Unemployed after College

When I was in college, advisors told us the truth whether we had a chance of finding a job in a certain field, given the market at that time, before we declared a major. Nobody promised us a six figure salary upon receiving a college diploma or a fancy title.

Advisors carefully studied the market and we signed a document which clearly stated that we understood, based on statistics and job trends, that a job might or might not be available to us after four years of study. There was no guarantee of success and nobody demanded instant financial equality without effort or merit, we had to work hard.

The university organized job fairs every week and prospective employers sent representatives to campus to make a first contact interview with interested students. We scanned each week the list of companies and positions available.

I remember interviewing with a particular branch of government who needed translators with a business background. I did not get very far since I answered honestly that I could not betray my basic core beliefs if asked to do so.

When I came to the university from my country, officials looked at my transcript and did not give me credit for courses such as Philosophy of Socialism, Scientific Socialism, Socialist Economy, and Dialectical Materialism. They told me flatly that they were just communist propaganda. Funny how today, if I had had the same courses, not only would I have been given credit, I probably would have been congratulated for having taken those classes and hired by a government branch staffed heavily with people who believe in socialism.

College costs have exploded and, in order to attract more students, advisors entice students with the false promise of a six-figure job, knowing that the unemployment rate is very high among college graduates. Almost 25% are either unemployment or underemployed.

Students on campuses around the nation demand re-distribution of wealth but never question the ever-escalating tuition and the fat salaries of college administrators and of “desirable” and in-demand professors, the money makers who bring in research grants. The darlings of the conference circuit around the world, they also write the liberal textbooks for the rest of the country.

Hillsdale College students made a video in which they asked students at a major university how they felt about distributing a few points of their high GPA to students who were doing poorly and were in danger of not graduating. As it was expected, those performing poorly were in total agreement with the idea. Those at the top refused on the basis that they earned the GPA and it is ridiculous to give anything to those who did not work hard. One solitaire die-hard Marxist student agreed to give up points to someone who had a low GPA. Not surprisingly, You Tube removed the video under the excuse, “This video has been removed because its content violated the You Tube’s Terms of Service.” Really? http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=OKc4vduADeU

The EKU chapter for Young Americans for Liberty gave out fliers to those attending graduation ceremonies at Eastern Kentucky University on May 11, 2013. “Good luck finding your first job. Only 47 percent of you will be able to find a job in your preferred field, so I hope you’re still on good terms with your parents.”

College graduates with strange liberal majors have little chance of finding a job, they are practically unemployable. Graduates with $100,000 plus in tuition debt, who found themselves on the outskirts of a bad economy, were prompted by our President, in a recent speech at Ohio State, to seek their fortune in politics. An ever-expanding government may become the largest employer in some areas.

The value of a college degree has diminished considerably because the number of graduates has increased, the quality of graduates has decreased, and graduation standards have deteriorated as a result of watering down the curriculum. McDonald’s advertised recently a cashier’s job with a college degree.

No work experience and a worthless degree in a heavily unemployed, stagnant economy is a formula for disaster. What is a college graduate to do? The answer is simple, teach. Good teachers with an excellent grasp of a solid major are always in high demand. There is a little inconvenient problem though, no matter how many degrees or experience in a field of expertise, prospects must have a teaching license issued by the State Department of Education. How hard can that be? There are many terrible teachers out there who do have a license and scant knowledge. On the other hand, I have met fantastic teachers who were not certified to teach in K-12.

One of my students who recently pursued certification in Virginia (each state has its own standards and type of tests) was surprised how worthless his degrees seemed upon taking the standardized test for teachers. Did it really measure anything? Did he really learn anything from it? Would he become a better classroom teacher after taking the two required tests? His answer to all of these questions was NO.

After imprinting the veins on both hands, taking his picture, locking up personal belongings, subjecting him to a metal detector, providing no breaks for the four-hour test (minutes were counted against the test taker if he chose to take a bathroom break), the “jail” effect was overwhelming. The security I.D. checks felt like prison yet voters are not required to show proof of  I.D. to vote and scream discrimination if asked to provide an I.D. Just recently Virginia barely passed the voter I.D. law.

Holder of three college degrees in Arts and Sciences and teaching experience at the college level, he now awaits the standardized test results. The questions he had to answer on the test bore no resemblance to what he learned in school. When he passes, he must take more College of Education courses and student-teach for nine months under the supervision of a “seasoned” College of Education professor.

Not taking into account the cost of these additional classes and his time, he may have to substitute before he actually finds a teaching job in a public school or volunteer for Teach for America. He may choose to train as an International Baccalaureate World School teacher, helping to “fundamentally transform” American students into “global citizens” who study no American history but learn how to better change society into a “social justice” paradise.