I'm not surprised: It Takes a B.A. to Find a Job as a File Clerk." :(

DaltheJigsaw

I mean its common sense everyone has a degree. With many sites like: https://www.coursera.org/ and https://www.edx.org - it is going to absolutely be "worthless." Experience will rain again, as well as connections and personality. I guess this is good and bad? Higher Learning needs a shake-up? Care to agree to disagree?

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/20/business/college-degree-required-by-increasing-number-of-companies.html?_r=1&

Dakini

I thought it was ridiculous that the law firm in the article required a BA for couriers and receptionists. However, universities have been requiring a BA for their receptionists and secretarial staffs for decades. I thought it was pretty snooty, though, when the firm said that someone without a BA wouldn't "fit into the culture" at their workplace. I have a BA and I never would fit in there, because their "culture" is all about what college sports teams you're rooting for. BO-ring! Actually, judging by the photos, it looked like their criterion was more about hiring attractive young women. :rolleyes:

How about you? You were thinking of going into the insurance business? Any news on the employment front?

DaltheJigsaw

Dakini said:

I thought it was ridiculous that the law firm in the article required a BA for couriers and receptionists. However, universities have been requiring a BA for their receptionists and secretarial staffs for decades. I thought it was pretty snooty, though, when the firm said that someone without a BA wouldn't "fit into the culture" at their workplace. I have a BA and I never would fit in there, because their "culture" is all about what college sports teams you're rooting for. BO-ring!

How about you? You were thinking of going into the insurance business? Any news on the employment front?

I might have a job, just waiting on the background check. I had an interview at Facebook, but that did not work out, it seemed that I did not fit their culture? On the other hand, perhaps, my experience was out of line? I am trying to get into Customer Service career and the job required a Lease Operator? I have done some work in Real Estate, but not much to be an expert. Yea, ridiculous about BA being required for some of the job postings, but I guess one has to start somewhere? I am so fortunate that I do not have loans, but my generation....I feel everything for them.

Dakini

LeonBasin said:

Yea, ridiculous about BA being required for some of the job postings, but I guess one has to start somewhere? I am so fortunate that I do not have loans, but my generation....I feel everything for them.

Well, what I meant was that the no-skill jobs could be made available to people with AA degrees or HS degrees (courier/messenger? You need a BA for that? REALLY??)

You don't have loans? Wow--good for you! I guess that's why you were working nearly full-time the whole time? Amazing. However difficult it may have been to juggle work and study, I bet it feels REALLY good to be debt-free! :thumbsup:

P.S. Keep an eye on college and university job listings in your area for office staff jobs in Psychology departments.

DaltheJigsaw

Dakini said:

LeonBasin said:

Yea, ridiculous about BA being required for some of the job postings, but I guess one has to start somewhere? I am so fortunate that I do not have loans, but my generation....I feel everything for them.

Well, what I meant was that the no-skill jobs could be made available to people with AA degrees or HS degrees (courier/messenger? You need a BA for that? REALLY??)

You don't have loans? Wow--good for you! I guess that's why you were working nearly full-time the whole time? Amazing. However difficult it may have been to juggle work and study, I bet it feels REALLY good to be debt-free! :thumbsup:

I worked full-time, but I also had my parents help me. I even had 2 jobs at one point. 1 full-time and one part time. Working 50 hours most weeks. While going to school, it was brutal, but definitely worth the experience. Would I do it again? Yep! Without hesitation. And yea, there are jobs which High Schoolers can get, but it all depends on their experience and connections. That also goes for individuals with Associates Degrees.

Dakini

Speaking of connections, is there a Russian/Ukrainian community association anywhere near you? You could attend their events and schmooze people, and see if anyone there might be hiring for something worthwhile.

DaltheJigsaw

Dakini said:

Speaking of connections, is there a Russian/Ukrainian community association anywhere near you? You could attend their events and schmooze people, and see if anyone there might be hiring for something worthwhile.

Not really, as I cannot really relate to them, I came to United States when I was 9 and it seems that I cannot find anything to connect with them with. I am hoping this background check passes, so I can get this particular job I am really happy about. I should find out soon. I don't know if I mentioned it, but I have been unemployed for almost 2 months. So I have been on a hunt for something... But thank you for for the suggestion! Perhaps, I should take it into an account, and maybe try my luck with them??

Dakini

Oh, I'm sure you'll pass a background check. Sounds like you have a great record. Which job was this, the insurance sales one?

DaltheJigsaw

Nope. Netapp!:) I hope I am not jinxing it. Lol. http://www.netapp.com/us/ - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NetApp

Dakini

Uh, ok. And what would you be doing for them? Your location is probably one of the best in the country, jobs-wise. Booming economy there around the south Bay. If this one doesn't pan out, you'll find something eventually.

In fact, I just found out that rents in the East Bay have skyrocketed by 50-70% in the last 3 years, due to so many people moving in for the tech jobs. That's outrageous! I wonder how many people lost their apartments because their pay didn't keep up with the rent increases.

DaltheJigsaw

Customer Service - Central Operational Analysis -

Dakini

Good luck! Is it just up to the background check, or do they have other applicants they're running checks on, too? Let us know how it works out.

DaltheJigsaw

Dakini said:

Good luck! Is it just up to the background check, or do they have other applicants they're running checks on, too? Let us know how it works out.

I went up against 20 other people that I know off. I believe there is only that? Will see what happens! Thank you! I will:)

ThailandTom

I don't have a degree Leon, but then again I do not live in the US. I have seen various forms of media on say facebook or other forums where people are still paying off 60k debts after years of working in their profession, getting pretty much nowhere fast. It is a big scam, like a lot of the operations that go on in the US and other governments. If I lived somewhere where you needed a degree to file documents away, I would move away double-quick, that's just me though.

I saw a map of the world about maternity leave, the US has the shortest amount of time given to people out of all the developed countries and even some of the developing ones, it may be wrong but still, wtf man.

All the best with your job hunt leon, I hope everything else is going well in your life. If you have time also let me know about that website you used to create yours

BhikkhuJayasara

LeonBasin said:

I mean its common sense everyone has a degree. With many sites like: https://www.coursera.org/ and https://www.edx.org - it is going to absolutely be "worthless." Experience will rain again, as well as connections and personality. I guess this is good and bad? Higher Learning needs a shake-up? Care to agree to disagree?

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/20/business/college-degree-required-by-increasing-number-of-companies.html?_r=1&

Supply and Demand of course, basic market economy.

everyone and their mother has a college degree so that means it has much less worth and companies can choose people with degrees for "lesser" positions because there is a flood in the market.

now everyone and their mother is getting a masters and even masters are becoming quite common and less worth then they use to be. masters use to be " oh wow fancy education impressive".

eventually it will be that everyone will need a PHD hehe...

chela

I didn't finish my degree because I was already working in a position which, when I finished my degree, I would be able to get. I didn't see the value in finishing my degree. You might say that the education itself is the value. That may be true-- education is very valuable, in general. But I didn't feel that I was doing anything in class that I couldn't easily get by studying on my own (self-educating). I am not motivated by money. I quit my job and work with toddlers now. There are no external benefits, like paid vacations, incremental increases, or retirement savings. The intrinsic benefits are many.

karasti

A lot of the time you can get into those more basic jobs without a degree, but you have to work harder to prove yourself to get considered. If you have an impressive resume a lot of the time "degree required" really means "degree and/or equivilant experience." It is what they do to weed out having to go through applications of hoards of people who apply for jobs these days. That said, I can understand requiring it. Not because the degree is important. But because they are alot of valuable skills that are learned in college that employers find valuable. When I was younger, I did not understand that. But having worked in service careers my whole life, I understand it now and see a (generally) vast difference between the college educated, even if they didn't finish the degree and those with only high school experience. Even when you don't realize it, you learn a lot of people skills, a lot of problem solving, critical thinking and such in college that a lot of people struggle to gain if they skip college. It's obvious enough that I could interview people for a position and know whether they had been to college or not just by talking to them, and I was right more than 90% of the time.

vinlyn

It isn't just about what you learn in college.

As a school principal I had to hire 20 or more people a year -- teachers, counselors, other administrators, janitors, cafeteria workers, techonology specialists, librarians, secretaries, etc. And, particularly in more recent years, the number of applicants for any one job opening swelled fantastically...almost too many applicants to screen in many cases. So where did I start? Looking for a candidate who showed initiative and did something beyond what most of the other applicants did. And often that meant a candidate who had gone to college even if that was not required for the position.

DaltheJigsaw

ThailandTom said:

I don't have a degree Leon, but then again I do not live in the US. I have seen various forms of media on say facebook or other forums where people are still paying off 60k debts after years of working in their profession, getting pretty much nowhere fast. It is a big scam, like a lot of the operations that go on in the US and other governments. If I lived somewhere where you needed a degree to file documents away, I would move away double-quick, that's just me though.

I saw a map of the world about maternity leave, the US has the shortest amount of time given to people out of all the developed countries and even some of the developing ones, it may be wrong but still, wtf man.

All the best with your job hunt leon, I hope everything else is going well in your life. If you have time also let me know about that website you used to create yours

Yea, insane! I left a comment on your profile:)

DaltheJigsaw

Jayantha said:

LeonBasin said:

I mean its common sense everyone has a degree. With many sites like: https://www.coursera.org/ and https://www.edx.org - it is going to absolutely be "worthless." Experience will rain again, as well as connections and personality. I guess this is good and bad? Higher Learning needs a shake-up? Care to agree to disagree?

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/20/business/college-degree-required-by-increasing-number-of-companies.html?_r=1&

Supply and Demand of course, basic market economy.

everyone and their mother has a college degree so that means it has much less worth and companies can choose people with degrees for "lesser" positions because there is a flood in the market.

now everyone and their mother is getting a masters and even masters are becoming quite common and less worth then they use to be. masters use to be " oh wow fancy education impressive".

eventually it will be that everyone will need a PHD hehe...

Yea, you are absolutely right!! What is after PHD a freaking Double Masters with a PHD? lol

DaltheJigsaw

chela said:

I didn't finish my degree because I was already working in a position which, when I finished my degree, I would be able to get. I didn't see the value in finishing my degree. You might say that the education itself is the value. That may be true-- education is very valuable, in general. But I didn't feel that I was doing anything in class that I couldn't easily get by studying on my own (self-educating). I am not motivated by money. I quit my job and work with toddlers now. There are no external benefits, like paid vacations, incremental increases, or retirement savings. The intrinsic benefits are many.

Lucky! I been wanting to work with people, but without education or much experience its difficult. I suppose I have to volunteer more, but the market is saturated as some have mentioned. Wish you the best!!

DaltheJigsaw

karasti said:

A lot of the time you can get into those more basic jobs without a degree, but you have to work harder to prove yourself to get considered. If you have an impressive resume a lot of the time "degree required" really means "degree and/or equivilant experience." It is what they do to weed out having to go through applications of hoards of people who apply for jobs these days. That said, I can understand requiring it. Not because the degree is important. But because they are alot of valuable skills that are learned in college that employers find valuable. When I was younger, I did not understand that. But having worked in service careers my whole life, I understand it now and see a (generally) vast difference between the college educated, even if they didn't finish the degree and those with only high school experience. Even when you don't realize it, you learn a lot of people skills, a lot of problem solving, critical thinking and such in college that a lot of people struggle to gain if they skip college. It's obvious enough that I could interview people for a position and know whether they had been to college or not just by talking to them, and I was right more than 90% of the time.

Good point! From my experience I do agree.

DaltheJigsaw

vinlyn said:

It isn't just about what you learn in college.

As a school principal I had to hire 20 or more people a year -- teachers, counselors, other administrators, janitors, cafeteria workers, techonology specialists, librarians, secretaries, etc. And, particularly in more recent years, the number of applicants for any one job opening swelled fantastically...almost too many applicants to screen in many cases. So where did I start? Looking for a candidate who showed initiative and did something beyond what most of the other applicants did. And often that meant a candidate who had gone to college even if that was not required for the position.

Thank you for sharing! They say it is a Employers market, and in reality their is an underground economy. I definitely believe that, if you don't have the education, you better have the connections.