Degrees Don’t Always Mean Jobs for Graduates: Here’s How to Cope
If you’re a recent high school graduate, a recent college graduate, or a current college student, you’ve heard it all before. Thousands of times. It’s difficult for graduates and young people to find lasting employment, and it’s even more difficult to find good compensation and financial stability.
So, where are all these jobs for graduates? In some cases, they don’t exist, because baby boomers are retiring at a later age than the previous generation. In some cases, businesses are slow to hire because they’re still feeling the recession. And, in the bleakest of cases, you have to have prior work experience to land a job to give you that work experience.
You can try working for free– a volunteer position or an unpaid internship, but that doesn’t pay the bills. It’s no surprise, then, that 15.1% of 25 to 34 year olds are living with their parents. You have to cut out expenses somehow, right?
Moving Forward
You’ve put time and money into your education, and you want a real career in return. You want to move forward. Moving back in with your parents, while sometimes unavoidable, is largely a step backwards.
Young people have been told since day one there’s a career waiting for them if they just work hard and apply themselves. Reality has changed, and the American job market can no longer keep up with those promises.
Mark Mather, associate vice president of the Population Reference Bureau, told Bloomberg:
“It takes young people longer these days to find jobs with decent wages. Young adults need to spend more time getting the necessary education and skills before they can become self-sufficient. The recession likely exacerbated this trend.”
Underemployment is rampant for younger people living with their parents. Crippling student debt and the after-effects of the recession don’t help matters, either. In fact, that chronic underemployment accounts for one-third of the increased amount of young people living with their parents, which has been on the rise for four years.
So, how do you move forward in the current job climate? Do jobs for graduates actually exist?
Finding Your Path
It turns out, you might need to take a look at in-demand careers. If you choose the right career training program, you can land a job that pays well and rewards you with personal fulfillment, too.
Even if you need to look beyond your current degree to other training, your education wasn’t a waste. You can apply what you learned in college, or even in high school, to a new career.
At the Pediatric Dental Assistant School, we talk about what we know. And we know pediatric dental assistants are in high demand. If you’re a problem-solver, a multitasker, and you like working with children, becoming a pediatric dental assistant is a sensible choice. It’s a fun, rewarding career that’s new and different every day.
You’ll be a valuable part of your dental practice as a pediatric dental assistant, and you’ll be making the lives of children better, every day. What more can you ask for?
If you don’t want to bounce around from job to job and feel the sting of underemployment every day, consider a career training program like the PDAS. Instead of wondering “what went wrong?” or “what could have been?”, you’ll be immersed in a satisfying career that affords you financial stability and a great working environment.
If you want to make a difference in the world, healthcare is the right field for you. It’s practical, it’s in high demand, and people rely on it every day.
If you want to learn more about the life of a pediatric dental assistant, this recent interview will shed some light into what the job is actually like from day-to-day.
You’re dealing with a dismal job market, and you’re probably dealing with chronic underemployment. That doesn’t mean you didn’t work or study hard, it just means many complicated factors are working against you and your future career. It’s time to move forward and find your own path. It’s time to make a positive change for your future, with the Pediatric Dental Assistant School.
~ Dr. Rhea Haugseth
Rhea M. Haugseth, DMD maintained a private practice in Marietta, GA from 1982- 2017. She attended the University of Louisville Dental School and completed her pediatric dental residency at Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital / Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. She is a Diplomate of the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry and a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry. She is proud to be a Fellow the American College of Dentists, the International College of Dentists, and the Pierre Fauchard Academy – National Honorary Organizations for Dentists.
Dr. Haugseth is a Past President of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD), the Southeastern Society of Pediatric Dentistry (SSPD), and the Georgia Academy of Pediatric Dentistry(GaPD). Dr. Haugseth has been a National Spokesperson for the AAPD since 1989 and has been frequently interviewed for radio, print, and national television.
Dr. Haugseth is the Founder (2013) and Director of the Atlanta Pediatric Dental Assistant School in Atlanta Georgia. She is also the Founder (2014) and Director of the Pediatric Dental Team Association. She is committed to pediatric dental team members and continues to develop ways to enhance their knowledge and skills both in and out of the dental office.