Guy working at Subway with a bachelor's degree; is this the new norm?

[Orlong]

I put myself through school and I think the hardest thing about getting an internship was that all of the top banking internships were unpaid. And I had to pay for rent, business suits (could be done cheaply but not too cheaply), food, etc. So, unless you had parents that were supporting you, you had to work two jobs during the summer to afford that unpaid internship. Doubly difficult if not impossible because ibanking internships had you at the office 80 hours a week, not an exaggeration. People have died from banking internships.

http://www.salon.com/2015/06/18/gold...a_corp_intern/

You can buy good suits that are like new and sometimes brand new with tags at Good Will, Salvation Army, and other thrift shops for $20 or less

[Theinquisition]

Maybe if advancement actually happened. I know in my industry "advancement" happens through "external promotions" AKA getting a job at a different company that pays more. And lets look at how much $17.50 really is. That's an annual salary of $36,400 + overtime.

The average monthly cost of living in the US is $2,371/mo, which is $28,452/yr. Not counting taxes, that means you get to save (if you spend only on what you need) $7,948 per year. Average student loan debt is $30,100 per borrower, meaning ~4 years of doing nothing fun to pay off the college degree they're not even using. No savings, no emergency funds, no time going out and meeting people. I can see why they'd say it's stressful. Just the pay amount is stressing me from just crunching numbers.

Part of the reason we are always hiring is because upward mobility in the company I work for is so good, as long as you have a degree.

I don't think 17.50 rightour of college is bad, unless you have a STEM degree.

if you snub your nose at a entry level job paying 37k.....well...I hope you starve.

[Annoying]

People on salary are generally paid more than hourly people on a yearly basis to make up for the extra work. Keep in mind too that salaried people also work less hours during slow times and still get paid the same

Not counting the odd jobs I did to pay for college, I've been entirely salaried from my internship up to my current job. I have never seen one that lets you work less than full hours. If my timecard doesn't have 80 hours on it, I have to use PTO to fill it up to 80.

Part of the reason we are always hiring is because upward mobility in the company I work for is so good, as long as you have a degree.

I don't think 17.50 rightour of college is bad, unless you have a STEM degree.

if you snub your nose at a entry level job paying 37k.....well...I hope you starve.

That'd probably be fine if you're right out of high school. 37k fresh out of high-school and snubbing your nose? Yeah, I agree. But if I was fresh out of college and offered $37k, I'd certainly turn that down. Then again, STEM, heh.

Also, jealous of the upward mobility. I pretty much got told that I had a max ceiling (that I'm actually at right now...) of positions I could rise up to until someone above that retires. Simulation Developer I -> Senior Simulation Developer. If I want more money (excluding yearly inflation raises), gotta go look somewhere else or wait for someone to retire in the right position.

[Damajin]

I bet Supertony cranks out a few hours at Subway on the weekends, puts that military training into the sandwich artist uniform and becomes a whirlwind of condiments and sauces. Watch out for that Cat 4 hahaha.

[Endus]

Not counting the odd jobs I did to pay for college, I've been entirely salaried from my internship up to my current job. I have never seen one that lets you work less than full hours. If my timecard doesn't have 80 hours on it, I have to use PTO to fill it up to 80.

Just for sake of discussion, my sister works for the Canadian federal government in a pretty decent-level position, and she gets flex time, so if she works 50 hours in one week, that "earns" her 12.5 hours of time off with pay she's "earned". She usually works her arse off and then spends her flex time on long weekends for family events like getting an extra-long Thanksgiving weekend with the family, saving her vacation time for longer actual vacations.

[Celista]

You can buy good suits that are like new and sometimes brand new with tags at Good Will, Salvation Army, and other thrift shops for $20 or less

That doesn't cut it for banking, sorry. You need a nice cut, also their women's "suits" are basically nonexistent unless you're a size 18+ and are looking for a floral print straight from the 80s.

This isn't work in a commercial bank branch this is higher end stuff like work in equity derivatives, etc.

[Kuntantee]

The options in those fields are almost limitless. Civil Engineering, for example, covers a wide range of specialties from structural, geotechnical, open channel hydraulics, hydrology, seismic, survey, mining, etc. Within structural you have bridge, building, dam, etc.

That's what I am saying. Any sort of engineering is a guaranteed job IFF you've learned your profession reasonably well. If you are a CS/CE graduate, and you* can't code, it's not the problem of higher education system or the discipline itself. It's just you* being a terrible at your job. This is why I am having hard times to get "STEM is dire" kind of responses. The competition for companies like Google, Blizzard, etc. -- the best companies in their sectors -- is high and it's normal. The thing is you don't need to work in spearheading companies to earn relatively well doing your profession. Any mid-sized company will pay well for their programmers after several years.

*you here is not you.

[Deleted]

we cant all be astronauts, even if we all were smart enough to be one.

[Theinquisition]

I bet Supertony cranks out a few hours at Subway on the weekends, puts that military training into the sandwich artist uniform and becomes a whirlwind of condiments and sauces. Watch out for that Cat 4 hahaha.

Lol

Never did the subway thing. I did work at McDonald's for about a year when I was 16.

Long story short.....got a AAS in electronics technology.....worked at motorola...got laid off and joined the army. Got my BA in aircraft maintenance management, left the service after hurting my back (which made it impossible to work on aircraft) and am now working on the finance industry while I finish my BA in emergency management.

[Kuntantee]

Also, jealous of the upward mobility. I pretty much got told that I had a max ceiling (that I'm actually at right now...) of positions I could rise up to until someone above that retires. Simulation Developer I -> Senior Simulation Developer. If I want more money (excluding yearly inflation raises), gotta go look somewhere else or wait for someone to retire in the right position.

Same in Turkey. The easiest way to have a quantum leap in your salary is basically changing the job. To be frank, it's not even all about the position you are getting in the new job. It's just a well-established concept. If an engineer is going from company A to B, and B wants that engineer, they gotta pay significantly (>15-20%) higher than their previous salary, unless it's some sort of "dream job" situation, like going from a mid-sized company to Google etc. in which case salary may not be the primary motivator.

[Celista]

I have seen people with Masters Degrees working as Waitresses.

Seriously, do people *still* seem to have this impression that a Degree is a gateway to a magical 6 figure salary on graduation?

Because we have been telling young adults that higher education is the key to a good future, and we have been doing so for a long time.

Six figure salary is hyperbole. Comfortable living wage.

[Rasulis]

Same in Turkey. The easiest way to have a quantum leap in your salary is basically changing the job. To be frank, it's not even all about the position you are getting in the new job. It's just a well-established concept. If an engineer is going from company A to B, and B wants that engineer, they gotta pay significantly (>15-20%) higher than their previous salary, unless it's some sort of "dream job" situation, like going from a mid-sized company to Google etc. in which case salary may not be the primary motivator.

That is why small engineering company like us doesn’t hire students out of school. You give them training and experience, and then they leave for a bigger company. We prefer to hire senior level engineer, or even better, retired engineer. Three of the engineers in our office, used to be project managers at several local agencies that we do business with. They cost more in salary, but on top of experience, they bring stability, knowledge of inner working of the agencies that they used to work for, and their network and the people that they know. That last part is probably the most valuable aspect of hiring a senior level engineer.

[Deleted]

bachelor's degree in the social sciences

If only he had a real degree there...

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Are there ANY bachelor's degrees nowadays that guarantee you a position...besides maybe some engineering degrees, and accounting? I've read the threads on here about STEM fields, and people I know working in STEM are saying the grass isn't too green there either.

Here in Europe, people with an Engineering degree are usually hired before their graduation.

[A dot Ham]

See thread title.

I live in Portland, Oregon. I haven't been going to Subway often lately (once every few months) but I stopped into the one near my apartment recently and I noticed it's the same guy working there each time I stop in. He's friendly and we strike up a conversation; the subject of grad school comes up and he tells me that he is in the process of applying to MFA programs. Apparently he has a bachelor's degree in the social sciences from the University of Oregon.

I didn't think I was that out of touch but holy shit. Bachelor's degree and working at Subway? Is this the norm now, or is this guy really aiming low with his job search? Wondering as it's been a few years since I graduated from undergrad (although not THAT long ago).

Not trying to shit on the guy for working at Subway, but he seemed intelligent and claims to be educated (at a fairly decent-ish state university); if this is the job market that grads are walking into then this is extremely depressing.

This generation has bought into some really stupid advice hook line and sinker.

"Do what you love and the money will come."

or

"Find a career where you would do what you regardless of whether or not you got paid for it."

No. Before you go to college, before you select a major. Look at the perspective job market for the next 5 years. Find a booming profession that interests you and/or matches well with your strengths and skill sets.

Then find a school/program that will provide you the education necessary to get a job in said fields.

The truth is the majority of us don't get the luxury of getting paid to do what we love. We work hard at things we are good at, so we can do the things we love.

[Teaklog]

I disagree. It relies heavily on the human mentality. It just also happens to rely heavily on math which is why I think it's actually more useful.

It mostly depends on the program being taught. Some economics programs I have seen are almost entirely theoretical, while others I've seen have focused almost entirely on business costing/production, others have focused on the social science aspect of it. The thing with economics is that its pretty much the bridge between social sciences and business. Many universities separate the two as "economics" and "business economics," but some don't.

[Unholyground]

I dropped out of college and managed getting a job doing web and graphic design for 7 years, sometimes you get lucky too in the end, but I will say, 9 times out of 10 you get the good jobs becasue of who you know, not what you know.

[Sky High]

for certain degrees/study fields it sure seems to be. I'm not quite sure which ones those are but they aren't mine, thank fuck.

[Thunderbleem]

My wife has a master's in biology, is published in scientific journals, and has presented original research around the world. She makes $9.50/hr working at a plant nursery. She's applied for thousands of jobs she is pretty much exactly qualified for and never gotten so much as a "thanks for applying."

I have a bachelor's and am enlisted in the military (though to be fair I probably could have gone officer in any branch other than the one I'm in).

So yeah, in my experience it's sort of the norm.

[Celista]

My wife has a master's in biology, is published in scientific journals, and has presented original research around the world. She makes $9.50/hr working at a plant nursery. She's applied for thousands of jobs she is pretty much exactly qualified for and never gotten so much as a "thanks for applying."

I have a bachelor's and am enlisted in the military (though to be fair I probably could have gone officer in any branch other than the one I'm in).

So yeah, in my experience it's sort of the norm.

Aren't you expected to go on and get a PhD if you have a master's in biology, however? I thought that was true of most of the sciences.

[Lockon Stratos]

Nothing new about this. Our economy is in the gutter regardless of how much the talking heads in the TV tell you otherwise. We've had pathetic economic growth, less than 3% annually.

You people wanted globalism, now you have it. All your good paying blue collar jobs are gone. School isn't for everyone, but they've told the lie that you need higher education to be successful, so all the people who would've been better off working a blue collar job went and got a degree in something that's in extremely low demand and not technical, so now thye are left with high student loan debt and low wages.