<p>MIT’s 2010 career survey says that of the 81.7% of 2010 bachelor’s degree graduates who responded, 40.1% went to graduate or professional school, 49.2% went to work, and 10.7% went to “other”, which includes being unemployed but is also a catchall for other things like “enrolled in another educational program (2nd bachelors degree), distinguished fellowship, taking time off, traveling, deciding between fields, volunteer activity, still looking for a job, undecided & other activity”.</p>
<p>Of course, biology majors tend to have worse job and career prospects than many other majors at the same universities.</p>
<p>Seems that very few schools put out detailed career survey results for their own graduates by major, like Berkeley and Cal Poly SLO do. Wonder why?</p>
<p>Biology seems like a terrible major for lazy or unmotivated people. Who advised him to pick that? </p>
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<p>I’m a lot more inclined to believe that those adcoms admit URMs and First Gens because their boss told them to do so as part of a publicity strategy than they really care about random kids they never met who filled out an app to MIT. If you get that kind of caring then they’ll feel too bad to reject anyone. Kinda like how oil companies aren’t trying to reduce emissions because they’re all environmentalists and hippies. </p>
<p>I don’t feel like attacking or defending this guy in the OP (not the poster, the one the post describes) but some of the posts in this thread have been ridiculous. MIT gave him a gift with no expectations except that he manage to pass his classes. It’s no different than a high school grad sitting around doing nothing, or a college grad working really hard trying to find a job and being unable to. You can be against handing out free money but you can’t support it and say this one was a waste.</p>
<p>Especially for those not actually looking for jobs at BK. </p>
<p>At least once a week I have someone come into my office asking me to sign their form verifying that they applied for a job so they can collect their unemployment. They rarely ask whether I have a job to offer - just please sign my form. </p>
<p>OTOH, son of a friend graduated from HS in June. Special needs kid, IEP’d all the way through school, significant LDs. He’s found two jobs: FT days as an apprentice butcher at one of the big local grocery chains, a job that will lead to a good-paying union job. Nights and weekends he works for a national retailer PT stocking shelves. Lives at home and contributes to the family income.</p>
<p>I really love the career surveys. They remind me of the time that the professors passed around the drug survey to the class. Crack… check, Marihuana… check, Qualudes… check. Who writes this crap and have they never heard of the lying factor? First of all has anyone spelled it “Marihuana” since 1945? And arent Quaaludes those things that Cheech and Chong take in the 70’s movies? Who knows but I do know im checking every box.</p>
<p>For the career survey: Are you employeed…yes, what is your position… pimpin, what is your salary… $50 cash</p>
<p>Assuming that ‘URM’ means black, with a biology degree from MIT, I would think he could easily get work teaching in high school, if he was interested in that.</p>
<p>Until he finds his dream job, he might drag himself into his local school district and pick up the substitute teacher package. In our state, 60+ credits, fingerprinting, background check, drug screening gets you onto the sub list.</p>
<p>Not a permanent career move unless it sparks him to obtain alternate route teaching certification. But a start.</p>
<p>DS did this after 2 years undergrad and worked when able till he finished his grad degree this past May. He spent a tortuous summer job hunting and now is teaching in his first ‘real’ job. His experience may have helped him when there were hundreds applying for each position.</p>
This is very naive. Of course those elite schools admit students who they think would become famous or powerful some day. Why do you think they list all the famous people who graduated from their school?</p>
<p>This kid owe it more to himself and his mother to make something of himself, instead sitting on his butt waiting for his mother to buy him a car, he should be out there getting any job he could (there are jobs out there. I would have to think there would be plenty of parents who would be willing to pay good money to have a graduate of MIT to tutor their kids). This kid hasn’t even tried yet (based on OP’s info) to have the privilege of failing. There is no shame in getting a job and losing it after few months.</p>
<p>As far as adcom performing social justice in admitting disadvantaged kids, it is becoming a focus to some top tier schools - academic deans are asking adcoms to make more of an effort to try to admit students who would succeed in school, who could do the work.</p>
<p>I find the discussion about this student going to MIT is interesting. I don’t think it matters what college he did or did not go to, or what degree he received. The bottom line is that his actions are permitted in the environment he lives in. If he has a psychological problem, other than the assumed entitlement attitude, it needs active treatment. If he is lazy, he needs a wake up call. He is not going to get that from anyone except his family.
What I keep hearing over and over again is that it is easier to get a new job, if you have a current job. That is ANY job. So you work as a volunteer, or at an entry level position, or menial work, or on call or part time. Do SOMETHING. Make connections, be productive, get references and experience as an employee. There are jobs available, the paper is full of them. They may not pay much, they may not be at a company you want to work for, and they may not be 5 minutes from your house. But there are jobs. His sister has two jobs.</p>
<p>Yes, a major with weedout courses to target pre-meds even before one accounts for the additionally mercilessly tough grading most MIT Profs have been notoriously known for is the one for lazy unmotivated slackers. </p>
<p>Hey, one bio major flatmate was a survivor of an intro bio sequence with a 60% flunkout rate at the end of his freshman year in the early '90s…and he went to Tufts, not MIT. From what I’ve heard from bio and other science/engineering majors…40-70% flunkout rates were considered normal…especially in fields populated by aspiring pre-meds/engineers. </p>
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<p>Many school districts are having hiring freezes or are even cutting back on teachers they currently have due to prevailing economic conditions. Even the once highly in demand math/science teachers are being laid off.</p>
<p>My senior s is already on the job hunt --the last thing he wants to do is have to come live at home after college! I could teach the OP’s family member a thing or two :)</p>
<p>“Come on now, most everyone I know takes a few months off here and there to find themselves. Some people even take a few years off.”</p>
<p>Who is going to financially support these new grads who decide they don’t want to work or go back to grad school??? If a new grad isn’t sure what direction they want to take, they should at least be doing something productive (working or volunteering) while trying to make up their mind. Sitting at home doing nothing and demanding a car is unreasonable in my opinion.</p>
<p>“Until he finds his dream job, he might drag himself into his local school district and pick up the substitute teacher package. In our state, 60+ credits, fingerprinting, background check, drug screening gets you onto the sub list. Not a permanent career move unless it sparks him to obtain alternate route teaching certification. But a start.”</p>
<p>This is exactly what my H suggested to the MIT grad. My H is an elementary school principal. Our county is begging for subs with a science background to teach in middle school and high school. They pay $25/hr. Guess what? MIT grad didn’t want to work as a substitute teacher.</p>
<p>My nephew (TCNJ '11) has had a really tough time finding a job in PA/NJ. He has a good lead on a govt job in DC, but the clearances and process has literally taken over 18 months and is not complete. All the opportunities and leads from job fairs were those sham insurance sales deals which are commission only. He took a job as an assistant manager at a large convenience store/grocery/gas chain well outside a major city and is making a very low wage. BUT-he is getting great managerial experience, dealing with a transient group of young employees and learning to get up, get to work and give it his all. I think it is a good resume job, even if it is low-paying. The company claims you can move up fast. He is fortunate to be able to live for free in the family’s nearby lake house, which helps.</p>
<p>JYM- you crack me up! And I am right there with you. </p>
<p>UMD-
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<p>And there lies the problems. Again, entitlement attitude. And a home life that is permitting it. Your friend needs to “mom up” and push the little bird out of the nest.</p>
<p>My s’s would get politely nagged to death and conversations might begin to feel like the Spanish Inquisition if they sat on their keister doing nothing. Plus, I have a tendency to enjoy researching on the web, and would shoot a gazillion emails with job links, which seems to help them prefer to do it themselves I found a line on someone’s blog recently that made me smile. It said she had “…Children who talk to me with affectionate tolerance for a well-meaning mother…”</p>
<p>No way would my DH or I tolerate a kid slacking on the couch doing nothing to find employment.</p>
<p>my son gave me a hug the other day and said, “Thanks for all you do for me mom.” I gave him an odd look, and before I could leave it alone, and say thank you, I said “I thought I drove you crazy?”. His response “You do, but I know you do it because you love me.”</p>
<p>So I love that quote you posted.</p>
<p>BTW–would that quote happen to have been from The Neurotic Parent blog?</p>
I found a line on someone’s blog recently that made me smile. It said she had “…Children who talk to me with affectionate tolerance for a well-meaning mother…”</p>