Comments on: College graduates find a tough job market

By: Richard Aubrey

Richard Aubrey — Sat, 21 May 2011 04:46:21 +0000

kolnai
The military has a number of issues they need done, issues which have civilian analogs.
If you have a nasty, grubby technical specialty, the military has a nasty, grubby little job for you.
If, on the other hand, you have a background in something the Army has no use for, you can go into the Infantry, which has no civilian analog.
In my experience, the most intellectually broad-minded folks were in the Infantry. I spent some time in Air Defense. Terrible place for a simple but honest grunt. Corrected my superiors’ grammar, but didn’t try to converse with them. You ever try to have a conversation with an engineer, much less tell him a joke?
If you’re a female–apologies for not keeping up–you could join the MPs. Known as Infantry for Chicks, or Infantry Lite. Means they don’t do as much walking.
Talked to an MP at an airport last Christmas. He was at pains to tell me that chasing tail lights on post is a job for contracted civilians. Kicking in doors is the MPs’ job these days. I guess telling him I’d been in the Infantry put him on the defensive.
Quite rightly, too.

By: Curtis

Curtis — Fri, 20 May 2011 23:26:57 +0000

Oh by the way Bryan, don’t get screwed by recruiters. But then, you might not be able to help it–that’s usually the way it works. There will be an “oops” we actually weren’t able to offer you that benefit. You can either finish your enlistment or go to the brig. So make sure you have the terms of your enlistment contract examined carefully. You might want to take it to another recruiter.

By: Curtis

Curtis — Fri, 20 May 2011 22:54:48 +0000

Just read this thread. Hope you keep visiting, Bryan.

By: Paul_In_Houston

Paul_In_Houston — Fri, 20 May 2011 03:19:44 +0000

Anyway, I chose the smart route- working for the government. 😉

And so, you were seduced by the Dark Side? 😉
–

By: holmes

holmes — Fri, 20 May 2011 02:27:25 +0000

I have 100k in debt, but that was due to two graduate programs. I can’t imagine having similar debt just out of undergrad, which is basically a self-indulgent babysitting exercise. Anyway, I chose the smart route- working for the government. 😉

By: Bryan

Bryan — Fri, 20 May 2011 02:20:55 +0000

Wm Lawrence,

Yes, I’ve seen that they offer those programs. Those would be particularly helpful in trying to pay off my loans quickly. Thank you for the reminder, though. There’s a recruiter on my campus that I’m going to talk to later this year to get more information.

By: Wm Lawrence

Wm Lawrence — Fri, 20 May 2011 02:10:08 +0000

Bryan et al,

Don’t forget that the military also offers student loan repayment programs. As far as a philosophy degree is concerned, if you have a diploma the military by and large will have a program for you.

I’m not a recruiter, but have spent a little time in uniform. Good luck whatever you choose to do.

By: Army Mom

Army Mom — Fri, 20 May 2011 01:31:43 +0000

My son who is due to be honorably discharged from the Army on June 1 is not planning on immediately going to college when he gets out. He does have his Sikorsky and A&P certifications however and has found that those combined with his 6 years experience in the Army working on Blackhawks is making him qualified for some really good helicopter mechanic positions.

My other 2 kids are in college and by the time they are done will have racked up about 130K worth of student loans between the 2 of them when they are done. Ouch!!

If kids coming out of college need a job they might want to look into becoming an independent insurance adjustor. There are 2 programs that the industry uses and you need a bit of knowledge or construction and the ability to do reasearch on insurance policies. With all the floods, business is good. But they must be ready for the possibility of long periods with no work.

On the other hand, I am a database administrator\consultant in the Dallas area and can tell you that the IT industry here is desperate for database\SQL\data warehouse people. If you have IT skills, look in Dallas and you will find something.

By: kolnai

kolnai — Fri, 20 May 2011 01:04:38 +0000

Bryan – I’ve been in college (undergrad and grad) for about nine years, and I can second your remarks. There is no way to pay for it if one is on one’s own.

Since I had inadequate GRE scores (despite a 4.0 grade point average and glowing recommendations) no grad school would give me a scholarship. The Master’s program I wound up at cost about $55,000 a year, and in a city (hint hint) where even a basement apartment runs about $1,300 a month.

I’m comfortably over $100,000 in debt, and the job market is not pretty at all. But props to you for at least doing something that could get you a job in the army (very smart thinking there – I’ve considered it myself, though the army has very little use for philosophers).

Now I will stop talking about this, as it makes me feel like “snuffing it,” as they say in A Clockwork Orange.

By: A Reader from K.C.

A Reader from K.C. — Fri, 20 May 2011 00:20:20 +0000

I know a fellow who went from freshman to Ph.D. in mechanical engineering in one long shot. This was in the ’60s at a state university. He worked odd jobs through the summers, fixed other student’s cars in the dorm parking lot for a few bucks, and graduated with zero debt. That just isn’t possible anymore.

My wife is a graduate school administrator at a medium-sized state school. There’s a libtard working in her office who has over $80,000 in student loans, and is still going to class. She has an undergrad degree, two masters, and is working on a third. The rule is that as long as you are enrolled in a degree seeking program, you can keep deferring (and accumulating) student loan debt. The current maximum debt limit is $139,000.

It used to be that you could weasel out of student loan debt through bankruptcy but the law was changed in 2005 so you can’t anymore (as a general rule). The above mentioned libtard still has an out, however, which she is guaranteed to use: If you work for a non-profit, certain agencies or a learning institution you can make payments on your loan for 10 years, after which the rest will be forgiven. We, the taxpayers, will get stuck with the bulk of her debt in the end.