Slashdot Mirror
Student Sues University Because She's Unemployable
digitalhermit writes "A C student (not the programming language) has sued her former school because she has been unable to find a job in the three months since her graduation. Yup, some schools are degree mills, but this just seems... bizarre."
I really hope this chick loses the case, and gets saddled with a bunch of court costs to add to her student loans, that way nobody will ever try anything so stupid again. Three month job-hunt? In this economy? College education is no guarantee of a job, and if you can't sell yourself, you're going to be unemployed for a lot longer than that. Your college can't convince employers to give you a job, they can provide some contacts and resources to help you, but that's it.
Oh no... it's the future.
"just because they've done nothing more than show up for class and turn in assignments most of the time."
That was what I did.
But then I have natural wit and charm, a willingness to admit I slacked off at university, plus I did computer science. Little miss entitlement got a "Bachelor of Business Administration" in "IT". What the hell does that even mean?
Somehow, many students have the illusion that a degree will bring them to the top automagically. It doesn't work that way. Getting a degree is a good step forward... If they work hard in the university and actually learn. Then they will have to start 3 (or 5) years later in the job market, meaning they will lack many important skills no university teaches and therefor earn less. Even if they learn quickly it takes years to catch up (both in attractiveness on the job market and salary) with those that got into the same field without an university education.
This is true in most fields (including Engineering), but especially true in business administration and management.
The true value of the university education comes after a few years, because many companies have internal rules about giving priority to educated workers. Often there is a hard celing on how far you can get without a master, and it's not unusual for people to go back and get a MBA not only because they need the skills, but also because they need the diploma to continue their career. Some companies even pays for those MBA's to their management.
Don't be silly. Right wing ranting? I'm as left wing as they come, barring communists, and I think that makes perfect sense. Get a degree in something useful if you want a job. It's really as simple as that.
That said, I do take issue with the "2.7 GPA" part of this. GPAs are overrated. Anyone who interviews with me (I do interviews, I don't own the place) is going to get no brownie points for "perfect attendance", but I don't give a damn what her GPA is. If she can answer my questions well, she'll get a job. If she can't, she won't.
This idea that some (many?) students have that a degree is all they should need to be the ideal candidate. Ummmm, no, not so much. You ought to be smart enough to notice that what you are being taught is highly theoretical in nature. Universities aren't tech schools, they aren't teaching you specific skills needed for specific jobs, they are institutions of higher education and research. They deal heavily in the theoretical. This is quite noticeable if you pay any attention in class at all.
Thus, you should take something away from this: The university isn't giving me all I need to be an ideal job candidate. Practical experience is something you need to go and get on your own. My recommendation, especially for IT, is to get a job on campus doing just that. Now I'm a little biased, I work professionally doing IT on campus so we hire students. However, it is a good way to get some extra money and a great way to get some practical experience. All in all, it seems to work out ok for our students. They seem to go on to get jobs. Heck one guy got his bachelors in computer engineering, went on to another school and got his masters, then decided "Know what? I don't really want to be an engineer, I want to do support," and went to work as a support guy. While they appreciated the masters degree, they cared more about his time spent as a support guy.
For tech stuff I recommend university jobs since there seem to be plenty of them, and they have no problem hiring students, of course. A student position must, by definition, be filled by a student of the university. Universities also like student positions since they are cheap. However there's other places you can look at, or internships, or perhaps even just working on projects on your own time. Whatever, the point is to try and get some real, practical experience, not just a good theoretical education.
Also it really annoys me the idea that some graduates have that they should get a "high level" position. Ummmm, no. You have little experience, that is the definition of entry level. The idea that you'd start out in a higher level job is rather silly. After all, if a BS did that, then the majority of people would be starting out in high level jobs, making them not high level. If you are a new graduate, well then accept the fact that you are at the "entry level" of the work force. Goes double if this is your first job period.
Well, pay in the U.S. has gone all haywire. My grandfather's best friend was a professional baseball player in his youth (quite a long time ago) -- and he was a plumber most of the time because pro ball didn't pay enough to live on. Imagine that.
Liberal? Conservative? Compare perspectives at Left-Right
anyone not born in the Mesopotamia region is likely descended from immigrants
Actually, the Mesopotamians probably walked there from Africa.
I'm old enough to have worked when the minimum wage was $1.65/hr, and immigrants were NOT taking those kind of jobs because IT WAS ACTUALLY ENOUGH TO LIVE ON. You were poor, but 40 hrs/week kept a roof over your head and kept you fed. It wasn't until Reagan/Bush froze the minimum wage for over a decade while inflation roared merrily along that a minimum wage job became a different proposition entirely.
"There are plenty of CEO's and managers who started out as dishwashers."
Bullshit, at least for CEOs. Competent employees haven't risen through the ranks to eventually become executives since at least the mid-'70s. Look at the car companies for example. Did anyone in their executive suites ever screw on lug nuts on the assembly line? No. Look at retailers. Did any of their execs ever work the sales floor? Except for the soon-to-retire CEO of Target the answer is 'No' again. Did any of the banking executives start out as a teller or counting change? Nope.
It's what I call "The MBA Disease", and it has infected American business for over three decades now. Companies hire these idiots directly out of college, with no real-world experience, as managers and promote those who are best at internal company politics. This, more than anything else, is the reason for our current economic state.
"Think about how stupid the average person is. Now, realise that half of them are dumber than that." - George Carlin