Just Deferred My Student Loans

[bill50]

5 Months out of college and no job. Over 200 applications and only two interviews over the phone in that time. Fucking Federal Commies had the nerve to send me shit about beginning to repay my loans next month.

Just so its not all negative, filling out the form was easy. Just fill out your info and write a big fat zero for monthly earnings.

I'm glad I spent 4 years of my life and $40,000 to make myself 10X worse off than I was in high school financially.

[dannno]

200 applications, wow....

[MelissaWV]

Not saying it's "your fault" but... consider tweaking your resume/cover letters/approach if you're getting THAT few callbacks. A lot of people do get callbacks now, but just no job at the end. Companies that are hiring are bringing in a bunch of "qualified" people and seeing what they can get for the least amount of money.

You might also consider looking outside of your field. Or temping. Or a number of other things.

You also don't need to hear this at this point, but someone else might who is attracted to the thread title: This is why you really should avoid student loans at all costs. It's better to work your way up for four years and nudge yourself into a career path that doesn't worship degrees than to take a $40,000+ gamble.

[heavenlyboy34]

Not saying it's "your fault" but... consider tweaking your resume/cover letters/approach if you're getting THAT few callbacks. A lot of people do get callbacks now, but just no job at the end. Companies that are hiring are bringing in a bunch of "qualified" people and seeing what they can get for the least amount of money.

You might also consider looking outside of your field. Or temping. Or a number of other things.

You also don't need to hear this at this point, but someone else might who is attracted to the thread title: This is why you really should avoid student loans at all costs. It's better to work your way up for four years and nudge yourself into a career path that doesn't worship degrees than to take a $40,000+ gamble.

I really wish I'd heard this in 2000. It would've saved me a helluva lot of time, money, and headache.

[bill50]

The biggest problem with getting a job is that I paid for most of college by working my way through it. Rather than seeing a bunch of campus clubs and activities with "leadership" experience they see the couple of non related jobs and figure I'm lazy or something fucking retarded.

If you are going to make the mistake of going to college, do not work a single job unless its related to a possible real career. Just keep racking up the loans and do volunteer work or become president on some dumbass club so it'll look good on your resume.

I'd rather be paying back $80,000 worth of loans making $50,000 my first year out of college than be paying back $20,000 making $0 a year.

PS. There's nothing wrong with my approach. Every time I've met someone that hired in my career path they said I had an excellent resume and wish they would have done as well in college. They just never have any job openings. Judging by the number of actual responses to applications I've gotten, at least 25% of the posted job openings I've applied for were never filled by anyone. They decided that the budget doesn't allow it. I've heard of people applying for over 500 jobs in the last couple of years and interviewing for 10 of those 500 before they get a job.

[constituent]

That's funny, my wife majored in Biology and she can't beat the offers off w/ a stick. Right now it's like "should I move to get XXXXXX over there, or stay and only get XXXXX over here?"

I'm a freelance writer (a field that hasn't exactly been poppin' during the recession) and have gotten two solid offers in the last week+, so I don't really know what to tell you.

[MelissaWV]

*shrugs* Like I said, it was merely an observation, not a diagnosis. It seems tougher out there in some fields than others.

This recent go-round I got the fourth job I interviewed for, and it was definitely the best fit. I probably sent resumes to 100 or so places online, but most of them were unsolicited or "reaching". I like getting my foot in the door, what can I say?

I don't agree with the "don't work" philosophy. Working allows you to come up with really great references and genuine experience, which is a huge asset in many fields. My resume is rather hodgepodge, I have to say, but it's never been used against me. Mostly people latch on to two or three major names of companies I've worked for, and when I explain why the jobs lasted so little they are more than impressed with the variety of skills I've picked up.

Good luck, though ^^

[JeNNiF00F00]

Dood, I have had the same problems in the past and have never gotten a job that coincides with my majors in college. I feel the same as you do! Hang in there you will find something eventually! :)