Is the job market really that bad?
Posted by Cap in Miscellaneous on April 3, 2006 |I was reading this article on MSN Money, which focuses on why so many recent college graduates have trouble securing their future after graduation, and one of the reason attributed is the same-old crummy job market.
It made me wonder, is the job market really that bad?
The reason why I have no clue (besides being the usual ignorant person) is because I’m currently not looking for a job, and many peers I know that have graduated are landing jobs, even if some are just entry level work.
From the example in the article, it seems more like lack of planning and lack of decision, rather than a poor job market.
So after temping for a year, Bravo impulsively decided to get a master’s degree in teaching — in the hope that an advanced degree would be the ticket to a better life. Instead, she racked up another $70,000 in student debt and discovered she doesn’t have the stomach to be an elementary-school teacher after all.
Perhaps the article’s being iffy, but who the heck impulsively decides to go to grad school? Or not taking the time to find out if you like teaching or not?
The only time I hear about the job market being bad, is when I read an article like this, or when someone I know failed to get a job, and tells me “the job market is bad.” Maybe I’m naive, but I can’t imagine it being that difficult to get a reasonable job, especially if you have the right sets of skills and experiences.
8 Responses to “Is the job market really that bad?”
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April 3rd, 2006 at 5:01 am
I’m learning not to listen to the gov’t figures published (i.e. unemployment report, CPI, etc…), but instead to listen to the “guy on the street”.
The “guy on the street” in Michigan says the job market sucks….(i.e. GM, Delphi, Ford, Dana, etc…), but that’s just michigan.
April 3rd, 2006 at 6:09 am
“You think, six months ago I had a great on-campus job and social life. Now, I’m living at home, I have two friends and no academic stimulation for the first time in 20 years — sitting in the basement, surfing the Internet, looking for work,” Relyea says. “It’s like, wow, I was just studying the cultural history of aborigines and now I’m looking at jobs where the main duties are answering the phone and typing.’ ”
“How are you supposed to make that shift? It’s really something nobody prepares you for.”
Oh, I don’t know - study something more useful then the cultural history of aborigines…? ;-) Not that I don’t find aborigines interesting… but let’s face it, unless you’re ready to go be a tour-guide in the outback, you can learn interesting stuff like that on your own time, and learn something in college that is actually useful in the market.
April 3rd, 2006 at 8:17 am
This article manages to hit on about 80% of my pet peeves in 2 short pages. I’ll save you all some time and just hit on the highlights of my many associated rants. ;)
1) You can always get a decent job if you have marketable skills.
2) If you didn’t attain any marketable skills in college, it’s really mostly your own fault.
3) When you’re applying to colleges, high schools really do a horrible job of making you realize the reason you’re going to college is to get skills that will get you a job, not to ponder the cultural history of aborigines. When you’re a high school senior, if you can’t state 3 or 4 valid jobs that you can get with your intended major, someone should be there to make you pick again.
Anyways, no doubt (for me, anyways) the college -> real life transition is rough. But once you get it together, real life is much better than college. Really.
April 3rd, 2006 at 1:28 pm
The job situation is terrible in the small towns especially. My husband has been a welder for over 30 years, and in this small town we live in the highest paying job he has been able to find pays less than $8.00 per hour. In a bigger city he would probably have no trouble finding one that paid 2 or 3 times more, but who has the money to move??????? It is even hard for kids here to find work at the fast food places.
April 3rd, 2006 at 1:54 pm
Your perspective of the job market will depend mostly on what you’re looking to do and where you are. For example, as I understand it, the nursing field is fairly hot right now.
I, unfortunately, am in IT. IT was hot and isn’t so much anymore. A lot of people jumped into IT and now I think the market is rather flooded so unless you have some unique mad skillz, the pay is rather mediocre. For example, in 2005, I made 10% more than I did in 2000. From reading around, that’s not all that unusual.
Don’t get me wrong; there are jobs in IT, but many of them are now through consulting agencies with no benefits, which is where the field seems to be headed. It sounds like IT isn’t the only field headed in that direction, either.
April 3rd, 2006 at 4:48 pm
hmm I guess it also depends a lot on where you’re at in the country, like in Skye’s situation, a small town w/ difficult occupation outlook.
I’m living in a medium size city, next to plenty larger cities.. so there are plenty of work w/ acceptable wages.
I think everyone else nailed it too with decisions people make, and the field or study they choose. I can understand if you’re studying something you love & enjoy, that may not be too applicable in terms of a career path.. but if you really love what you study, shouldn’t you be able to find something?
I guess my question on job market is a bit vague, it depends a lot on your perspective. If you’re at a certain age and you’re re-entering the job market, it could definitely be difficult. But if you’re still in college and have options, the outlook should be better, no?
April 4th, 2006 at 7:13 am
I’m a software engineer, and I agree the IT market has been soft in the years since 99/2000 when it was crazy booming… I was out of work for almost 2 years in 03/04. But now, I just went on the job market, and I was hired within hours of my first interview, and people have been THROWING jobs at me. And not just any jobs, ridiculously high paying jobs. The job I took pays almost 2.5 times as much as my last position. I’ll take a 250% raise any day of the week!
I don’t know if it’s just because my skillset has matured, or if the market is hot right now, or a combination, but I guess what I’m trying to say is that it’s not that hard to get a job, if you have some marketable skills. I second the notion that people who go to college and learn NOTHING useful have only themselves to blame!
April 4th, 2006 at 3:05 pm
There are ALWAYS plenty of jobs available. What people actually mean when they complain about “the job market” is that there aren’t enough jobs they’re willing to do for the money being offered. Just keep an eye on the current illegal immigrants debate and this becomes even more clear.