Question for University/College Grads

[crazyning]

How long did it take you to find your first job that is directly related to what you went to school for?

I'm looking at the SAIT graduates' employment statistics for 2003 graduates, and a lot of those numbers seem really misleading, as very few people I know have gotten jobs for this particular diploma that they've earned.

[K271]

graduated may 2003, had a job with in two months, been there for two years, now I'm the assistant director

I was fortunate the dean of the school put in a good recommendation for me, then I busted myself everyday at work and earned my new position.

[crazyning]

Here's where I'm at:

Graduated December 2004, first job related to school came after 6 months. Presently working full-time, going to school part-time

Graduated from Business Administration Accounting with Honors at SAIT.

[BlackArcher101]

Never have yet, and it's 1 year.

Grad from Sait w/ AET.

[Pacman]

I graduated UofC with a finance degree. I keep in touch with about 10 or 11 guys that graduated with me and I don't think one of them is doing a finance related job. They are all either in sales or marketing.
I think they all found jobs within 6 months of finishing school....however, I do know a few guys that have only been looking for finance related jobs, and they are still unemployed after 5 years.

[black_2.5RS]

Did a Computer Science degree from the UofC. Got a job locked up after 1 month doing Computer Security stuff.

I do recruiting work for my company and honestly, I think a lot of people hurt their chances by having really poor resumes / cover letters. I had my resume / cover letter reviewed by at least 10 different people and spent a crap load of time on the web - all to make sure it was as good as it could be.

I think if your having trouble getting interviews after x number of months, revise your resume / cover letter (you've got nothing to lose). If your getting interviews but no offers, your resume / cover letter should be ok but you might need to brush up on interview techniques.

Just my thoughts.

[crazyning]

Originally posted by black_2.5RS
Did a Computer Science degree from the UofC. Got a job locked up after 1 month doing Computer Security stuff.

I do recruiting work for my company and honestly, I think a lot of people hurt their chances by having really poor resumes / cover letters. I had my resume / cover letter reviewed by at least 10 different people and spent a crap load of time on the web - all to make sure it was as good as it could be.

I think if your having trouble getting interviews after x number of months, revise your resume / cover letter (you've got nothing to lose). If your getting interviews but no offers, your resume / cover letter should be ok but you might need to brush up on interview techniques.

Just my thoughts.


Totally agree with you there. I had about six interviews, and definitely needed to brush up on my interview skills, as I found the behavioral interviews to be brutal.

For those looking for a long time, how long before you started getting depressed, ever start to think that you would never find a job?

In the six month time span, I found a temp job for two months, and I found it particularly hard to deal with finding the job after the temp job. Even though I knew they weren't going to hire me because there wasn't enough work for me, I had this impression that if I didn't get hired there, it would be hard to get hired anywhere.

[saiyajin]

finished only first semester of business administration at sait in april got my job at TD as csr in may and been working since and going into 2nd semester(finance) in 2weeks!! :eek:

[ken-gsr]

i finished 2 years at sait for architectural tech. got a job 2 weeks before graduation.

[3G]

Graduated June 2005 and got a job in July at the place where I did my practicum

[DelSoln]

I graduated from U of A and got a job related to my field within a month. I highly doubt this is the case for the common student over here though.

[axluz]

Originally posted by crazyning



Totally agree with you there. I had about six interviews, and definitely needed to brush up on my interview skills, as I found the behavioral interviews to be brutal.

For those looking for a long time, how long before you started getting depressed, ever start to think that you would never find a job?

In the six month time span, I found a temp job for two months, and I found it particularly hard to deal with finding the job after the temp job. Even though I knew they weren't going to hire me because there wasn't enough work for me, I had this impression that if I didn't get hired there, it would be hard to get hired anywhere.

I graduated 2003 and am still looking for a position as a chemical engineer. I did take over a year off to travel (after working at a chemical manufacturing plant the summer of my graduation) and perform humanitarian work and began looking for a position January 2005.

I started getting depressed about a month ago and don't believe that I'll ever get a suitable position, no matter how many contacts I make or networking I do.

Plan B: Go back to Toronto and take a certification course in quality assurance and management to add to my degree and become a quality engineer.

[D'z Nutz]

I've had my job for a while now... and I graduate this semester :clap:

It's my opinion that if you're really serious about working in your field, you should have started looking for a position by your 2nd year. Do the chump jobs early so by the time you're done school, you have the experience to get a chance at the good positions.

I know too many people who have pretty much been jobless (even outside of their field) throughout post secondary and expect to slide right into a high paying job just because they have a degree. I also know a lot of graduates who have been unemployeed for a long time because they have no experience coming out of school or work outside of their field.

Make your connections and get your experience early while everyone else is out to lunch scratching their asses.

[Mckenzie]

I'm going into my 4th year at UofC and will be getting an offer for full-time employment with the CA firm I work at within the next week or so for a year and a half from now. I have another 3 semesters of school left. Seriously accounting is the place to be right now if you want a career...not a just a job. They will fish us out of 3rd year for graduation whenever it may come.

I'm not sure if I'm gonna sign on but the opportunities are immense right now in this feild. Good spring board and key for any industry.

[black_2.5RS]

Originally posted by D'z Nutz
I've had my job for a while now... and I graduate this semester :clap:

It's my opinion that if you're really serious about working in your field, you should have started looking for a position by your 2nd year. Do the chump jobs early so by the time you're done school, you have the experience to get a chance at the good positions.

I know too many people who have pretty much been jobless (even outside of their field) throughout post secondary and expect to slide right into a high paying job just because they have a degree. I also know a lot of graduates who have been unemployeed for a long time because they have no experience coming out of school or work outside of their field.

Make your connections and get your experience early while everyone else is out to lunch scratching their asses.


I totally agree! My degree is in Computer Science and by 1st year Univ. I was looking for volunteer positions related to my field (mostly web development and database data entry stuff). By 2nd year I wanted to work in industry but couldn't find work as a Developer b/c I didn't have enough experience.....so I made my own temporary company which helped to build experience and earning cash for tuition. By 3rd and 4th, I had jobs in my field and didn't have any issues finding jobs upon graduation.

It's all about building your experience base early. Sometimes you have to swallow your pride and do crap work for a bit until you have the experience. Put yourself in the employers shoes and imagine if you have 100's of applicants with the same degree(s), some with experience, some without, which ones are you going to interview?

[crazyning]

It's definitely reassuring knowing that some people go through a period of joblessness. Good to hear that many of you are finding jobs though!

I can relate to the "accounting is the place to be," as I see so many job postings for accounting related jobs. Almost every company out there will need someone to manage their books, and if it isn't someone inhouse, they'll either do it themselves or hire a firm to do it. I definitely don't see many people doing their books themselves, as it's not their core business, and there are fewer headaches when you hire someone else to do it.

[GSR Zero]

Graduated from UofC in 2002 with a Mechanical engineering degree. Last final exam was at the end of April. I was training two weeks before. My first official day was the 1st of May. I had a full 2 days off between my last final and my first day. Bad idea lol.

I landed the job because of contacts. A lot of the time its who you know. Luckily I had some work experience under my belt with a 16-month work term between my 3rd and 4th year.

[R-Audi]

I got a business degree from UofL and had a job in three months..
I think most people that were activelt looking found something withing four months..

Saw a funny ad from UofC MBA program.. they said 80% of grads had a job within 5 months... I kinda thought you should be able to do that with your undergrad.. yet MBA. Especially considering that most people are currently working when they take their MBA, and there are some employers that actually pay for you to take it!

[2000_SI]

I graduated from Sait with Marketing April 28th, and I started my job in Franchise Development on May 1st....:thumbsup:

[benyl]

Originally posted by D'z Nutz
I've had my job for a while now... and I graduate this semester :clap:

It's my opinion that if you're really serious about working in your field, you should have started looking for a position by your 2nd year. Do the chump jobs early so by the time you're done school, you have the experience to get a chance at the good positions.

I know too many people who have pretty much been jobless (even outside of their field) throughout post secondary and expect to slide right into a high paying job just because they have a degree. I also know a lot of graduates who have been unemployeed for a long time because they have no experience coming out of school or work outside of their field.

Make your connections and get your experience early while everyone else is out to lunch scratching their asses.

:werd:

I got my job 4 months before I finished school. I was working full time and going to class. I got a $10K raise in the first 3 months because I worked my ass off.


Originally posted by R-Audi
I got a business degree from UofL and had a job in three months..
I think most people that were activelt looking found something withing four months..

Saw a funny ad from UofC MBA program.. they said 80% of grads had a job within 5 months... I kinda thought you should be able to do that with your undergrad.. yet MBA. Especially considering that most people are currently working when they take their MBA, and there are some employers that actually pay for you to take it!


You are talking about the Executive MBA. Most people who take their MBA full time usually leave their jobs. U of C has a program to take it part time in the evening while you work, but it takes 3 years to complete.

[ZorroAMG]

Graduated in Dec 2000, still don't work in Finance. Still don't want to.:rofl:
Expensive piece of paper I guess, but corporate dick sucking was not in my life plan :D

[/////AMG]

Originally posted by ken-gsr
i finished 2 years at sait for architectural tech. got a job 2 weeks before graduation.

With who?

[HillBilly]

I had a full time position waiting for me 6 months prior to graduation.

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