Yazmin Cruz: Getting ahead at Real World U
MONTHS before Tuesday's graduation many of my peers and I at Cal State Northridge avoided the dreaded question about what we would be doing after graduation.
The uncertainty of our future led us to ramble on about what we would like to do instead of answering the question. Others would confess it was a sore subject. We were well aware that no matter how many times we had made the dean's list or the number of internships we had scored, we still had to face the toughest test yet - finding a job.
A recent Rutgers University study revealed that college graduates are having a hard time landing a job and when they do, they are taking low-paying jobs that are unrelated to their education. Half of those jobs don't even require a college degree.
I'm one of the lucky ones. I began an internship writing for a personal finance website while juggling classes, serving as editor in chief of the daily campus newspaper and dealing with responsibilities at home. The internship turned into a job.
Still, this is not what I saw myself doing after graduation. I wanted to work as a hard news reporter for a local newspaper. The changing newspaper industry didn't scare me as I acquired all the skills necessary to weather the transition. I can write, shoot video, edit audio and take photos.
In my current position, I am blogging about saving money based on my personal experience, coordinating social media, selling ads and planning an event. I'm not complaining. My job has been gratifying as I have the freedom to learn acquire skill sets I didn't have. I consider myself lucky because many of my peers still don't know what they'll be doing. They are waiting to hear whether they will be accepted into summer internships that they hope turn into, at least, a part-time job.
Although the coveted internship is still a way of getting a foot in the door, it seldom guarantees a job. One of my peers working at TV newsmagazine found out a position will soon open up, but she has not been guaranteed the personal assistant position.
She is a talented writer, photographer and videographer who is working her behind off to prove herself worthy of the position - a position for which she is overqualified.
With the job market still in a shambles, we are not only competing with other graduates, but also with individuals who have more experience than we do. Who can blame us for being so apprehensive about the future?
This is why many recent graduates will be hiding out in grad school accumulating more debt until the prospects of finding a job seem more likely. Their reasoning is that a higher degree will make them more competitive. But at what price? Tuition for the CSU and UC systems is going up, and when they graduate they'll have a lighter resume than those who decided to join the work force.
Others, realizing their degree won't be enough to pay the bills that include hefty student loans, are heading back to school to completely change their career path. While at graduation, I learned that another peer of mine opted to go to law school because journalism wouldn't give her the lifestyle she wanted.
Many more are settling into their part-time jobs that have carried them through college, not because they are not qualified or capable of landing the job of their dreams, but simply because that job does not exist or someone with more experience has it.
Another peer of mine is sticking with his job in a PR firm even though he complained about it constantly after an internship fell through. One of my friends will continue working as a sales associate in a major department store while interning in the summer. She is hoping to freelance for a local business newspaper once her internship is over.
Although it is disheartening to graduate into a climate where the prospects of landing a job with benefits are small, many of us are not letting this stop us.
I am facing this bleak situation head on by making the best of the situation and looking at the advantages. I am now able to have dinner with my family, something I hadn't done in about a year and a half. I also understand that saving money is not about accumulating riches, it's about helping you live the life you want.
My job has given me satisfaction as a writer, but most importantly it has helped me beef up my skills and resume. And I know that even if I end up doing something completely different from what I set out to do in the first place, the skills and knowledge I have learned can be used in other careers.
It's tough out there. What's tougher is not knowing all the answers. We were told college is where we'll find out what we'll do for the rest of our lives. This is not true.
We won't leave college with a set career, but with a set of skills that will carry us through different careers over our lifetime if need be.
I've learned that getting ahead in life no matter how tough the job market is, can be accomplished by being tenacious, having a hunger for learning and having a strong work ethic.
Yazmin Cruz is a 2011 graduate of California State University, Northridge.
The uncertainty of our future led us to ramble on about what we would like to do instead of answering the question. Others would confess it was a sore subject. We were well aware that no matter how many times we had made the dean's list or the number of internships we had scored, we still had to face the toughest test yet - finding a job.
A recent Rutgers University study revealed that college graduates are having a hard time landing a job and when they do, they are taking low-paying jobs that are unrelated to their education. Half of those jobs don't even require a college degree.
I'm one of the lucky ones. I began an internship writing for a personal finance website while juggling classes, serving as editor in chief of the daily campus newspaper and dealing with responsibilities at home. The internship turned into a job.
Still, this is not what I saw myself doing after graduation. I wanted to work as a hard news reporter for a local newspaper. The changing newspaper industry didn't scare me as I acquired all the skills necessary to weather the transition. I can write, shoot video, edit audio and take photos.
In my current position, I am blogging about saving money based on my personal experience, coordinating social media, selling ads and planning an event. I'm not complaining. My job has been gratifying as I have the freedom to learn acquire skill sets I didn't have. I consider myself lucky because many of my peers still don't know what they'll be doing. They are waiting to hear whether they will be accepted into summer internships that they hope turn into, at least, a part-time job.
Although the coveted internship is still a way of getting a foot in the door, it seldom guarantees a job. One of my peers working at TV newsmagazine found out a position will soon open up, but she has not been guaranteed the personal assistant position.
She is a talented writer, photographer and videographer who is working her behind off to prove herself worthy of the position - a position for which she is overqualified.
With the job market still in a shambles, we are not only competing with other graduates, but also with individuals who have more experience than we do. Who can blame us for being so apprehensive about the future?
This is why many recent graduates will be hiding out in grad school accumulating more debt until the prospects of finding a job seem more likely. Their reasoning is that a higher degree will make them more competitive. But at what price? Tuition for the CSU and UC systems is going up, and when they graduate they'll have a lighter resume than those who decided to join the work force.
Others, realizing their degree won't be enough to pay the bills that include hefty student loans, are heading back to school to completely change their career path. While at graduation, I learned that another peer of mine opted to go to law school because journalism wouldn't give her the lifestyle she wanted.
Many more are settling into their part-time jobs that have carried them through college, not because they are not qualified or capable of landing the job of their dreams, but simply because that job does not exist or someone with more experience has it.
Another peer of mine is sticking with his job in a PR firm even though he complained about it constantly after an internship fell through. One of my friends will continue working as a sales associate in a major department store while interning in the summer. She is hoping to freelance for a local business newspaper once her internship is over.
Although it is disheartening to graduate into a climate where the prospects of landing a job with benefits are small, many of us are not letting this stop us.
I am facing this bleak situation head on by making the best of the situation and looking at the advantages. I am now able to have dinner with my family, something I hadn't done in about a year and a half. I also understand that saving money is not about accumulating riches, it's about helping you live the life you want.
My job has given me satisfaction as a writer, but most importantly it has helped me beef up my skills and resume. And I know that even if I end up doing something completely different from what I set out to do in the first place, the skills and knowledge I have learned can be used in other careers.
It's tough out there. What's tougher is not knowing all the answers. We were told college is where we'll find out what we'll do for the rest of our lives. This is not true.
We won't leave college with a set career, but with a set of skills that will carry us through different careers over our lifetime if need be.
I've learned that getting ahead in life no matter how tough the job market is, can be accomplished by being tenacious, having a hunger for learning and having a strong work ethic.
Yazmin Cruz is a 2011 graduate of California State University, Northridge.