College grads learning good jobs hard to find now (employers note "skill gap")

San Antonio Express News ^ | July 1, 2012 | Tracy Idell Hamilton and Beth Brown

[sergeantdave]

“Now finding a job that ‘uses’ an undergraduate psychology degree, on the other hand...”

Start up a web business. The domain name “psycho-facebook.com” is avaliable. I see that psycho-termite control.net is also free.

The list is endless, man:

psycho-painters.com
psycho-lawncare.com
psycho-bailbondsman.com

[meadsjn]

More than 5,000 people graduated from Texas colleges and universities with bachelor's degrees in psychology in 2010, she said, to compete for four job openings in the field, with an annual salary of $22,000.

You can't fix this kind of stupid. Many of these mis-educated idiots will be going back to school to get an MBA or Law degree to pile on top of their under-grad fluff, and will just further degrade our corporations and politics.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

:)

[Cvengr]

Which is more insulting: Voting for Obama as a liberal or being degreed in psychology to recognize they are voting for a narcissist?

[Will88]

The recession changed the economy permanently, economists say. In this largely jobless recovery, millions of mid- and entry-level positions are gone, the work now automated.

Oh BS, some jobs have been lost to automation, but millions have been exported with the exported manufacturing plants, and millions more white collar type jobs are being outsourced to India and many other nations.

Heard a recent radio spot discussing how more and more legal work is being outsourced to India. There is hardly a profession now that hasn't seen significant work outsourced: engineering, accounting, computer programming and other work, drafting, law, tax preparation, radiology and other medical related work, and not even to mention customer service and other types of call center work.

Some will continue to pretend that the above has little to do with our unemployment/underemployment situation and fiscal problems because so many campaign contributors now outsource work.

But don't worry, it's being made up for by the $1 trillion dollars now being spent annually on support program benefits that go mostly to working aged Americans. 60 million Americans now on Medicaid, and that will rise to 80 million if the Obamacare expansion is carried out. Similar stats for other government support programs.

[Tax-chick]

I have a 21-year-old in the military and an 18-year-old in community college/working. I’m sorry that so many potentially productive young people believed that any degree was a ticket to easy wealth. Now they’re stuck.

I graduated with a degree in management in 1989 in a down economy. Couldn’t move for a job because I’d gotten married, so I started as a secretary at That Insurance Company and moved up. There aren’t as many secretary jobs these days, because people in the main lines of business believe a computer makes them competent to communicate, file, manage time, etc. It doesn’t, but whatever.

[9YearLurker]

There are loads of businesses and industries where being smart is one of the top hiring criteria. Yeah, maybe not retail.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

....These educrats take much for granted and have failed all three of these recent grads, imho.

Good post. But there is time and certainly discussions with others about jobs available in their chosen field. A LOT of kids take the cue that they're barking up the wrong tree and switch out of dead end majors. Some just are biding their time in college 'till they have to go out and work (that loan money is just some far-away problem -- if they were working to pay for these classes they might just think twice about what their major is).

[RegulatorCountry]

There aren’t too many well known politicians who aren’t narcissists. It’s just a matter of degree.

[Mycroft Holmes]

I don't understand why people pay for education in the first place. With the internet and sites like Kahn Academy the only reason to pay for education is to acquire an increasingly worthless piece of paper.

[meadsjn]

Which is more insulting: Voting for Obama as a liberal or being degreed in psychology to recognize they are voting for a narcissist?

Perhaps they will show up to support the fall riots, and will learn something interesting.

[John 3_19-21]

When most university faculty are decidedly anti-capitalist is it any wonder so much of their product doesn’t mesh with the business world?

[BRL]

Looking at the girls ring and also being from Texas I thought of the saying

"All Hat...No Cattle"

It is almost like a new saying can emerge these days something like...

College Ring...Ain't worth a thing.

or

College bills...no skills.

[ThunderStruck94]

History degree???? What the HELL would they be good for in the workplace?? NOTHING but be Mr. KnowitAll.

Ha ha ha. I have a history degree and wish I was a know-it-all! I fly jets off carriers now:)

[Incorrigible]

Bump

[BRL]

Perhaps they will show up to support the fall riots, and will learn something interesting.

Never seems to work out like that.

[miss marmelstein]

Cry me a river. My generation started out in the mail room and secretarial pool and they ended up doing pretty well for themselves. Well, until Obama came along...

[reformedliberal]

We heard a tale from a law graduate to the effect that he pays rent for his office use to the law firm and commissions on any cases for which he can bill.

[mazda77]

I consider my place in this economy right now to be a unique one. From my engineering background to my natural inquisitive mindset on how things work, how to make them work and how to make them, I can keep myself busy with work of all types. As an independent contractor I pick and choose the work and projects that people need my services to bring to reality. Essentially, I make people ideas become real and am very deft at fixing things.

This is of added value if the economy goes totally off the rails and we become like Greece where a barter system is what they are relegated to. But in reality, is not everybody involved in some sort of barter system anyway?

[ilovesarah2012]

You can’t go wrong being a garbage man.