Why is it so hard to land a decent paying job in a state with so-called "low unemployment?" (Houston: live in, area)

[Johnhw2]

Originally Posted by crestliner

Its a pity that the colleges figure ways for you to spend your time buying their courses but offer very little is training the students how to get a job... First you have to know what you want to be doing 10 years from now and then find a company that has that job for people that work their way into getting it. First you got to show them you want to work at any level to learn the business because you really are interested and then bust arse and see what happens....college never gets a person a real job,It is just a tool to be used to keep one.

Engineering does train you to get a specific job... it also demands you study a lot of book time rather than party time.. but in the long run it pays off well if you dont mind being considered a geek ...the work is interesting and it can lead to great jobs... and an upper middle class lifestlye.

I agree with you on most majors... they just advance your english, history or art skills not prepare you to be a productive contributer for a successful employer...

There is something to be said for being well rounded but also for having the resources to take care of a family too

[Texascrude]

Originally Posted by dwrecker

i have been seeing people saying consider oil and gas/medical industrial but what good is it if you have a college degree and no experience? all of the jobs i have seen online for oil and gas are engineering...exxon/mobil, conoco/phillips, valero, chevron, shell..etc
i have no engineering degree or medical degree so that is pointless....my degree is i.t.related but i cant land anything without 3-7 years of experience so im not even interested in i.t. anymore and unfortunately having to pay sallie mae. too many 20k-30k jobs i come across everyday. i have been looking into banking, finance, real estate, and fitness, but nothing worthwhile having or even getting a phone call for. i am staying away from retail. have done that in my teen years and nothing to make a good living from. my work background is customer service, sales, finance, operations, mid and senior management. i have looked into some professional executive sites for jobs and most require you pay for the service for an executive recruiter or they dont call you if you never had a 6 figure job. if anyone could help or have connections, i would appreciate it alot, thanks.

Some advice:

1) Learn some basic grammar

2) Learn to communicate effectively. If your resume / cover letter is anything like your above paragraph, I'd pass it around to my colleagues for a good laugh, but certainly wouldn't consider picking up the phone. I'm not trying to be rude, but why would anyone introduce you to one of their contacts when you haven't even shown that you can type a coherent paragraph on what you're looking for? I understand this is just an internet forum and not everyone takes their writing here very seriously, but if you're looking for help you can't afford to not be taken seriously.

3) Get experience, even if it means taking a lesser job. Your experience background seems varied, which means you probably haven't stuck with anything for any significant amount of time. What do you bring the table?

[ethanw]

+1000 Start from the bottom as we all did and stick with something. Everything else comes in naturally

Originally Posted by Texascrude

3) Get experience, even if it means taking a lesser job. Your experience background seems varied, which means you probably haven't stuck with anything for any significant amount of time. What do you bring the table?

[likeeveryoneelse]

maybe reconsider what you deem to be "decent paying"

[Glucorious]

Many countries in African also do have low unemployment. But 60% of the population lives on less than 1 Dollar per day. "Low unemployment" does not mean anything.

[dwrecker]

Originally Posted by Texascrude

Some advice:

1) Learn some basic grammar

2) Learn to communicate effectively. If your resume / cover letter is anything like your above paragraph, I'd pass it around to my colleagues for a good laugh, but certainly wouldn't consider picking up the phone. I'm not trying to be rude, but why would anyone introduce you to one of their contacts when you haven't even shown that you can type a coherent paragraph on what you're looking for? I understand this is just an internet forum and not everyone takes their writing here very seriously, but if you're looking for help you can't afford to not be taken seriously.

3) Get experience, even if it means taking a lesser job. Your experience background seems varied, which means you probably haven't stuck with anything for any significant amount of time. What do you bring the table?

experience is the point i have been trying to make since i started this thread. i took a job with a cut in pay to help somewhat with expenses. it's not what i want to do, but its a source of income. however, it doesn't give me any advancement opportunities. the point that i made was getting experience. if no one hires you to gain experience, then how are you suppose to obtain it?? through a magic wand, a genie bottle, or maybe a trip to see dr. phil? to say that i need to learn some basic grammar as though i am illiterate and then turn around to say you are not being rude? why are you judging me on a general discussion forum of all other online sources and who are you to judge me? i don't know you and i wouldn't judge you the same way you just did me..

[Texascrude]

Originally Posted by dwrecker

experience is the point i have been trying to make since i started this thread. i took a job with a cut in pay to help somewhat with expenses. it's not what i want to do, but its a source of income. however, it doesn't give me any advancement opportunities. the point that i made was getting experience. if no one hires you to gain experience, then how are you suppose to obtain it?? through a magic wand, a genie bottle, or maybe a trip to see dr. phil? to say that i need to learn some basic grammar as though i am illiterate and then turn around to say you are not being rude? why are you judging me on a general discussion forum of all other online sources and who are you to judge me? i don't know you and i wouldn't judge you the same way you just did me..

I'm judging you here because you asked for help. You may write perfectly well outside of internet forums, but I'm telling you based on what I've seen of your written communication I wouldn't pass your name along to any colleagues. You do, in fact, come across as illiterate and uneducated. That may not be accurate, but that's my perception. Take it for what it's worth.

If nobody is hiring you, instead of blaming it on 'the system', maybe you should take a closer look at your qualifications. I know countless people who have had no problems at all finding a high paying jobs here in Houston. I myself had less than 2 years of experience before coming here and have done fine.

[ethanw]

Easy cowboy, don't put him down like this

Originally Posted by Texascrude

You do, in fact, come across as illiterate and uneducated.

[Dopo]

Lots of low paying job = low unemployment

Any other question?

[powellmacaque]

Originally Posted by marksmu

If you can not get a job right out of college with an engineering degree then your grades were so abysmal that you probably wont make a good engineer.

Engineers starting salaries have always been low. Its how every company, even the small ones, weed out the junk candidates and pure academics....A good engineer will go from $50-$100K in less than 4 years. If that is not fast enough then your expectations are out of line with the real world.

There are lots of great jobs out there...the only problem is that you have to have actually set yourself up for them by getting a useful degree. If you expect to earn money with a History, English, psychology, or any other liberal arts degree then you better be an entrepreneur, because you are a dime a dozen and your degree choice told most employers everything they needed to know about your work ethic.

Wow, that's funny

Barack Obama - Columbia, BA in Political Science
George W. Bush - Yale, BA in History
Bill Clinton - Georgetown, BS in Foreign Service

Joe Biden - Delaware, BA in Political Science and History
Dick Cheney - Wyoming, BA in Political Science
Al Gore - Harvard, BA in Government

JK Rowling - French and Classics
George Lucas - USC, BFA in Film
Sally Ride - Stanford, English and Physics

Some pretty successful and influential people, all with "liberal arts degrees." Just so you know, college was never meant to be vocational school. A liberal arts degree is the essence of real learning and knowledge acquisition. And before you make assumptions, you're talking to somebody who has a successful private sector job.

I bet you I can find just as many Business, Marketing Advertising, and Pre-Med students having trouble finding jobs.