Posted on 10/26/2007 2:09:03 PM PDT by Zakeet
Think you've got problems? Let Ken Ilgunas offer you some perspective. Ken's got problems, and the Buffalo News has generously offered him space to tell the world about them:
I am 24, live with my parents, can't find work and am floundering in a sea of debt five figures high. I think of myself as ambitious, independent and hardworking. Now I'm dependent, unemployed and sleeping under the same Super Mario ceiling fan that I did when I was 7.How did this happen? I did what every upstanding citizen is supposed to do. I went to college. . . .Upon graduating, I was helplessly launched headfirst into the "real world," equipped with a degree in history and $32,000 in student loans. Before ricocheting back home, I would learn two important lessons: 1) There are no well-paying--let alone paying--jobs for history majors. 2) The real world is really tough.
At one point, Ken was so "desperate" that he even considered working for a bank or an insurance company!
"I had hit an all-time low. Could I surrender my soul for health coverage and a steady income? Could I sacrifice my ideals by falling into line?"
Our hero stood firm.
(Excerpt) Read more at opinionjournal.com ...
I had a prof once who said high school graduates could get jobs waiting tables at Chilis and TGI Fridays. With a fine arts degree, you could wait tables at a much more upscale restaurant.
“They got a word for that Jules. Its called a bum.”
True, but seriously, do we want our children exposed to this liberal whiner?
I really wanted to get a history degree. I’m glad I went with engineering instead.
I have a nephew in his mid-twenties. He worked his way up the ladder at a local bank. They eventually paid for him to get a business degree. Now he earns almost as much as I do. His integrity seems fine, and he is about the most pleasant young man you are likely to meet.
A real history geek would know enough about the human condition to avoid being such a prat. The social studies pablum they pass off in schools probably had our intrepid hero expecting a free ride. That is, until the “Real World” slapped him upside the head.
You could have checked before running up the Student Loan debt, but Supply and Demand do not apply to you because You Are Special.
Why not keeping going for that Masters in Art Appreciation, since you will not demean yourself by working?
Many people end their lives as failures, but few are so Special that they succeed is starting out as one.
This is true and not true. Most degrees are pretty worthless beyond giving you the "sheepskin" you need to get in the door. Outside of specific hard science degrees, what degree leads to a specific job?
But what says a history major has to have a job concerning history? Presumably, a history major is a decent reader, and hence, has pretty good language skills. How about a job as a writer or proofreader? I could go on. Bottom line, you make your own opportunities, degree or none.
Does he really think that bumming off mom and dad is maintaining his integrity??
See your armed forces recruiter; four years of service will make you “real-world-qualified,” by making a man out of you.
A degree in History eh...Maybe O’Reilly can give him a Yob.
See your armed forces recruiter; four years of service will make you “real-world-qualified,” by making a man out of you.
>> His not spreading his whiny genes around would benefit humanity. Go ahead and stay with Mom and Dad.
Surely there’s some desperate broad that gets all hot-and-bothered by Super Mario fans ...
I’ve heard those Mario celing fans are sure-fire panty-droppers.
The fact that he can’t afford to buy her anything (outside of the celing fan) may be a deal-breaker, though.
H
Instructor, teacher, admin asst in a college, faculty positions, retail management in a history museum, financial positions that do market research and trend tracking, and others.
Some “require solid work history” so there aren’t 5000, but still, the opportunity is out there.
And although pay tends to be lower, there are many perks to working on a campus when you are in your 20’s and have a car and an apartment.
Stop whining and make something of yourself- that’s what the rest of us grownups did.
No one wants to hire liberal arts majors any more. Too smart, too educated for business world. Must have a specialized degree and no deep thoughts, to interfere with the narrowly defined job in the techno world (hold on a minute while I put on my kevlar suit.)
I'm sure its from the finest liberal arts college around, just remember this phrase; "Do you want fries with that order?"
-Traveler
I should know. I don't have a degree, and I have had an easy time of getting leadership positions in fortune 100 companies. If you have a degree--ANY degree--that's a plus. Even a crappy English or Psych degree is a nice resume padder. But that's all college is worth outside of the rigorous sciences. It's just 4 years of BS (har har) and a sheepskin at the end of it.
A college degree helps you get past the bubble headed HR generalist who is the first screener of job applicants. Once you get in the door, the degree is pretty useless. An uneducated wise guy like me can come in and steal the job from you, because guy's like me know how to huck and chuck to survive, while fools who spend their lives in school do not.
whoops. i dont know why i always do that.
Ken, honey, repeat after me, “Do you want fries with that?”
Now you’re all set to enter a job level commensurate with your skills.
Professional degrees, engineering degrees and science degrees are particularly useful. Arts (Music, Art History, Theater, Art, etc.), liberal arts (English, Poli Sci, History, Writing, etc.), and even business degrees can be pretty useless without a professional degree or grad degree to back them up.
My wife and brother each has a music education degree ... which are surprisingly lucrative.
H
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