zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on Aug 4, 2015 7:30:36 GMT -5
Well, our banker got a degree in accounting with a minor in finance. He didn't like accounting much so got a job on a bank. But if he lost his bank job, he can fall back on accounting. It amazes me that people think they can "follow" their dream career even when it won't provide for them, then they complain about it. The creative writer? If she's that creative, how about writing a book? That can be lucrative. Look how that smut sold!
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on Aug 4, 2015 7:55:39 GMT -5
Well, our banker got a degree in accounting with a minor in finance. He didn't like accounting much so got a job on a bank. But if he lost his bank job, he can fall back on accounting. It amazes me that people think they can "follow" their dream career even when it won't provide for them, then they complain about it. The creative writer? If she's that creative, how about writing a book? That can be lucrative. Look how that smut sold!
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on Aug 4, 2015 7:56:33 GMT -5
Sorry. Double post
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cranberry
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Post by cranberry on Aug 4, 2015 8:41:47 GMT -5
The creative writer? If she's that creative, how about writing a book? That can be lucrative. Look how that smut sold! It can be lucrative, but often it isn't.
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emma1420
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Post by emma1420 on Aug 4, 2015 8:59:43 GMT -5
Well, our banker got a degree in accounting with a minor in finance. He didn't like accounting much so got a job on a bank. But if he lost his bank job, he can fall back on accounting. It amazes me that people think they can "follow" their dream career even when it won't provide for them, then they complain about it. The creative writer? If she's that creative, how about writing a book? That can be lucrative. Look how that smut sold! I don't think you need to get a degree in fields that are known for their pay. I have have a pretty useless degree (it's in communication). I work for a non-profit, but I make a fairly good living. Sure, I'm not making the same type of money that an accountant would make, but I'm also not making peanuts. So I don't think that people need to be limited by their major, there are plenty of decent paying opportunities out there for people who willing to try something new and think outside of the box. Unfortunately, some people major in a particular area and refuse to take a job outside of their chosen major. There does seem to be a focus for many people in not doing work that they like and are passionate about. In my very limited experience most entry level jobs aren't that fun. And, you don't get to the fun stuff after you have quite a lot of experience.
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Miss Tequila
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Post by Miss Tequila on Aug 4, 2015 9:46:45 GMT -5
My DD's BF just came out of Masters Program for Creative Writing. Jobs in HCOLA offering at $15/hour. OMG they are paying the fast food workers that much here (who aren't worth it in the least). It is ridiculous. I coached her on negotiating the offer. She did. She will get $16/hour. But seriously this is a CRIME for a job requiring a masters. If you are going to offer that low a pay rate you do not get to demand a masters. WTF? This gal was a phenomenal creative writer BEFORE she went through formal education. I'm going to be mad about this for a while . . . Actually, the crime is going for your masters with the end goal being a job paying $16/hr.
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emma1420
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Post by emma1420 on Aug 4, 2015 10:05:21 GMT -5
It's supply and demand. There is a huge over production of graduate degrees in the humanities and specifically English related graduate degrees. It's the number one reason why no one should ever get a graduate degree in the humanities or social sciences in their own dime. Someone else should be paying for that degree, because the job prospects suck. I am all for an increase of the minimum wage, but if it gets raised to $15 many of those fast food workers will be making about the same as people who went to college or got further training to make themselves more competitive in the market place. And, I suspect those people won't get be getting raise, and I do think it's wrong that high school drop out could be paid close to or the equivalent of someone with additional training. It is a really tough situation I think. We know that wages have been flat or decreasing relative to inflation for decades now. (this drives me a bit mad when you think about the tremendous increase in worker productivity - but that is another issue!) So - anyhoo - with the wage stagnation situation, everyone is losing ground economically, and then I agree if there is amelioration at the bottom that things do get out of whack as you have mentioned relative to those slightly above the bottom.....and I would argue that those with college degrees and then those with master's degrees should NOT be at that slightly above bottom category, but that is where we are at now, for whatever combination of factors.... but - is that a reason not to raise the bottom? Is there a better way that would positively impact the majority of the wage slaves in a more equitable manner? Will raising the bottom somehow at some point even out with those above the current bottom? I don't know. I really don't know. I think that the fundamental flaw in the current system requires more than a raising of minimum wage. But - is that the logical first step? A step that at least can be done, and can be done now? It is a tough situation. I do think minimum wage needs to be raised. However, I think $15 an hour is extreme, especially in my LCOL area. And if that sort of increase were to happen there would be a lot of people who now make $11 to $14.99 an hour who would get the bump up to $15, and then see the buying power of their paycheck go down. The one side benefit of a higher minimum wage is that people who now get further training and education because they feel it's the only way into a job that pays them a living wage, might decide it's not worth incurring that debt for a job that just barely pays over the minimum wage. It's such a complicated situation, but I'm not sure if doubling the minimum wage will help with stagnant wage growth.
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movingforward
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Post by movingforward on Aug 4, 2015 10:14:32 GMT -5
Well, our banker got a degree in accounting with a minor in finance. He didn't like accounting much so got a job on a bank. But if he lost his bank job, he can fall back on accounting. It amazes me that people think they can "follow" their dream career even when it won't provide for them, then they complain about it. The creative writer? If she's that creative, how about writing a book? That can be lucrative. Look how that smut sold! I don't think you need to get a degree in fields that are known for their pay. I have have a pretty useless degree (it's in communication). I work for a non-profit, but I make a fairly good living. Sure, I'm not making the same type of money that an accountant would make, but I'm also not making peanuts. So I don't think that people need to be limited by their major, there are plenty of decent paying opportunities out there for people who willing to try something new and think outside of the box. Unfortunately, some people major in a particular area and refuse to take a job outside of their chosen major. There does seem to be a focus for many people in not doing work that they like and are passionate about. In my very limited experience most entry level jobs aren't that fun. And, you don't get to the fun stuff after you have quite a lot of experience.This is VERY true. My first job out of college was boring as hell. I ended up getting a masters degree while I was there and the company covered 50%. I have worked my way up through the years. It took me a while to get to a place in my career where I really feel like people value my opinion and I can use my strategic brain. Honestly, I am not sure I will ever be truly passionate about what I do but I LIKE what I do. I don't make a ton of money but I make enough to pay the bills, save for retirement, and have enough to pay for some traveling and other fun stuff. For the life of me I can't figure out what is wrong with working for the money. I am not saying someone should ONLY work for the money. In fact, I am the first to jump ship at a job if I am miserable. Life is just too short to be miserable day in and day out; however, IMHO there is nothing wrong with just liking what you do and admitting that you do it for the money. Also, I absolutely agree with what you said about people refusing to go outside the box of their chosen major. I work for a professional association and we have people with various degrees in my office including communications, education, economics, journalism, hospitality management, etc. All make a decent living. The jobs they have may not directly relate to their field of study but the overall skills they learned while in college are being used on a daily bases.
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NomoreDramaQ1015
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Post by NomoreDramaQ1015 on Aug 4, 2015 10:41:06 GMT -5
I don't think you need to get a degree in fields that are known for their pay
Now I know this isn't true for Ym-ers or all fields at this time but the problem with EVERYONE going for the "high pay" degrees is eventually the market saturates and wages adjust accordingly.
We're seeing that with nursing positions here. Not saying you can't make good money but it's not the giant salaries people were seeing when the supposed "shortage" was announced. You have to move to the middle of nowhere rural Nebraska if you want to still get the cushy signing bonus and high wages (since they desperately need people).
It's the same with ultrasound/radiology around here as well.
Plus since the pool of candidates is so large most hospitals are cutting costs by having large pools of on call/part time staff rather than hiring full time workers.
Again not saying DON'T go into them but I wouldn't recommend anyone try to time the job market and pick their agree accordingly. You could stll find yourself in a pickle.
I wouldn't see a good ROI on a BSN, the two schools charge 60k+ to get one around here. If I go that route it makes more sense to get my RN at the ommunity college and get someone else to pay for the BSN.
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on Aug 4, 2015 10:56:14 GMT -5
Yikes, nurses are still in huge demand around here. Starting salaries are between 40-50k. But those 12 hour shifts would just suck. But they seem to like them. What's funny is that in some areas nursing schools are hard to get into and in others, not at all.
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Opti
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Post by Opti on Aug 4, 2015 11:08:38 GMT -5
My DD's BF just came out of Masters Program for Creative Writing. Jobs in HCOLA offering at $15/hour. OMG they are paying the fast food workers that much here (who aren't worth it in the least). It is ridiculous. I coached her on negotiating the offer. She did. She will get $16/hour. But seriously this is a CRIME for a job requiring a masters. If you are going to offer that low a pay rate you do not get to demand a masters. WTF? This gal was a phenomenal creative writer BEFORE she went through formal education. I'm going to be mad about this for a while . . . Actually, the crime is going for your masters with the end goal being a job paying $16/hr. I really think the first job after college is rarely the end goal for anyone. Many creative jobs are notoriously low paying at entry level, but can be big money if you are lucky and rise to the middle to top tiers. The area I live in is still known as a literary capital of the US, with editors, writers, publishers flocking to be where the best is. Jobs for editing, interviews in the NYC area, are terribly cruel and used as a source of free labor by the employers IMO. Many have to crank out some work product as a test/portfolio. I've seen this happen too to fellow unemployed or underemployed folks in the areas of marketing, sales, and advertising. Create a PP slide show to sell our new/product/service and give a presentation to some of you interviewers as just one of the ways you will be judged.
For some people it is worth the suffering & the climb. Top editors wield big influence and $$$ even if they are less popular to the masses then the author's books they help bring to market. J.K. Rowling. Former secretary, now best grossing author of all time, last I checked.
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Opti
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Post by Opti on Aug 4, 2015 11:14:07 GMT -5
OT slightly, however, I wanted to post this.
Average MSW Social Workers in the United States make around $43K per year. The income range spans the entire spectrum between $32K and $61K per year. Earnings for this group are mostly affected by geography, followed by tenure and the specific company.
Social Worker (MSW) Salary (United States) - PayScale
www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Social_Worker_(MSW)/Salary
(I believe this is the Master's level job, but I might be mistaken.)
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emma1420
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Post by emma1420 on Aug 4, 2015 11:20:40 GMT -5
OT slightly, however, I wanted to post this.
Average MSW Social Workers in the United States make around $43K per year. The income range spans the entire spectrum between $32K and $61K per year. Earnings for this group are mostly affected by geography, followed by tenure and the specific company.
Social Worker (MSW) Salary (United States) - PayScale
www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Social_Worker_(MSW)/Salary
(I believe this is the Master's level job, but I might be mistaken.) It typically is, but also most people get an MSW knowing that it pays like crap. Just like most people who go into teaching know that they aren't going to be making six figures (and most of my friends who are teachers have master's degrees). There are some occupations where they have a reputation that they pay pretty poorly given the level of education needed. Just like there are some occupations that have a reputation for making a good salary (IT, accounting, etc.). However, I think that are far more areas where there isn't a specific career path linked to the degree and without some research by the part of the student, it's really unknown what the salary potential is like.
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tskeeter
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Post by tskeeter on Aug 4, 2015 11:33:52 GMT -5
My DD's BF just came out of Masters Program for Creative Writing. Jobs in HCOLA offering at $15/hour. OMG they are paying the fast food workers that much here (who aren't worth it in the least). It is ridiculous. I coached her on negotiating the offer. She did. She will get $16/hour. But seriously this is a CRIME for a job requiring a masters. If you are going to offer that low a pay rate you do not get to demand a masters. WTF? This gal was a phenomenal creative writer BEFORE she went through formal education. I'm going to be mad about this for a while . . . Supply and demand, Rockit, supply and demand. Too many people with graduate level degrees in creative writing, communications, english, journalism and the like for the number of jobs that use their skill set. So you can require a graduate degree for a job that pays a pittance. Kind of like a neighbor of mine who used to work at Lawrence Berkley National Laboratories and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories. He's a physicist and an engineer. He always made sure that his job classification was in engineering. Because PHD's in physics were a dime a dozen and there weren't that many jobs for physicists relative to the number of people with the qualifications. On the other hand, there was a much higher demand for engineers both in the public sector and in the private sector. So engineers, even though the degree might not be as prestigious, got paid quite a bit more than physicists.
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