Buying time in grad school
- Name: Nico Meyering, 24
- Hometown: Vestal, New York
I graduated in 2010 with a bachelor's degree in history, and I also went through an education program, to be certified to teach high school social studies.
But I never found a teaching job because the market is so saturated. My friends who were in the program with me can hardly find anything either. One works at Macy's, and another is a substitute teacher at a day care.
At first, I went to work at a grocery store bakery. The next best job I could find was being a receptionist. I was so discouraged, I gave up on the job market to go to graduate school instead.
I'm earning my masters in public administration. Because I spent about a year and a half in the real world, I have the ambition to go all out in my studies and internships, but still I realize there's no promise of a job.
I hold no illusions about how difficult it's going to be. I come from a blue-collar hometown and I see people I went to high school with got vocational degrees and are making $40,000 to $50,000 a year. Sometimes I think I should have done that instead.
I also took out the full amount in student loans, and I'm very worried about that. But basically, I had to make a choice between hard times now or hard times later. I feel most students are having to make that choice these days.
