Yay for my niece, now a senior in college, who accepted a well-paying post-grad job in her field. May all graduates have similar luck this year. Congrats to my sister, who doesn’t have to pay for grad school tuition. I didn’t have the heart to tell my niece to enjoy the next 4 months because she’s going to be working for the next 45 years.
StG
Congratulations! What a relief for your sister, and how proud you all must be!
I have a daughter who is in the middle of what I like to call her “gap year” because she didn’t get into the post-grad program she applied to last winter. She’s currently out of state for an interview with a grad school (her second interview this time around) and her dad and I are keeping our fingers tightly crossed while maintaining reassuring, upbeat expressions. Lend us a little of that luck, will you?
InternetLegend - When will your daughter know about grad school? Is she only trying for one program?
This was my niece’s first foray into employment hunting - besides babysitting she’s never had a real job. I was worried about her interview skills, but she must’ve wowed them - on Monday they told her they had a number of applicants to interview and it would be 4-6 weeks before they made their decision. Yesterday they called with an offer. It’s Big Auto engineering, so a foot in the door is a very good thing.
StG
Auto engineering, eh? I’m doubly impressed, and also more than a little proud of her myself - it makes me really happy to hear about young women going into engineering! Working for the next 45 years isn’t that daunting a proposition if it’s work in a challenging field you love.
My daughter has an undergraduate degree in Genomics and Molecular Genetics, and she did very well in school. She has lab experience, and she wants to get into a neuroscience program. She applied to only one grad school when she was in her senior year, but after she didn’t get accepted to that one, she learned her lesson and applied to several schools this time around. Two of them have invited her to interview so far, and I’ve been too busy acting casual to ask her when they’re likely to let her know whether she’ll get in. It seems like it was mid- to late March last time. She’s not the most outgoing person in the world, but when she really wants something, she does go after it, so I’m hoping the interviews are going well. I know she’ll succeed in life one way or another, but it would be great if grad school works out this year. The competition is fierce!
Hmm…at the college where I work, we have “Career Services” and their job is to find employment for our graduates - in their field.
I think the last I heard, they had about a 55% success rate of finding jobs for our students either shortly before they graduated, or within a few months after graduation. Most of the students who don’t have work either are not really looking or are too stupid and lazy to go to the interviews (yes, there really are college grad idiots out there who blow off serious interviews with good employers!).
So, congrats to your niece, but finding a job immediately after graduation isn’t really all that rare. Then again, it does depend upon what you studied and what your priorities are for a job. Some of these jobs don’t pay a ton of money, but are at least on their career path and will most likely lead to advancement.
DMark - My niece graduates in May. According to her college website, on graduation day 93% of their graduates have either job offers or made their decision about grad school. A lot of her classmates already have offers.
However, when you hear so many people talk about how when they received their college degrees they couldn’t find a job, leaving them with mountains of debt and still no closer to living an independent life, making their living on their own. A lot of these graduates go on to grad school simply because they don’t know where to go from graduation. My niece hasn’t invented a cure for cancer - she’s just taking that grown-up step to living off the parental tit, making good money and living independently. A lot of young people could learn from that. And it’s mundane, pointless, and worth celebrating.
StG
F’real, what a stick in the mud.
Congrats St.Germaine’s Neice.
My daughter graduated with a good Nursing degree and passed her boards with flying colors. But every single place she applied at said “We really need nurses, BUT we want a year of experience. In serious care, not schlepping bedpans or drawing blood.”
She’d been foolish enough to say “Living in [hometown] is my Plan D, because I’ve had parents long enough.” Well, guess what happens after Plans A,B,C and 9 say No? Yep, she’s been living with us and trying to find a job.
Which she just did! Granted, she has to drive an hour to a smaller town (and home again, after the night shift). But it’s Serious Nursing (ICU), and she’s learning a lot. And making enough to buy a car and move to an apartment down the street.
digs - My niece was didn’t do any post-grad schoolong, is just graduating with her undergrad Mech E degree, and will be making half again as much as I do now, as a data analyst. If she’s smart (and she is) she should be able to live well and fund her retirement.
StG
Yeah, four years of undergrad and my daughter’s making… well, she won’t tell me.
I say “You don’t want me to feel inadequate, do you?” and she just smiles…
This is why we see to educating our children, isn’t it? So that they can support us in our old age?
(That’s what I always told them, anyway.)