Gradberry teaches recent grads career skills

Photo credit: Gradberry

Do you feel that your college education hasn’t adequately prepared you for today’s job market? Then you might want to check out Gradberry, an online startup with a mission to train recent graduates in a variety of career skills, thereby making them more appealing to employers who are hiring:

Gradberry Aims To Bridge The College Grad Skills Gap (techcrunch.com)

Gradberry offers courses to recent graduates who need to learn a new skill for the jobs that they’re applying to. And Gradberry also assists recent graduates who’ve already been hired, as their employers can sponsor them to take courses through Gradberry if they need a new skill for their job:

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20something profile: Shirsten

This post was written by Shirsten, a young mom working her way through college:

My graduation date was May 2013. It’s burned into my memory. Why? Because it came, and then it passed. And here I am, still plugging away at school.

At first I didn’t even realize that my freshman class had reached the end of their road. I left the school that would have put me on the four-year path toward corporate independence. Instead, I’m here giving my girls a kiss on the forehead, casting an apologetic look at my husband, and biking the eight blocks to school every day.

Although I will admit it, I was a little discouraged when I first started scrolling through Facebook and realized that everyone in my freshman class had a lovely picture posed in a cap and gown between their parents with a tagline that said something like “Here I come, world!” But now I scoff at the confusion that they’re up against. (Not really, congrats guys.)

Are millennials bad at dating?

Photo credit: theartofcharm.com

Do college students really need a course in dating? This article discusses why such a course might be important for millennials, who are avoiding long-term relationships:

Why College Students Need a Class in Dating (theatlantic.com)

Erika Christakis, a former co-master at one Harvard’s student residence halls, states that the college students she interacted with were so focused on resume building and career preparation that they didn’t think they had a time for a long-term relationship.

Student becomes homeless to afford college

Photo credit: Jake Stevens

Jake Stevens is a 19-year-old mechanical engineering student at Kettering University. In order to afford his college tuition, he has eliminated an expense that most of us would consider a necessity: housing.

Homeless college student ditches housing to afford tuition (finance.yahoo.com)

So where does he sleep? In the computer lab, at a friend’s house, at his fraternity. His program alternates three-month periods of schooling with three-month periods of full-time employment, and when he’s working, his employer provides him with free housing.

How to land a job at Google

Google (Photo credit: warrantedarrest)

Ever want to work at Google? Well, you could either A) check out The Internship, a film where Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson try to get jobs at Google, or B) read this New York Times interview with Laszlo Bock, who’s in charge of hiring at Google:

How to Get a Job at Google, Part 2 (nytimes.com)

Bock offers some interesting perspectives, not only on getting hired at Google but also on the value of a college degree. He advises prospective students not to go to college just for the sake of going. Instead, they should know what they want from their education to make the most of their investment:

20something profile: Anna

This post was written by Anna, a 21-year-old college student:

One time, Macklemore said, “Thirty’s the new twenty because twenty-five-year-olds seem ten.”

I never thought of it that way, but once it was said, I really couldn’t disagree. It may be because I’m entering further into my twenties and leaving my teenage years behind, or perhaps it’s the near future of pure adulthood looming in the not-so-far distance. But either way, I’ve never felt more unknowing.

I don’t know what I’m doing with my life. And I’m really not afraid to admit it.

20something profile: Harrison

This post was written by Harrison, an aspiring educator and a working musician:

Hello, everyone! My name is Harrison Rich. I’m 24, and I’m from the Saint Louis area. I graduated in December 2012 from Webster University with my bachelor’s degree in Music Education and plan on pursuing grad school this fall.

My experience at Webster was great and offered the exact right mix of what I needed in college: a small college experience with a healthy mix of music, education, and music education. Since Webster University is a small liberal arts college in a metropolitan area, I don’t consider it to be a “normal” college experience.

Grad student lives in van to avoid debt

Photo credit: Ken Ilgunas

How far would you go to avoid student debt? For one graduate student, the answer to that question was to live in a van:

Duke Grad Student Secretly Lived In a Van to Escape Loan Debt (finance.yahoo.com)

After struggling to pay his undergraduate loans, Ken Ilgunas wanted to return to school but didn’t want to accumulate any more debt. So after he enrolled at Duke University, he bought a $1,500 1994 Ford Econoline, parked it in a remote parking lot, and lived there for two years.

What college graduates regret

Photo credit: Wikipedia

What’s the biggest regret that college graduates have? You might think it’s picking the wrong major, but according to this article, the answer is gaining more work experience:

What College Graduates Regret (theatlantic.com)

In a Pew Survey of college graduates, 50% of the respondents chose not gaining enough work experience as their biggest regret, while only 29% chose picking the wrong major. Other regrets include not studying enough (38%) and not looking for work sooner (30%).

This survey also found that one-third of college graduates who majored in social science, education, or liberal arts regretted their major, while 24% of science and engineering graduates regretted their major.

20something profile: Melissa

This post was written by Melissa, who wants to be a personal coach for college students:

My first year of college, I didn’t finish. We were on the quarter system, and I’d failed two math classes in a row, and my financial aid was taken away. I was unhappy with the school I was at, I wasn’t sure about my program, and a week into my third quarter, I decided to go home.

I still remember pulling my suitcases down from the storage above my closet, and only one person said anything to me. Only one person, one of my next door neighbors, asked me what I was doing. I spoke to my RA after I was already packed and half of my things were in my mother’s car.