Recent college grads move back home because of job market on clarkhoward.com

Recent college graduates are moving back in with their parents or other relatives in huge numbers. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that it's happening to 80 percent of graduates. Worse yet, the graduates are beating themselves up over their unlucky plight.

Yet college grads need to realize they are not to blame. There are over seven million fewer jobs today than when the recession began in 2007, according to the Labor Department. In addition, people who are older and might have retired are continuing to work because their retirement savings have declined. So you have a real double whammy.

Stop beating yourself up, college graduates!

This past weekend, Clark spoke with a mid-career person who has been unemployed for some time because she took a buyout from her employer. She's too young to retire and now she's facing a lot of difficulty finding a new job.

Yet the jobs will come back, though Clark does not have a magic date as to when they'll appear again. Economists say the rates of job losses are declining, which is good, but we're not yet seeing that full-scale turnaround in employment.

Meanwhile, many college graduates will attempt to use social networking sites like Facebook to help find work. Social networking represents a great opportunity to e-network, but you should beware of scams. Use those kinds of sites with extreme care.

What others are saying

Choose Carefully
As a person who hires individuals for entry level positions I deal with "college" grads all the time. My strong advice is as follows: Please have your kids look at local 2 year colleges to start out with - the cost savings are very substantial. Also please have your kids research fully the field they wish to major in - there is nothing worse then spending 50K ++ and finding out the field is not hiring or on the way out. In the very recent past I have seen resumes with students having degrees in "minority studies" and "performing arts" from major universities - what do you think their odds are at finding work???
By ncsteve @ 10/23/09 09:14:19 AMreport abuse
some ideas...
Students planning for college can save loads of money by doing their first 2 years at a community college and then transferring the credits to a 4 year institution.

You can also save money by taking advantage of programs in your region's Academic Common Market, which allows students from participating states to pay in-state tuition in certain advanced degree programs if they are from one of the other participating states.

Students already graduated, and with student loans coming due to be paid, should look at opportunities to do contract work or temping. Selling stuff on eBay is another easy way to start generating some cash, even if full time work opportunities are scarce at the moment. You can find items to resell at yard sales, and also a lot of freebies you can get online can be sold on eBay (coupons, free samples, free magazines, etc)

Additionally, look at available loan forgiveness programs in your field, or in exchange for full time volunteer work.
By vlh @ 10/22/09 06:03:39 PMreport abuse
College Alternatives
Buzz is absolutely right as far as Return on Investment. If you go into debt to get started in a career then you're already behind the 8-ball. My parents were smart enough to save for my college expenses, and I put away money for my kids when they were born to attend college. They both graduated with no college debt - no loans to pay back.

I know this is not possible for everyone but before going into debt for an iffy education that may not have a promising return. Explore your options: The military has an outstanding G.I. bill that pays nearly all your expenses. It also has programs to work toward your degree while being paid on active duty. The Peace Corps has programs that pays for higher education if you stay with them for 2 years. And they provide lodging, food, medical and a monthly stipend.

There are other programs worth exploring and if you already have a degree - consider working overseas for a year or 2. The Federal Gov't has jobs all over the world in addition to other organizations similar to the Peace Corps.

Be inventive - be adventurous. Best of Luck!
By J.J. @ 10/22/09 03:59:50 PMreport abuse
What others are saying
anonymous, I could not agree with you more and it is not a good thing that our government is so stupid, or is it that they just don't care?
By Mark Hillyard @ 10/22/09 03:58:27 PMreport abuse
I went to college for two years and quit. That was 20 years ago and I still regret not finishing college. I've known and worked with fools that got good jobs because they finished college. If you have that piece of paper it makes all the difference in the world. You may not be able to work in the "philosophy" trade with your philosophy degree, but you can probably get a decent job doing something.

Manual labor jobs are hard work and good ones with decent pay are getting harder and harder to find. More factories are closing down and moving overseas to use cheap labor.

Retail jobs aren't any good. They don't pay squat and want to keep you at part-time so they don't have to give you any benefits.

Most of the construction and manufacturing jobs left have been taken over by the illegal Mexicans. It's getting to the point that the only good, blue-collar job left for American men is truck driving and that is a hard life: sleeping in your truck, on the road all the time, never home to see your kids or wife, etc.
By anonymous @ 10/22/09 08:34:14 AMreport abuse
I agree with Buzz. For what it cost to go to college now its not worth it. I got neighbors with student loans as big as their mortgage. I never went to college and have been working full time in retail since 17. I'm 40 with no bills except a house payment and will have that payed off in 4 years or less.
Would have the house payed off to by now but did some dumb spending in my younger days.
One thing that helped. Don't buy a $40,000 dollar SUV that get 10 miles per gallon and complain you have no money. Your car payment including gas, insurance and car tags should not be more than your house payment a month.
By me @ 10/21/09 09:32:57 PMreport abuse
Yep, this is true
My eldest daughter graduated from college in fall of 2007. She searched for a job for 6 mo. in her field (forensic science) and when she couldn't find one, she took a $12/hr job. She was laid off in 3 months and has not found anything since. I support her financially except that it's killing me. Got audited by the IRS for renting to her at below-market value.--Didn't know I couldn't do this and now owe a HUGE amount in back taxes. They don't care. In the meantime, she is hounded by the private student loan folks. She's now looking at taking a job in a pharmacy ($10-12/hr) because there is nothing else.--This is sort of what she did before she went to college.

I agree with Buzz below. I work at a University and when we advertise, I see hundreds of applications for just one position that requires a Ph.D. We only hire ONE. The pay is not that great either considering the years and effort it took to get that Ph.D.
By Little Red Hen @ 10/21/09 08:14:18 PMreport abuse
Return On Investment (ROI)
One of the things businesses do to determine whether or not to invest somewhere is calculate Return on Investment or ROI. A heck of a lot of people who are going to college today would be better off banking the money and directly joining the workforce. This is particularly true of kids who do not have the money but need to borrow it. Starting life out deep in debt is not wise unless you are entering a high-paying profession with near certain job propects (Doctor, dentist, etc.) Many with degrees, even advanced degrees, in sociology, history, etc., will have a Return on Investment of never. Sorry to say, but this is becoming increasingly true. I have seen a number of studies that purport to show that a college education is well worth what you pay for it, but most of these studies are done by organizations with an ax to grind and are not to be trusted. I strongly suspect that if you throw out the highest paying professions (Doctor, Dentist, etc.) that the results would be much different. It is almost heretical today to tell kids not to go to college. But I suspect in many cases it would be good advice.
By Buzz G @ 10/21/09 03:32:04 PMreport abuse

Choose Carefully

As a person who hires individuals for entry level positions I deal with "college" grads all the time. My strong advice is as follows: Please have your kids look at local 2 year colleges to start out with - the cost savings are very substantial. Also please have your kids research fully the field they wish to major in - there is nothing worse then spending 50K ++ and finding out the field is not hiring or on the way out. In the very recent past I have seen resumes with students having degrees in "minority studies" and "performing arts" from major universities - what do you think their odds are at finding work???

By ncsteve @ 10/23/09 09:14:19 AMreport abuse

some ideas...

Students planning for college can save loads of money by doing their first 2 years at a community college and then transferring the credits to a 4 year institution.

You can also save money by taking advantage of programs in your region's Academic Common Market, which allows students from participating states to pay in-state tuition in certain advanced degree programs if they are from one of the other participating states.

Students already graduated, and with student loans coming due to be paid, should look at opportunities to do contract work or temping. Selling stuff on eBay is another easy way to start generating some cash, even if full time work opportunities are scarce at the moment. You can find items to resell at yard sales, and also a lot of freebies you can get online can be sold on eBay (coupons, free samples, free magazines, etc)

Additionally, look at available loan forgiveness programs in your field, or in exchange for full time volunteer work.

By vlh @ 10/22/09 06:03:39 PMreport abuse

College Alternatives

Buzz is absolutely right as far as Return on Investment. If you go into debt to get started in a career then you're already behind the 8-ball. My parents were smart enough to save for my college expenses, and I put away money for my kids when they were born to attend college. They both graduated with no college debt - no loans to pay back.

I know this is not possible for everyone but before going into debt for an iffy education that may not have a promising return. Explore your options: The military has an outstanding G.I. bill that pays nearly all your expenses. It also has programs to work toward your degree while being paid on active duty. The Peace Corps has programs that pays for higher education if you stay with them for 2 years. And they provide lodging, food, medical and a monthly stipend.

There are other programs worth exploring and if you already have a degree - consider working overseas for a year or 2. The Federal Gov't has jobs all over the world in addition to other organizations similar to the Peace Corps.

Be inventive - be adventurous. Best of Luck!

By J.J. @ 10/22/09 03:59:50 PMreport abuse

anonymous, I could not agree with you more and it is not a good thing that our government is so stupid, or is it that they just don't care?

By Mark Hillyard @ 10/22/09 03:58:27 PMreport abuse

I went to college for two years and quit. That was 20 years ago and I still regret not finishing college. I've known and worked with fools that got good jobs because they finished college. If you have that piece of paper it makes all the difference in the world. You may not be able to work in the "philosophy" trade with your philosophy degree, but you can probably get a decent job doing something.

Manual labor jobs are hard work and good ones with decent pay are getting harder and harder to find. More factories are closing down and moving overseas to use cheap labor.

Retail jobs aren't any good. They don't pay squat and want to keep you at part-time so they don't have to give you any benefits.

Most of the construction and manufacturing jobs left have been taken over by the illegal Mexicans. It's getting to the point that the only good, blue-collar job left for American men is truck driving and that is a hard life: sleeping in your truck, on the road all the time, never home to see your kids or wife, etc.

By anonymous @ 10/22/09 08:34:14 AMreport abuse

I agree with Buzz. For what it cost to go to college now its not worth it. I got neighbors with student loans as big as their mortgage. I never went to college and have been working full time in retail since 17. I'm 40 with no bills except a house payment and will have that payed off in 4 years or less.
Would have the house payed off to by now but did some dumb spending in my younger days.
One thing that helped. Don't buy a $40,000 dollar SUV that get 10 miles per gallon and complain you have no money. Your car payment including gas, insurance and car tags should not be more than your house payment a month.

By me @ 10/21/09 09:32:57 PMreport abuse

Yep, this is true

My eldest daughter graduated from college in fall of 2007. She searched for a job for 6 mo. in her field (forensic science) and when she couldn't find one, she took a $12/hr job. She was laid off in 3 months and has not found anything since. I support her financially except that it's killing me. Got audited by the IRS for renting to her at below-market value.--Didn't know I couldn't do this and now owe a HUGE amount in back taxes. They don't care. In the meantime, she is hounded by the private student loan folks. She's now looking at taking a job in a pharmacy ($10-12/hr) because there is nothing else.--This is sort of what she did before she went to college.

I agree with Buzz below. I work at a University and when we advertise, I see hundreds of applications for just one position that requires a Ph.D. We only hire ONE. The pay is not that great either considering the years and effort it took to get that Ph.D.

By Little Red Hen @ 10/21/09 08:14:18 PMreport abuse

Return On Investment (ROI)

One of the things businesses do to determine whether or not to invest somewhere is calculate Return on Investment or ROI. A heck of a lot of people who are going to college today would be better off banking the money and directly joining the workforce. This is particularly true of kids who do not have the money but need to borrow it. Starting life out deep in debt is not wise unless you are entering a high-paying profession with near certain job propects (Doctor, dentist, etc.) Many with degrees, even advanced degrees, in sociology, history, etc., will have a Return on Investment of never. Sorry to say, but this is becoming increasingly true. I have seen a number of studies that purport to show that a college education is well worth what you pay for it, but most of these studies are done by organizations with an ax to grind and are not to be trusted. I strongly suspect that if you throw out the highest paying professions (Doctor, Dentist, etc.) that the results would be much different. It is almost heretical today to tell kids not to go to college. But I suspect in many cases it would be good advice.

By Buzz G @ 10/21/09 03:32:04 PMreport abuse

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Oct 21, 2009 -- Recent college grads move back home because of job market

What others are saying