i work retail right now and while the $ isn't terrible i'm starting to think my time is more valuable.i know there's a couple of us here who've started their own business or work for their family, etc.other than that have any of you guys who haven't graduated(yet!) found any decent jobs?

*just for reference i make 11/hr with a possible small bonus each month. i'm one class away from grad and i would have taken the class this semester but i need $$$$

[Edited on September 15, 2007 at 4:33 AM. Reason : .]

9/15/2007 4:31:02 AM

Are you saying like grad school or just basic graduation?

9/15/2007 9:50:10 AM

I can't imagine the situation where making 11/hr is a better investment of your time than finishing one class for a degree. (Yes, it is an investment where you risk upfront costs in order to reap greater returns).

That's some suspect decision making.

9/15/2007 11:44:28 AM

i believe he's referring to finishing undergrad.

your time is much more valuable than 11/hr.

if you want to keep making that no one can stop you.

of course if you chose poorly regarding your major of study and can't get a job b/c of the highly competitive nature of the job, well that's bad too (archeology).

9/15/2007 12:42:11 PM

sorry i didn't clarify i meant undergrad. and yes i'm saving now for the class but it's gonna cost me over $600 outta pocket to take the one class. i'm just wondering if anyone makes a decent living while working towards thier undergrad or planning to never go back and finish it.

9/15/2007 2:17:50 PM

I'm not exactly sure what you're asking.

I would say that you're not going to be able to immediately hop into another job and make much more than that without investing some time. That one class and that little piece of paper can make all of the difference in the world.

Sometimes companies will hire you on a temporary basis with the condition that you complete your final class. I'm not sure how common this is, but I have heard of stranger things happening.

I'm going to assume that you work for Circuit City since you brought Firedog up in another thread. Circuit City should have some kind of tuition reimbursement program. My husband runs a Geek Squad and I know that he has agents working for him that are in the process of finishing up their degrees and they utilize the tuition reimbursement program and any company worth their salt will give you a schedule to complete your degree as long as you meet minimum availability requirements.

I think that it would be worth it to get a credit card, slap the $600 out of pocket on to it, use tuition reimbursement for part of it, and just eat up the cost of the rest. The degree is going to be worth it in the long run.

----

We had a friend that worked as a retail Supervisor making 40K a year with only his high school diploma. He was working full time and taking a class or two every semester in an attempt to get his undergraduate degree. He eventually decided to quit his job to go to school full time because the 40K with the potential of making 6 figures in a few years and promotions, just was not worth never completing his degree.

[Edited on September 15, 2007 at 2:43 PM. Reason : .]

9/15/2007 2:40:18 PM

I can't believe you are even contemplating stopping one semester short. The only ones who should ever think about this are those kids who are going to play professional sports.

600$. I find it hard to believe that you couldn't get a loan for such a tiny amount of money.

If the best you can pull is $11/hr, the absolutely smarter decision is to borrow money and finish your degree ASAP. You are getting reamed on opportunity cost by trying to save that much up on a joke salary. You need to learn how to rationally evaluate investments.

A.) Take on a small amount of low interest debt now in order to make at least double your current salary a semester from now.

versus

B.) Waste a semester saving up a meager amount of money, take another semester to finish, then finally get a decent job.

By the time you finish B, you will already have paid off your debt and have a profit in A. Even if you go ahead and start your own business anyway, getting the degree is at least a hedge against the (likely) failure of that business.

9/15/2007 2:47:32 PM

IM NOT THINKING ABOUT NOT CONSIDERING NOT GRADUATING.i want to know how my situation compares to other people who haven't graduated yet. right now i'm really just fed up w/ circuit city and retail around the x-mas season is the worst. so i'm thinking about quitting but i don't want to be in a situation where i quit and can't find a better job.

[Edited on September 15, 2007 at 6:16 PM. Reason : .]

9/15/2007 6:08:51 PM

It would be incredibly foolish to quit your job before you found another one. You can probably find another job, but you do not want to be forced into taking a seasonal job that may no longer exist in several months or a job that does not pay as much as you want to be paid because you no longer have a source of income.

And at $11/hr, you're making more than I ever made at any part-time job that I had while I was in college. In fact, you're making more than I made at my temporary job that I worked in those first months following graduation.

9/15/2007 6:56:28 PM

Damn $600 is that all, why not just get a student loan?

9/15/2007 10:21:31 PM

If you are fed up with your current job, I would recommend trying to find a part-time or entry-level job in the field you wish to pursue post graduation as was mentioned above. Why work at something temporary if you can gain experience in your future field? I am sure that you will be able to gain experience in your field (unless it is extremely obsure) without a degree. Start looking and when you find something and have an offer in hand, tell your current employer that you have found something better.

This is coming from someone who has yet to complete their batchelor's degree. While at NCSU, I decided that I needed a break from the "big college" and went to tech school at night while working. Since, I have continued moving up the proverbial ladder and now I am at a point such that a 4 year degree would not benefit me right now. All the degree does is get you the interview. Practical experience is much more valuable in my opinion.

9/17/2007 4:05:35 PM

practical experience is MUCH more valuable.

if you have that and no degree, people will still hire you.

a degree and no experience = no offers.

having both = faster ladder climbing/more $ in a shorter time.

9/17/2007 10:07:50 PM

^That's only true for lower management positions and below. If you don't have a degree, you are going to hit a glass ceiling. You'd have to be extremely famous (nationally known in your industry) to overcome this.

The cold hard truth is that having a degree is a convenient and reliable way for HR people to filter out less desirable employees. It might not be a 100% correct tool, but HR people get penalized a lot more for hiring a bad employee without a degree than for missing on a good employee without a degree. You have to think like an HR person -- looking for a degree is a way for them to significantly minimize risk in hiring.

When it comes to middle, senior level management, team leads, and high-dollar positions, HR people are much more risk averse.

The case where both candidates have degrees and the case where only one has a degree are completely different and aren't comparable. Once the HR person can check off that both candidates have degrees, he will lean heavily on experience. If the HR person can't check off the degree requirement, you put them in a position to make a difficult decision that they are often unwilling to make.

Another thing to note is that if times become difficult, among the first people they will cut are those who they can easily blame -- the ones who appear to not be qualified.

[Edited on September 17, 2007 at 11:34 PM. Reason : sdf]

9/17/2007 11:31:55 PM

^Only true in large corporate environments.

I've gotten at least half of the jobs in my life without even presenting a resume (okay so I did drop in a resume), but my education didn't mean anything because I landed the interview and job through connections.

For him, yes he needs to FINISH THE DEGREE NOW. Go to your bank, get a credit line, finish the damn class.

After that, mdozer and seotaji are RIGHT ON, get in your field anyway you can and start getting to know people. The more people you know (and that like you) the more options you will have down the road.

I've got several hundred business contacts at this point, it's an indispensable resource.

9/18/2007 2:02:12 AM

Quote :

"If you don't have a degree, you are going to hit a glass ceiling."

Either that, or you will get laid off when you are 40 and by then half the people you compete with to get a job will probably have advanced degrees.

9/18/2007 10:22:00 AM

its not even a question of whether or not a bachelor's degree is required.... that goes without saying. at this point, a bachelors is about the equivalent in terms of job prospects as a high school diploma was 50 years ago.

9/18/2007 1:24:20 PM

not really, but if you are 99% done with it, there are going to be major questions about why you havent finished.

9/18/2007 1:56:29 PM

I meant if you wanted a middle-class lifestyle.

For achieving middle-class lifestyle, a bachelors degree today is equivalent to a highschool degree 50 odd years ago

9/18/2007 3:53:50 PM

Define middle class.

^That holds true unless you want to be a teacher. Even with a Master's Degree, a teacher's salary barely qualifies as middle class (in North Carolina, in my opinion of middle class) as a single income household.

[Edited on September 18, 2007 at 6:14 PM. Reason : .]

9/18/2007 6:13:51 PM

shoot as a undergrad I was getting 12 a hour for working in a office. It all depends on what you consider good omney. Also you can't count people who work for family or their friends got them a job. Its great they got a job but they had a help.

9/18/2007 10:36:17 PM

You need just 600 dollars to finish, what the fuck are you doing? You can get that amount from anywhere.

9/19/2007 2:24:13 AM

As long as I am making more than a teacher then I am happy.

9/19/2007 11:38:35 AM

Quote :

"Also you can't count people who work for family or their friends got them a job. Its great they got a job but they had a help."

Why not? I know many people who have gotten great jobs from knowing someone (aka networking). It really is "who you know, not what you know" for the most part. I know I had absolutely no qualifications for the job I currently have and would never have gotten it if it wasn't for a contact I had.

9/20/2007 11:30:20 PM

Quote :

"Why not? I know many people who have gotten great jobs from knowing someone (aka networking). It really is "who you know, not what you know" for the most part. I know I had absolutely no qualifications for the job I currently have and would never have gotten it if it wasn't for a contact I had. "

the reason i wanted to not include those guys is because they obviously had a break or something outside of just their know how to get the job. that would be like tom from myspace coming and goin "yea i sold myspace for millions before i graduated... get it together grouch!"

but u do bring up a good point maybe i need t get my ass on the fast track and start talkin to more than just my co-workers.

9/21/2007 6:28:26 PM

un-assisted and not working with friends or family. Totally random job find actually but I haven't graduated yet and I have a full-time permanent position. Official title is UI Developer. Can't disclose my pay but it's high. (Higher than my mom's who is a college graduate and is currently a project manager at Sony Ericsson)

10/24/2007 10:09:17 AM

oh wow, top double secret pay.....arent you the tww that parents or grandparents or something like that basically pay for everything and you have little if any expenses?

11/4/2007 6:22:01 PM