Comments on: Our generation: overeducated & underexperienced http://akhilak.com/blog/2010/04/29/our-generation-overeducated-underexperienced/ By Akhila K. Sat, 19 May 2012 19:56:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: been there http://akhilak.com/blog/2010/04/29/our-generation-overeducated-underexperienced/#comment-4667 been there Thu, 08 Dec 2011 21:04:00 +0000 http://akhilak.com/blog/?p=805#comment-4667 I graduated in 1976, in the middle of Jimmy Carter's stagflation.  I had a degree in biology and wanted to work in the pharmaceutical industry before going to graduate school.  I was willing to take graduate school in 2 or 3 years while working full time.  I was willing to clean rat cages.  Two years earlier I had been a Teacher's assistant, setting up and grading freshman chemistry labs.  A year earlier I had tutored quantitative chemical analysis.  But, in 1976, every door I knocked on at every pharmaceutical manufacturer had a hiring freeze.  To make it worse, when I visited a job posting at the National Institutes of Health, it was for a job open to "women and minorities only."  As a white male, I was crushed.  it didn't help when I got home to meet other white males, with MBAs, sweeping warehouses, and it didn't help to hear about people without a college degree at all making tons of money handling baggage at the local airport.  My only work experience was in construction, except for the brief period I worked as a teaching assistant in a chemistry lab.  Believe me, I'm not the only one who didn't get off to a good start.  I met a couple of guys down from Virginia who came to Texas during the height of the oil boom following the Arab Oil Embargo.  One got a job selling cameras in a camera store.  The other got a job installing alarm systems.  Then, during the late 1980s bust, I met a graduate of a major Texas university keeping the desk at a 7-11.  His degree was in animal science.  I don't know where some of these people ended up.  I'll just close with this.  I know a man in his 70s who is now staying with his daughter.  He was an honor student in high school and was admitted to a top Texas College.  He transferred to another private college and went into the ministry.  Today, he has nothing.  His asssets are all gone.  But, I'll say this for him.  He is full of wisdom.  He knows history.  I value him as a friend.  I didn't achieve financially what I wanted to achieve, but there is more to life.  I graduated in 1976, in the middle of Jimmy Carter’s stagflation.  I had a degree in biology and wanted to work in the pharmaceutical industry before going to graduate school.  I was willing to take graduate school in 2 or 3 years while working full time.  I was willing to clean rat cages.  Two years earlier I had been a Teacher’s assistant, setting up and grading freshman chemistry labs.  A year earlier I had tutored quantitative chemical analysis.  But, in 1976, every door I knocked on at every pharmaceutical manufacturer had a hiring freeze.  To make it worse, when I visited a job posting at the National Institutes of Health, it was for a job open to “women and minorities only.”  As a white male, I was crushed.  it didn’t help when I got home to meet other white males, with MBAs, sweeping warehouses, and it didn’t help to hear about people without a college degree at all making tons of money handling baggage at the local airport.  My only work experience was in construction, except for the brief period I worked as a teaching assistant in a chemistry lab.  Believe me, I’m not the only one who didn’t get off to a good start.  I met a couple of guys down from Virginia who came to Texas during the height of the oil boom following the Arab Oil Embargo.  One got a job selling cameras in a camera store.  The other got a job installing alarm systems.  Then, during the late 1980s bust, I met a graduate of a major Texas university keeping the desk at a 7-11.  His degree was in animal science.  I don’t know where some of these people ended up.  I’ll just close with this.  I know a man in his 70s who is now staying with his daughter.  He was an honor student in high school and was admitted to a top Texas College.  He transferred to another private college and went into the ministry.  Today, he has nothing.  His asssets are all gone.  But, I’ll say this for him.  He is full of wisdom.  He knows history.  I value him as a friend.  I didn’t achieve financially what I wanted to achieve, but there is more to life. 

]]> By: Make huge money milking frogs – - Clinton Reid Brown http://akhilak.com/blog/2010/04/29/our-generation-overeducated-underexperienced/#comment-4252 Make huge money milking frogs – - Clinton Reid Brown Wed, 13 Jul 2011 14:24:02 +0000 http://akhilak.com/blog/?p=805#comment-4252 [...] don’t know if I can really say it better than Akhila did here, “We have become dependent on higher education to boost our lacking self esteems.” In [...] [...] don’t know if I can really say it better than Akhila did here, “We have become dependent on higher education to boost our lacking self esteems.” In [...]

]]> By: Miss Livzy http://akhilak.com/blog/2010/04/29/our-generation-overeducated-underexperienced/#comment-3869 Miss Livzy Sat, 02 Apr 2011 14:56:00 +0000 http://akhilak.com/blog/?p=805#comment-3869 There are some other job areas that require masters and post masters, such as clinical psychology. However you are right, since starting work I have come to view experience as more valuable than qualifications; however there is still a need for qualifications to a point. There are some other job areas that require masters and post masters, such as clinical psychology. However you are right, since starting work I have come to view experience as more valuable than qualifications; however there is still a need for qualifications to a point.

]]> By: Akhila http://akhilak.com/blog/2010/04/29/our-generation-overeducated-underexperienced/#comment-3648 Akhila Sun, 30 Jan 2011 02:35:00 +0000 http://akhilak.com/blog/?p=805#comment-3648 Great idea! I love the fact that you can bring your own innovative mind to the university setting, and incubate a budding social enterprise with support from professors, departments, school funding, fellow students, etc. I definitely think the university setting is a great place to experiment and begin social enterprises. While you are in school, you have the opportunity to innovate and experiment without necessarily having to risk your salary. I think it's a great way to get started on developing a unique post-graduate opportunity. Thanks for sharing and good luck! Great idea! I love the fact that you can bring your own innovative mind to the university setting, and incubate a budding social enterprise with support from professors, departments, school funding, fellow students, etc. I definitely think the university setting is a great place to experiment and begin social enterprises. While you are in school, you have the opportunity to innovate and experiment without necessarily having to risk your salary. I think it’s a great way to get started on developing a unique post-graduate opportunity. Thanks for sharing and good luck!

]]> By: Lauren http://akhilak.com/blog/2010/04/29/our-generation-overeducated-underexperienced/#comment-3643 Lauren Sat, 29 Jan 2011 21:21:00 +0000 http://akhilak.com/blog/?p=805#comment-3643 I love the discussion, great points from both sides. One thing I've been considering IF I pursue a masters (I have a BA in Geography & Sustainable Community Development) is to shape the research focus on an idea that can be turned into a business when done. For example, I knew a gal that did a masters in Sustainability Studies. She looked at the motivations of people to achieve successful and long-lasting behaviour change for sustainable living and health. She developed a 10-week public education course that focused on goal setting. Meeting one evening per week, they would go through a topic and set goals, then check up on progress the following week. It became extremely popular, the local government backed it up and did a few courses themselves, and now another lady is regularly offereing the course for a small fee of $50. She created a social enterprise for heself that was incubated in the university setting, not bad! Perhaps it's a way to make Masters more relevant and useful? I love the discussion, great points from both sides. One thing I’ve been considering IF I pursue a masters (I have a BA in Geography & Sustainable Community Development) is to shape the research focus on an idea that can be turned into a business when done. For example, I knew a gal that did a masters in Sustainability Studies. She looked at the motivations of people to achieve successful and long-lasting behaviour change for sustainable living and health. She developed a 10-week public education course that focused on goal setting. Meeting one evening per week, they would go through a topic and set goals, then check up on progress the following week. It became extremely popular, the local government backed it up and did a few courses themselves, and now another lady is regularly offereing the course for a small fee of $50. She created a social enterprise for heself that was incubated in the university setting, not bad! Perhaps it’s a way to make Masters more relevant and useful?

]]> By: eichler http://akhilak.com/blog/2010/04/29/our-generation-overeducated-underexperienced/#comment-3578 eichler Wed, 12 Jan 2011 03:48:00 +0000 http://akhilak.com/blog/?p=805#comment-3578 Lou Reed and John Cale once put it poetically in a song (The Trouble with Classicists): "I like the druggy downtown kids who spray paint walls and trains I like their lack of training, their primitive technique I think sometimes it hurts you when you stay too long in school I think sometimes it hurts you when you're afraid to be called a fool" Lou Reed and John Cale once put it poetically in a song (The Trouble with Classicists):
“I like the druggy downtown kids who spray paint walls and trains
I like their lack of training, their primitive technique
I think sometimes it hurts you when you stay too long in school
I think sometimes it hurts you when you’re afraid to be called a fool”

]]> By: Commencing a Career | Jessica Journey http://akhilak.com/blog/2010/04/29/our-generation-overeducated-underexperienced/#comment-3479 Commencing a Career | Jessica Journey Sat, 27 Nov 2010 20:19:11 +0000 http://akhilak.com/blog/?p=805#comment-3479 [...] you can admit that I was initially wary when I read Akhila‘s latest blog post, Our Generation: Overeducated and Underexperienced.  Afterall, I have invested much time and energy into higher [...] [...] you can admit that I was initially wary when I read Akhila‘s latest blog post, Our Generation: Overeducated and Underexperienced.  Afterall, I have invested much time and energy into higher [...]

]]> By: Tweets that mention Our generation: overeducated & underexperienced | Justice for all, Justice for all | Writing about human rights and social change -- Topsy.com http://akhilak.com/blog/2010/04/29/our-generation-overeducated-underexperienced/#comment-3396 Tweets that mention Our generation: overeducated & underexperienced | Justice for all, Justice for all | Writing about human rights and social change -- Topsy.com Mon, 18 Oct 2010 22:52:56 +0000 http://akhilak.com/blog/?p=805#comment-3396 [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Akhila Kolisetty, Tammy Wong. Tammy Wong said: RT @akhilak: RE: I don't think that there are no jobs at the moment - I agree that it is difficult to get a job, but it's certainly… http://disq.us/patbd [...] [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Akhila Kolisetty, Tammy Wong. Tammy Wong said: RT @akhilak: RE: I don't think that there are no jobs at the moment – I agree that it is difficult to get a job, but it's certainly… http://disq.us/patbd [...]

]]> By: Akhila http://akhilak.com/blog/2010/04/29/our-generation-overeducated-underexperienced/#comment-3395 Akhila Mon, 18 Oct 2010 21:51:00 +0000 http://akhilak.com/blog/?p=805#comment-3395 I don't think that there are no jobs at the moment - I agree that it is difficult to get a job, but it's certainly not impossible. I know many people who have been able to get jobs, after a lot of searching of course. If you can't get a job, take an internship in the meantime. Or do whatever it takes to get some practical experience. In addition, it doesn't look like the economy is going to improve anytime soon. The recession is here to stay. I'm no economist (only an economics major), but I've heard that we should adjust ourselves to these higher unemployment rates because they are the norm from now onwards. The recession is, possibly, here to stay. So you should get used to searching for a job in this economic climate- because your situation might not improve even if you have a graduate degree. At the end of the day it all depends on what you want to do with your life. As I mentioned there are certain jobs that require a graduate degree. Others really don't. If your only goal is to get a job I wouldn't encourage you to go to grad school. Grad school should be pursued because of passion. If you are just doing it to escape from the job market, that's a bad idea. I don’t think that there are no jobs at the moment – I agree that it is difficult to get a job, but it’s certainly not impossible. I know many people who have been able to get jobs, after a lot of searching of course. If you can’t get a job, take an internship in the meantime. Or do whatever it takes to get some practical experience. In addition, it doesn’t look like the economy is going to improve anytime soon. The recession is here to stay. I’m no economist (only an economics major), but I’ve heard that we should adjust ourselves to these higher unemployment rates because they are the norm from now onwards. The recession is, possibly, here to stay. So you should get used to searching for a job in this economic climate- because your situation might not improve even if you have a graduate degree.

At the end of the day it all depends on what you want to do with your life. As I mentioned there are certain jobs that require a graduate degree. Others really don’t.

If your only goal is to get a job I wouldn’t encourage you to go to grad school. Grad school should be pursued because of passion. If you are just doing it to escape from the job market, that’s a bad idea.

]]> By: Nono http://akhilak.com/blog/2010/04/29/our-generation-overeducated-underexperienced/#comment-3390 Nono Mon, 18 Oct 2010 07:28:00 +0000 http://akhilak.com/blog/?p=805#comment-3390 what do you propose people do when there are no jobs to begin with? what do you propose people do when there are no jobs to begin with?

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