Foo - Just graduated college...dont know what to do

i just graduated from syracuse university with a Bachelor of Science in Information Studies. Right now im still looking for a job and the outlook is mediocre at best. I have ZERO income right now and i have no idea what i should do.

On one hand, i want to get any old job just to have some spending money while on the other hand, im really focused on working out and want to get in the best shape of my life while i have free time on my hands.

For those that are or have been in my situation, what did you do? What do you suggest that i do in the meantime?

i just graduated from syracuse university with a Bachelor of Science in Information Studies. Right now im still looking for a job and the outlook is mediocre at best. I have ZERO income right now and i have no idea what i should do.

On one hand, i want to get any old job just to have some spending money while on the other hand, im really focused on working out and want to get in the best shape of my life while i have free time on my hands.

For those that are or have been in my situation, what did you do? What do you suggest that i do in the meantime?

Please, you can't be serious, can you? If you were really concerned about money and a job you wouldn't have blown your wad on that Spring Break in Italy (as shown in your sig), and instead would have saved your cash and started looking for a job. Or, don't they teach personal responsibility in college these days...

Just graduated? No direction? No hope of a job? No clue? It's time for graduate school!

HTH,
bkr

Ride..Sooner or later you might not have time..Good time to reflect on your solutions, too.

You need to get a job in the area of your training as soon as you can. See a counselor.

Say goodbye to your youth...forever!

Say goodbye to your youth...forever!

what's your gpa? go get a phd.

Don't worry, you always have your parents to fall back on. You're not THAT screwed.

Sounds to me like a good time for a cycling road trip:D I hear the N.shore is good this time of year and also Moab.

:beer:

start your own religious cult

Consider this. Right now you have no job and no money. After you get a job you will have no free time and no money. Trust me on this one.

']start your own religious cult

That seems like the best idea in my opinion. Don't go to grad school, I have enough competition :-P

hmm... tough question.

it depends on all kinds of things, but basically you have 3 good options:
1) put all of your efforts into finidng a job in your area. be open to relocating and apply everywhere.
2) get a job that pays the bills while you look for something better
3) travel and/or do some interesting work now

the danger with the 2 is that you have to make sure that you don't get stuck there. what a lot of people do is get a "right now" job but then since they're working all the time they feel they need to reward themselves with a new car and other junk and soon MUST work the crappy job and can't risk the opportunity for the right job or something else. and they get stuck in a rut and years later are still in the "right now" job... ugh!

number 3 can be really cool - be a camp counsellor in europe or work for a cruise ship or an on-the-road employee for a company or whatever - something that is fun by opening you to new experiences and affords you time BUT also pays enough that you can get by. then you can look for the right opportunity and/or wait until the job market improves. as for the time away from college you just have to find a way to "market" your experience as valuable and not just wasting time. i.e. 2 years from when you're applying for entry-level jobs, how can you make YOU more attractive than the guy just like you who just graduated? (real-world experience, travel experience, experience working directly with customers, etc. i would argue that 1 year as a camp-counsellor in Europe would be more attractive than a year at Target or the local restaraunt)

number 3 could also be a travel job for a company - where you are constantly flying and on the road. it's not something to do forever, but it will be a good experience, look good for resume and allow you to travel on the side and do a little of everything. even if the pay isn't great you live on company expenses so can save a lot of cash! a travel consulting job is the job that i often wish i had done right out of school (these days i don't WANT to travel all the time with friends, relationships, etc). or there's also the Peace Corps - something i always wanted to do. you will gain great experience for yourself and probably something job-marketable and you will be poor but you will have enough money to get by. or teaching English in a foreign country. my cousin did this 2 years ago in Mexico (after finishing college and working a while as a car salesman) and loved it and also really improved his Spanish. or seasonal work in the tourism industry like ski instructor (my sister did that one winter and i was jealous).

i graduated when the job market was good (1994) and did number 1 (accepted my job 11 months before i graduated), but i was lucky.

full-on travel is pretty hard unless you have funds or know you will (i went to europe for 6 weeks after college but i already had a signed contract for my job to start 1 week after my return)

i tend to be the kind of person who would do #1 if possible, #3 otherwise, and #2 only if i had no choice... but life is a difficult balance of doing what you want and what you have to do as well as balance between now and the future...

i have been lucky enough (and always MADE opportunities for myself!!) that i have never had to work in a job where i didn't have enough time to ride and stay fit and have fun (obviously MORE time and time off to travel could always be more). it always depresses me to hear of friends or see overweight people who used to be active cyclists or athletes. for extended periods of time i cannot imagine working TOO many hours that i can't ride at least a 100 miles a week or more... but, hey, that's me. life is short. enjoy it!

#1 rule: don't get into debt!!! so you have the freedom to try things, take risks and do what YOU want, not what you have to do to pay for things you already bought in the past! would you rather live in a cheap apartment and drive a crappy car (or no car) and forgo all the toys (xbox, bigscreen, mp3 player, etc) OR have more free time to ride and money in the bank to travel, tkae time off, or quit your job when it becomes unbearable? i don't have to impress anyone and for me TIME and FREEDOM and FUN and SPORT are more import than impressing people and having all the newest things and all the newest comforts... think about it before you do what every other Joe does and gets in debt for the new car, the big screen, the new car speakers, the new cell phone with the camera, etc.

all right, i'm preaching, but then that's what you asked for. good luck and you have to decide everything for yourself. decide where you want to be and figure out how to get there... and expect a long journey (i'm 33 and still not sure what i really want to do with my life but it's coming along fine except for my stupid torn ACL so i can't ride much the last 2 months but that will improve)

go to a temp agency. you might not love the job you get - but at least your hours and responsibility will be minimal so you can 1) stay in shape, 2) continue to look for other jobs, and 3) get references.

I hear a job with the CIA just opened up. You could apply there.

The best advice I can give any college student and/or recent graduate is to learn to wait tables at a restaurant.

WAIT! Before moving to the next post, hear me out...

Having really good waiter skills, you can go to any city in the country and find work. That's what I did...

After finishing school, I wanted to live in Atlanta (I was in Raleigh, NC), but I couldn't get many interviews from so far away (I'm a designer). I needed to get down there to be ready to take a job when it sprang up. So, how can you afford to live in the town of your choice without the job first? Wait tables. I had a several years of experience and it allowed me to just move down there without a job. I had my waiting job within two days and was making money that week.

The money's good (particularly in a better restaurant), so you should be able to pay your bills (trips to Italy not withstanding). I know some waiters who were making so much money that they just did that instead of what they came to Atlanta for.

The skills you build waiting tables are better that you might think: People skills, business skills, working with others as a team, etc...

Once you move to dinner shifts, you can job search and interview during the day.

Working at a restaurant = instant friends. When you move to a new city, this is the best!

A waiter's job is the best safety net there is. Once I found my first design job, I still kept my waiter job for the extra cash and becsue all my friends were there. I was working about 2 or 3 nights a week, but when I got laid off from my down-sized design job, I just increased my hours at the restaurant and was able to pay my bills.

I don't know of many folks who can say the same thing about working at the Gap. Waiting tables affords you the most flexibility and the best money.

Some tips on getting started: You need to wait at a good restaurant, not at Applebee's... Somewhere where the check average per person is over $30. Learn about high-end service (learn about wines and liquors) where you can expect to make at least $5-10/per person in tips. Learn about food and how to serve it well. The more formal the restaurant, the better. You'll learn the right way. Once you have some experience, you can build a "waiting resume" - this is what I did and I found a job in Atlanta in 2 days.

You'll probably find that you're not the only waiter do this. It's the smartest thing you can do, particularly if you don't know what to do.

Best of luck,

Warren