Graduating!

College Tips

Wow! It's been months since I've updated this blog. Dear readers: please ignore any and all advice I give, because apparently I'm terrible at taking it myself. A lot has happened since I last updated this blog. I've been interning at a District Attorney's office for the last 4 months, I'm now engaged and getting married in about 2 months, and I'm graduating in about 1 month. So my life has become pretty hectic in a matter of months.

I'm sure a lot of you readers out there who might be graduating as well are starting to feel the pressure. Don't act like you're not, you know what I'm talking about. That little three letter word that makes college graduates sweat.

Yep, you guessed it: J-O-B.

As tough as it may seem to get a job nowadays, job prospects are not as bleak as they were a few years ago. However, let's be real: the struggle to find a job is pretty daunting, and there are some majors that have high recent graduate unemployment rates. But don't let that discourage you. Let's look at some statistics that might clarify some things about this whole thing.

Ouch. Yeah, okay, so maybe this whole post is a terrible idea. Statistics suck at making people feel better about job prospects. Let's try looking at another one. Maybe this one will have happier data.

Nope, still terrible. So the data might not be in favor of college graduates, but what does all this mean? Let's take a step back an analyze what these graphs tell us.

1. Some majors have higher unemployment rates. The graph directly above tells us that some majors have better chances at getting a job. As bleak as that is, it's true, and while the people who are graduating with those degrees will be dismayed soon after graduation, this rate doesn't hold true over time, as you'll see from my next point.
2. Having a graduate degree makes a difference. For both men and women, having a graduate degree lowers the unemployment rate significantly. So while you may be unemployed and deep in debt now, the answer is to go even further into debt and get a grad degree.
3. The overall rate is going down. Notice the spike in the first graph that happened around 2009. Now notice 2010 and 2011. The rate went down. And it's still going down. The recession of 2008 hit hard in 2009, but we're almost 5 years out from that now, which is an average amount of time that recessions of that magnitude take to recover from. The economy may not be where it was, but it's getting better. 

So what now? Go get a job, that's what. Or at least that's what I keep telling myself. Statistics about job prospects may really suck at the moment, but one piece of advice I can impart to those who still have time before they graduate: GET EXPERIENCE. Do an unpaid internship somewhere in your field, and work hard at it. Learn everything you can. Do it as long as you can. 

For instance, if you start an internship at say, a small business in your Sophomore year, and stay in that business until you graduate (hopefully) in two years, that's TWO YEARS of experience in that field. 

You know how almost every entry-level job asks for two years experience, in addition to the degree? That's no sweat for you now. So get chopping on those internships people. It'll set you apart.

I'll leave you with this: good luck, and may you find the job you're looking for.

-M

5 Things to Take Advantage of at Your College

College Tips

So you're in college. Congratulations, you are now in the top 20% of Americans in terms of education. College is a wonderful time to find yourself, learn what you want to do in terms of your career, meet lifelong friends, learn to enjoy learning (it had to happen sometime people), and many other things. The many college and universities across America are some of the leading institutes of higher learning in the entire world; yet many of the people I know that are currently in college are probably only utilizing about 60% of what their school has to offer. College can be a great thing, but you have to make it a great thing. There are 5 main things that I have identified that the people in college I know either do not know exists at their school, or they just plain don't take advantage of it. Without further adieu, I present you with my list of those 5 things:

1.Fitness/athletic/gym facilities. The number one thing that is offered at most colleges that students consistently do not take advantage of are the gyms. Top excuses for not using the gym include: "I don't know how to", "I don't have enough time", "I'm not a gym person", etc. As you may have noticed, these all seemed to start with "I don't", and that is something that when I hear people say, I tend to think otherwise. As with most other things, the hardest part about going the gym is actually getting up out of your dorm room and going there. Once you've done that and you've seen what you can accomplish with a few hours a week at the gym, you'll want to go regularly. Most college students are in terrible health from the massive amounts of : either junk food or lack of food, poor hygiene, massive amounts of consistent sedentary activities, etc. What a gym will give you is a way to improve yourself physically, which in turn will do wonders for you mentally and emotionally.

2. Dining facilities. This one is one that I notice is either under utilized almost all the time, or not at all. Now, I know school cafeteria food can sometimes be atrocious, but that does not mean you can't do some simple things to make it better or try to hit it up on the days with good food. I won't go into detail here, but if your dining hall offers basic things like condiments, salt, pepper, lemons or limes, dressings, etc., then there is an entire world of things you can do to improve your meal. If you have most any kind of baked or grilled chicken served, take a bit of Caesar dressing, squeeze lemon into it, and then put a good amount of black pepper onto the chicken. This is an easy fix for plain chicken that needs some work. Do a few Google searches on ways that you can improve meals with basic condiments and other ingredients. Combine this with using the dining hall on days where they typically prepare good, fresh food and your college dining experience will take quantum leaps.

3. Academic help centers. This is the one that makes me cringe when I hear that people don't take advantage of on their campus. For those of you who have any kind of difficulty with academics at school, I guarantee that there is a resource for you somewhere on campus to help you out. Don't let your pride or stupidity get in the way of getting the grade you want. While we are on the subject, the phrase 'get the grade you deserve' is misleading to many of us. The grade we deserve is usually correlated to the amount of work we put into getting the grade that is assigned to us. If you put in C-level work, you will probably get a C. Now, this is not true in every instance. Hard work and studying forever don't always pay off. That's a hard truth, but its a truth nonetheless. However, the academic resources you have access to on campus are filled with people who want to help you get the grade you want. The thing that is stopping many of you from getting that grade is taking the first step. I don't mean that figuratively, I mean the first step as in walking to the help center.

4. Campus events. This is one that is not as important as some of the others, but it has it's own merits in and of itself. On your campus right now, there are probably fun, free, and fulfilling events that are going on at this moment. Take some time to scan the huge bulletin boards across you campus or talk to your friends about what is going on around campus. The events that many schools offer include: seminars, concerts, dramas, presentations, expos, job fairs, etc. These kinds of events will expose you to all kinds of cultures, people, lifestyles, occupations, and many other things that will help you be well-rounded as a person.

5. Recreation centers. This last one is just for fun. Somewhere on your campus, there is a place that probably has some if not all of the following: ping pong tables, Foosball tables, pools, televisions, gaming centers, couches, air hockey tables, etc. The library at your school also probably has a pretty good selection of DVDs, so there is a lot of relaxing activities that your campus has to offer. All of us college students are pretty much broke for the duration of our four year stay (unless you followed my tips in a previous post, of course), so taking advantage of the FREE entertainment around campus on the weekends or afternoons is a preferable alternative to going out and blowing all the cash we have...which is to say, none. So go ahead, head over to your campus rec center and enjoy some fun times with friends. You've earned it.

There you have it guys. I have found that these are 5 areas in college that most people don't know exist, or don't take advantage of properly. Doing these things will enrich your college experience so you don't look back on it with regret/disgust/disdain, and many that have passed/not passed usually do.

-M

3 Steps to Prepare for Spring Semester

College Tips

I hope all of you fellow college people are enjoying your Christmas break! Want to know the best way to really enjoy it? Start thinking about your spring semester, duh! I know, since it's cold most everywhere, the warm embrace of spring semester seems too far away to even think about, but time keeps going during Christmas break, whether it seems like it or not.

But really, it's coming faster than you think and its going to come whether you like it or not, so better to just suck it up, buckle down, and get ready for it. So here is my fool-proof 3-step plan to get ready for the semester that always seems to go by the quickest:

1. Plan a spring break trip. That's right. Number one thing is to plan a spring break. Now is the perfect time to start planning a fun trip so you don't get down to the wire and have nothing going on for spring break. Now, I'm not a fan of those crazy spring break parties that go on down in Panama City, so I'm recommending avoiding those so you don't catch something. I'm more advocating for something like a trip with friends to the beach, a favorite city, things like that. We've all started spring semester and told ourselves, "I'll get around to planning something later", or my favorite, "Let's just get in the car and go". Stop right there. That never works. Spring break comes faster than you think, and spring break trips cost money. Usually when everything is just thrown together someone ends up paying for everything and getting paid back in "I'll get you next time bro." Don't fall into that. Talk to your friends, sit down and pick a spot, call ahead and get rooms, and actually plan something. You'll have a lot more fun because you can just jump in the car and focus on having fun instead of figuring out food, rooms, money, or even where to go.
2. Do some class scouting. I know, I know, why on earth would anyone want to think about classes over a break? Well, breaks don't last forever, so get over it and do some class research. Pull up the list of class you're taking next semester, and start doing some research. Head over to www.ratemyprofessors.com, and take a look at who exactly you'll be listening to for the next few months. It'll pay dividends to know what they like, what they don't like, if they are easy, if they are tough. Next, look up the class you are taking, and see exactly what is going to be included in it. Knowing a little bit of the subject material beforehand can never hurt, so do a few google searches and look up what exactly applied trigo-metro-astro-cosmo-pysch-account-ology is. Finally, look at what textbooks you'll need. Make sure to print out a list of the books you need and do some scouting on Chegg, Amazon, and the rest of the internet because we all know, if you buy your books from the school bookstore, you are being duped and of substandard intelligence.
3. Do some schoolwork. Last but most certainly the worst, yes, doing some kind of studying or school-related activity over the break will be good for your spring semester. What is worse, taking 15 minutes a day to stay fresh with info from your major, or forgetting everything you learned this past semester? If you said the latter, well then there isn't much hope for you. One thing I've found helps keep me sharp and prevent the memory loss we all know happens over Christmas is to study. I know it sounds crazy and no one will believe me, but I know that just leisurely doing about 15 minutes worth of studying once in a while over the break is a cure-all for that inevitable loss of knowledge brought on by friends, family, ham, presents, and all the other miscellaneous items that accompany Christmas.  Maybe pull out some notes from last semester, do some Google searches on the things that your next classes are going to cover. Get familiar with the information that is going to be presented in detail, so that way you won't come into the spring semester feeling like you've had a lobotomy. 

That about wraps it up folks! Don't be like the rest of your classmates and waste your Christmas break away. Follow these 3 steps and your spring semester will be much less burdensome. 

Cheers,

-M