Dee, in regards to the ACT i recall it's either 3or 5 schools you can send them to.

I think a 4 year degree is also not as valuable as it use to be. I majored in biomedical science-what can you do with that degree?-pretty much nothing-it is mainly a gateway to grad school. I have worked with several girls that have that degree (and did not make it to grad school) and they are techs working for 11-15$ an hour-same as the techs without any college education. One is thinking about going to chiropractor school.

Speaking of recent grads with little to no job prospects...

My best friend graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Hospitality Management in May 2008. She did a professional internship with Walt Disney World in the Weddings department (June 2008-January 2009) hoping to stay on full-time or move back home to New York (Long Island) and work as an event/wedding manager. Disney had a company-wide hiring freeze at the end of her internship so she returned home to live with her folks while she searched for a job. After searching for over a year and sending resumes to hundreds of firms and venues, she settled for several short-term unpaid internships and a low-paying, entry-level position at the mall as a timeshare sales assistant. She continues now at this job and started back at her local university taking some pre-requisite courses she will need to get into graduate school. She is now interested in a masters in speech pathology.

Ding, ding, ding!

Sounds like your dad is a smart guy. ;)

My daughter is almost 4 so we have years before we have to deal with this. But if I had an older child who had the abilities for a trade, I would have a long discussion with him/her about the value of learning a trade that can't be outsourced and getting a business degree at the community college or local state school.

Although I recently read that even trade is getting super competitive:

Local apprentice programs, which typically last five years, are swamped with applicants nowadays. The electricians' union program, for example, has 2,500 applications for 100 slots. And nearly 4,000 want to get one of the 300 slots at plumbers and pipe fitters school.

Perplexing times we live in. :confused:

I think that's an issue with your degree in particular, not with degrees in general. Some degrees are like that. That's not a new thing - one of my sisters (20 years ago) was a psych major and she knew going in she'd have to get a master's to get ANYWHERE in her field.

I agree. There are some majors where it is obvious what your career path will be (nursing, accounting, teaching, engineering) and then there are majors that, when I hear them, I think "And what are you going to BE when you grow up?"

There are pros and cons to both. For instance, after being an Occupational Therapist for 13 years I decided it was time to do something else. It required major re-training and now work on a Master's in a completely different field to keep moving forward. I was almost too specialized and it left me no other options, really. The proverbial "they" say that the average person has 3 careers over his/her lifetime now. Usually, that's going to require some major re-training. Even now, while I'm specializing in an IT field, I'm thinking about what I think my 3rd career will be.

And, I initially started working on a Master's in Clinical Psych 20 years ago and was realizing while working on it that without a PhD, I still wasn't really going to get to my end goal.

Thanks. If it is 3, we'll definitely be paying for a couple. If it's 5, we might be ok. Her list of possibilities is growing in her head (which is a relief because Columbia is a real stretch).

I applied for a job with a scholarship foundation which prefers to give money for trade schools, technical schools, and other short term educational opportunities which don't cause tons of debt for students from already underprivileged backgrounds.

ETA: They don't offer healthcare. FML.

I'll adopt you :) but I need a new job myself.

My co-worker was struggling to make ends meet so he just kept applying for jobs. He now has 3 and has to quit one. I wish I had that problem!

I have a BA in Art and am getting a second degree, then planning on a program to get certified to teach. I don't even want to think about my prospects without that last degree. I shudder.

I have several friends that are Phi Beta Kappa (I was not with my first degree), very involved on campus, with impressive internships, that are still unemployed or at the best still employed in a job that is NOT in their field. If they can't get hired...

I know this is slightly off-topic, but I want to put this out there. My company is hiring a LOT, and we are being pressed to ask friends/acquaintences/anyone if they are looking for a job. I work for a large company, a government contractor. And there are offices all over the country, some of which are government-related, some of which deal with private companies. So, if anyone is interested, you are more than welcome to PM me and I can get your resume. I can give you more details about where I work, too, as I don't want to just post it here. They're especially looking for anyone with an IT or management/business background or major in college, and/or anyone with a clearance. Pretty good money from right out of school, though I came in after a MA and about 4 years of experience under my belt.

Just thought it might help!

Just noticed this now, and quite conveniently my brother's ACT scores came in yesterday. You can send it to 4 schools. :)

You might want to shudder, thinking about the prospects with the teaching certification. Not good.

They're hardly dismal as long as I'm willing to move (and I am). I realize it isn't a rock star salary but I plan on shooting for a job at a public school where I can get some solid benefits and have time to get an MFA while I work. I'm not up for a starving artist lifestyle. I'd rather have a steady paycheck with good benefits and regular hours, even if said paycheck isn't impressive. And it won't be boring.