It's the world we live in... you can have all of the degrees and professional designations you want, but if you're a new grad, don't expect to be offered anymore than 35-40k. In Toronto, that's barely a liveable wage.
Why is it so hard for a new-grad to get a freaking job?
- Thread starter rc2021
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With that background, and if you are interested, aim for any sort of entry level job in a treasury department of a corp, preferably financial, and enrol in the CFA program. Even if you are initially in a non-related or only semi-related field you will be showing that you are serious (as a CFA candidate).
Just one suggestion.
My point about this craptacular salary ( barely here in Toronto liveable standard with all the jacked up fees for everything) is that it is DISCUSTING that those who get an education beyond Highschool today can not look forward to anything better than poverty wage. This has become a system to benefit corporations. In the old days companies spent the money to train/ educate those coming into entry level jobs from high school. Those that went to college ( spent MONEY on training) got jobs 1step up from entry level since they had training. NOW the workers are bearing the brunt of basic training for entry level jobs = more money for the 1million dollor + salaried executives. Make the poor pay for job training. AND co-op, intern, contract is again a LEGAL way to have slaves & profit the rich & their corporation. This legalized exploitation needs to be outlawed. It is a thin veil for slave ( free) labour. I was NEVER a fan of Unions. I thought they out lived their usefulness. NOT SO. We need them more than ever. The young generation of workes is being underemployed, underpayed & exploited. BUT the top 10% of the population is wealthier than ever, even before Unions came into existance.
rc2021, as a co-op student in the Faculty of Mathematics from the University of Waterloo, I'm surprised that it's been so difficult for you to find a permanent position (I've known people who graduated from Waterloo and who were able to land a position without too much difficulty even in this current economy). In the co-op program, students should end up receiving the equivalent of 2 years work experience in their field in a diverse array of fields (Computer Science, Applied Math, Pure Math, Statistics, Math/Business, Math/Accounting, Math/Teaching Option, etc.)
rc2021, if I recall correctly from friends who attended Waterloo, in each co-op session you are evaluated by your employer as being Excellent, Satisfactory, Marginal, or Unsatisfactory (this was some time ago, so maybe things might have changed). How were you evaluated in your last co-op position? (PM me if this information is too personal).
If you were given strong evaluations in your previous co-op placements, try contacting each of your employers and network with them on what positions might be available. Even if they may not have positions available, they may know others in the industry who may have something out there. It may also be a good idea to request from them a letter of recommendation as well (you can prepare a template to make it easier for them). All of these should help to make you more noticeable.
Is there also not a Career Counselling service available at the University? They may have additional tips that could help you.
Setting up a LinkedIn account should also help you out as well.
rc2021, if I recall correctly from friends who attended Waterloo, in each co-op session you are evaluated by your employer as being Excellent, Satisfactory, Marginal, or Unsatisfactory (this was some time ago, so maybe things might have changed). How were you evaluated in your last co-op position? (PM me if this information is too personal).
If you were given strong evaluations in your previous co-op placements, try contacting each of your employers and network with them on what positions might be available. Even if they may not have positions available, they may know others in the industry who may have something out there. It may also be a good idea to request from them a letter of recommendation as well (you can prepare a template to make it easier for them). All of these should help to make you more noticeable.
Is there also not a Career Counselling service available at the University? They may have additional tips that could help you.
Setting up a LinkedIn account should also help you out as well.
Cute-Bald you said it best. It is a employers market, wages never increase with the cost of living. I started looking but it became pointless, so i went back to school to work on a certification.
It seems Degree's are the new Diploma's. Now they are talking about MBA's are needed for a good job.
I try not too complain, there are plenty of other places that have it alot worse. Salaries in the UK are horrendous and the cost of living is higher than here.
It seems Degree's are the new Diploma's. Now they are talking about MBA's are needed for a good job.
I try not too complain, there are plenty of other places that have it alot worse. Salaries in the UK are horrendous and the cost of living is higher than here.
The school system is also now devaluated.
You can't fail kids in high school, and you can't really fail them at colleges or universities as well.
Talk to prof's about this, they'll bend your ears gladly.
B's are like D's now, since you can't fail.
This is from to many student's complaining, I paid for this education, I want my degree. And admin bending.
To get a chance you have work your ass off to get an A, hang with your prof's and make some connections.
You can't fail kids in high school, and you can't really fail them at colleges or universities as well.
Talk to prof's about this, they'll bend your ears gladly.
B's are like D's now, since you can't fail.
This is from to many student's complaining, I paid for this education, I want my degree. And admin bending.
To get a chance you have work your ass off to get an A, hang with your prof's and make some connections.
As HOF mentioned, with your background you might also wish explore the possiblity of a Commission with the Forces in areas such as Logistics or Information Management or MARCOM
A B-average in university is worth just slightly more than a high school degree. It tells employers you were an average student. In other words, you're one of thousands of applicants. Hope you enjoyed partying in university because you certainly weren't applying yourself.
You can't go through university and just expect to graduate and have a job fall into your lap. You have to identify what type of job you're going after and then tailor yourself to fit that job (through courses, volunteer work, co-ops, developing contacts, etc.). If you had two co-ops and couldn't parley either into a job, that sends a negative signal.
Having read through all the comments, I find it amusing that just as many "old guys" have stereotypes and misconceptions about today's youth as their parents had about them. It's just not true that every university grad expects to be the VP in a week. But most university grads certainly don't want to toil in the mail room for years. Someone who committed to 4 years of university and tens of thousands of dollars of debt should have a certain expectation of something more meaningful that a McJob or manual labour. But as with most things in life, you have to apply yourself to be successful.
Today's youth have higher ambitions than dwelling in the mail room for years until someone dies and they get promoted. Today's work force just doesn't work that way. People move from job to job and it's rare indeed for the young generation to spend their entire career with one employer. In other words, things have changed.
If my employer told me I was going to toil in a job I didn't like I'd be saying "See ya later" and would be off to the next job. Maybe mom and pop would have struggled through it and said, "What can ya do?" but not me. There's a world of opportunities out there and if my employer doesn't want to give me one, I'll go work for the competition.
For all the younger folks out there, remember this: The old naysayers who say kids today just aren't what they blah blah blah blah are saying that because they have established themselves and the last thing they want to see is someone, GASP!, younger than themselves succeed faster than they did. It infuriates them to no end so they take great enjoyment in making the new crop of kids suffer. My advice? Don't fucking put up with it. Most of the old timers I see in my work place have a holier than thou/my shit don't stink attitude and I enjoy outsmarting them and revealing them for the dinosaurs they are. The world is ours and if the old folks won't get the fuck out of the way then we'll just blast a fucking path through 'em. And if that means we jump ship and work for the competition, so be it. We can laugh when their ship sinks like a stone because they can't attract any fresh young talent.
The labour pool is shrinking dramatically and is becoming a supplier's market, something that the North American economy hasn't seen in modern times. So take advantage of it.
You can't go through university and just expect to graduate and have a job fall into your lap. You have to identify what type of job you're going after and then tailor yourself to fit that job (through courses, volunteer work, co-ops, developing contacts, etc.). If you had two co-ops and couldn't parley either into a job, that sends a negative signal.
Having read through all the comments, I find it amusing that just as many "old guys" have stereotypes and misconceptions about today's youth as their parents had about them. It's just not true that every university grad expects to be the VP in a week. But most university grads certainly don't want to toil in the mail room for years. Someone who committed to 4 years of university and tens of thousands of dollars of debt should have a certain expectation of something more meaningful that a McJob or manual labour. But as with most things in life, you have to apply yourself to be successful.
Today's youth have higher ambitions than dwelling in the mail room for years until someone dies and they get promoted. Today's work force just doesn't work that way. People move from job to job and it's rare indeed for the young generation to spend their entire career with one employer. In other words, things have changed.
If my employer told me I was going to toil in a job I didn't like I'd be saying "See ya later" and would be off to the next job. Maybe mom and pop would have struggled through it and said, "What can ya do?" but not me. There's a world of opportunities out there and if my employer doesn't want to give me one, I'll go work for the competition.
For all the younger folks out there, remember this: The old naysayers who say kids today just aren't what they blah blah blah blah are saying that because they have established themselves and the last thing they want to see is someone, GASP!, younger than themselves succeed faster than they did. It infuriates them to no end so they take great enjoyment in making the new crop of kids suffer. My advice? Don't fucking put up with it. Most of the old timers I see in my work place have a holier than thou/my shit don't stink attitude and I enjoy outsmarting them and revealing them for the dinosaurs they are. The world is ours and if the old folks won't get the fuck out of the way then we'll just blast a fucking path through 'em. And if that means we jump ship and work for the competition, so be it. We can laugh when their ship sinks like a stone because they can't attract any fresh young talent.
The labour pool is shrinking dramatically and is becoming a supplier's market, something that the North American economy hasn't seen in modern times. So take advantage of it.
Not everyone can be class Valedictorian.
If Rc2021 has the skills and interest in Accounting, as Mencken mentioned that might be something for him to consider. Perhaps not in Toronto but certainly in smaller places in Ontario, I'm sure being in a small partnership would be quite practical particularly if one is a Chartered Accountant and has also earned other professional designations.
As one of those "old guys" I am saying it is b.s. that any of our young post graduate workers should see a mail room. NEVER happened in my youth & should not happen now. ALSO everyone in my youth graduated expecting AND getting a lower middle class salary. Today graduate & get barely above poverty line wage while V.P.s C.E.Os & executive staff earn between 5-25 million a year. THAT is b.s. The youth of today have no change in ambition nor attitude than in mine . Actually it surprises me they are not more bitter since through our information age they are more aware of the wage disparities & ever growing gap between wages of majority of workers & executive staff. THEY are also more informed & tech savy then we were. I think they are more qualified, sharper & more nimble then we were entering the work force. B.T.W. the statistics show the wage disparity is worse than before the forming of Unions. Only difference is that employment laws & conditions are still entact ...... well sort of as the 60-80 hr week is creeping back in!!!!
yep it sucks.. i graduated not to long ago and didnt even bother looking for a job.. i saw some of the jobs my friends were landing and it was depressing as fuck. not only that but now so more than ever its not about your qualifications, its about who you know.
The OP is very immature/naive assuming that he is entitled to something. One must earn it, there are many ahead of the OP, what skills would make the OP stand out to a company.
I completely agree with PNG2 on this. I have known many that have made careers in the hospitality industry and enjoy their work.
Just about all the good paying jobs are being sent out of the country to China or India where they only get paid 10% or less than here. The low paying jobs you see are all that is left. There are a few good jobs left but you need connections to land them. Hiring standards are raised to ridiculous levels today to make it easier to weed out thousands of recent grads companies know they will never hire. These same companies then invent and create stories to make recent grads feel guilty or that they did something wrong when they did everything right. It's is a sick game these companies are playing. I'm glad I can retire this year with a full pension thanks to my Union!
I beg to differ here. In China, although there is a growing middle class and an increasing number of highly technical jobs being developed there, China is still viewed by many foreign companies as a source of cheap labour for manufacturing consumer products, electronics, clothing etc (and oftentimes, many of these products were never manufactured in Canada to begin with -- maybe in the US, but oftentimes you are simply replacing sweatshop workers in the back alleys of the San Francisco or New York Chinatowns to those in China, at least for clothing).
In the case of India, the jobs that are most in demand are for software programmers, tech support, and call centre staff, and not too long ago, at least in the US, workers from India were essentially being imported to fill the lack of qualified workers.
So I find it questionable to what degree outsourcing is contributing to the unemployment rate here in Canada. Btw, the unemployment rate in Canada as of May 2010 is 8.1% (8.8% in Ontario), which is down slightly from April from 8.2%.
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/subjects-sujets/labour-travail/lfs-epa/lfs-epa-eng.htm
Compare that figure with the unemployment rate of 9.9% in April 2010 in the US.
http://www.bls.gov/
In the case of India, the jobs that are most in demand are for software programmers, tech support, and call centre staff, and not too long ago, at least in the US, workers from India were essentially being imported to fill the lack of qualified workers.
So I find it questionable to what degree outsourcing is contributing to the unemployment rate here in Canada. Btw, the unemployment rate in Canada as of May 2010 is 8.1% (8.8% in Ontario), which is down slightly from April from 8.2%.
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/subjects-sujets/labour-travail/lfs-epa/lfs-epa-eng.htm
Compare that figure with the unemployment rate of 9.9% in April 2010 in the US.
http://www.bls.gov/
Best advice I ever had from a professor.
As you graduate remember you are now qualified to be train by the people who hire you.
As you graduate remember you are now qualified to be train by the people who hire you.
