PhotoShop will do to help you get jobs. With your specific bachelors, the one communications related certificate that might get you a job is paralegal, if you attend an ABA approved program. There is demand for people with bachelors degrees (in anything) plus paralegal. But again, you must check the demand in your region.
One of the secrets of life: EVERY job involves doing a certain amount of pretty ordinary stuff. For this reason employers are not put off by finding out that you have spent some time working on a pretty ordinary job.
Also, a lot of students graduate from university with degrees that seem like they should lead to a job, but then don’t find the right one immediately. It is okay to be a waiter or waitress for a while until you find the right first job. The right first job is usually not the right long term job.
I would be very reluctant to go back to university and get more education unless you are really very confident that there is a job at the end of the additional study, and not just additional debt.
Keep in mind that undergrad financial aid and scholarships are reserved for 1st bachelors only. So you’d be full pay for that 2nd bachelor’s, which is likely more expensive than a full-pay masters.
Have you considered relocating? There may be plenty of openings in other areas.
I got the same degree and I never found a job in that field. What you probably need to do is just take a job even though it won’t be what you want to do. It pays the bills. You may end up loving it…or hating it. Such is life. If you hate it, that struggle is usually the motivating factor to find the new direction you want to go in. The majority of us go through it in one level or another. For me, it was going to graduate school to get a masters degree in IT. That was the best career decision of my life. If you’re going to spend money on a degree, go BIG! I highly recommend getting a masters degree, but you have to do it with a clear direction. If you do it right, it’ll pay off in the end. Best of luck 
coolguy40 that IS where I am. I found a job to pay the bills. but I don’t want a job to JUST pay bills. that’s why im considering going back to school. im just not sure on the next move.
Mandalorian: sadly relocating just isn’t in the near future for me quite yet. personal family reasons is going to keep me in my current location for some time.
Look for an administrative position that will have you using those applications you need experience with. Experience using them in real life conditions is likely to be more valuable than a certificate. Unless job listings specifically mention certificates as necessary credentials, why spend the money? What they want is somebody who can demonstrate the ability to use those applications. A certificate doesn’t actually show anything, other than that you successfully completed a series of courses.