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Lots of Job Hunting, but No Job, Despite Low Unemployment

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Re: Lots of Job Hunting, but No Job, Despite Low Unemployment

#21

Post by api »

tootahe45 wrote: post #14

The moment colleges become even a little bit responsible for job prospects you will never see crap like 'project management' offered to the unemployed again.

The biggest offenders are those colleges (the majority) that offered people who could not afford them debt-financed liberal arts degrees that are essentially unemployable outside the absolutely tiny number who end up employed in academia or maybe think tanks and non-profits.

I'm not saying such degrees or programs shouldn't exist. I'm saying that if colleges cared about students' life outcomes they would be up front about the fact that this is not a degree or program of study with any earning potential benefit and discourage people who can't afford it from studying these areas (at least as a major, electives are fine).

You would still have a few who just totally want to study that and don't care, but they should know what they are signing up for and be fully aware of the implications. I feel like a ton of people were not, and we should not expect 18 year olds to show a 35 year olds' level of maturity when it comes to doing their own homework and career planning.

Re: Lots of Job Hunting, but No Job, Despite Low Unemployment

#22

Post by luckydata »

sharkweek wrote: post #4

In my early (okay... mid) thirties now. I have been laid off once and left on my own will from three jobs through the last 12 years of my career. Being laid off puts kind of a stink on you, even if slight, that requires a bit of interview time be spent clarifying WHY you got laid off instead of entirely being able to focus on experience, accomplishments etc. When I was moving from one place to another, there seemed t…

This is very self aware of you and not many in our field understand that. Youth is something most employers are willing to bet on, but as you age things slow down and it becomes increasingly harder to make the case for "you".

Re: Lots of Job Hunting, but No Job, Despite Low Unemployment

#24

Post by melvinroest »

I'm honestly experiencing this as a CS grad in the Dutch job market. I find it weird and frustrating.

I've noticed why:

1. Companies don't dare to value creativity [1]. University is so liberal and the job market is so the opposite.

2. Most companies can't value a CS degree. The exception is when enough people in the company did a CS degree and that's a lot more rare than I thought.

3. University didn't teach me to focus on a portfolio and I got distracted with doing multiple degrees all at the same time fast-tracked (nobody cares that I fast-tracked), which (as you can see in point 2) proves that I'm worth very little. It taught me a lot personally and made me smarter (in terms of crystalized intelligence). But my portfolio is rather terrible compared to what I'm capable of.

I'll fix it, but right now I'm just tired of being not called back (50% of the time) or rejected (the other 50%). I know I'm capable, and pass the bar. I'm not perfect, I'm not the best, but I'm capable.

[1] I created an app called Doodledocs which is a Canvas-based app that allows P2P privacy free collaborative doodling with a pressure sensitive stylus. In my interviews with companies they don't trust enough that I'd be capable helping along with CRUD applications, because I didn't do any CRUD in the Doodledocs app. And I'm just thinking: figuring out how to do WebRTC for free in a serverless manner (while seeing all of it for the first time) is a lot tougher than writing some models for a basic login system that you already know about (the same can be said for poking around in VMs in view libraries like Glimmer). Anyways, it's on a show HN right now see: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21399910 -- also for anyone who wants to do free WebRTC, check the Bugout library, it's really cool. If you have any questions about it, I can walk you through it (I understand most to all of it). My email is my hn username at gmail.

Re: Lots of Job Hunting, but No Job, Despite Low Unemployment

#25

Post by jimbob45 »

shams93 wrote: post #16

I'm having the same experience but I keep in mind that the Trump admin lies and also promotes discrimination. I lost my job to an h1b, in a good economy it takes me 2 weeks to find a new job this is anything but a strong economy. Lie with stats how you like but you can't use lies to generate reality the real economy is what it is.

H1Bs are a scapegoat. There simply aren't that many here such that your job is in danger. You could argue for a domino effect and I might agree.

Re: Lots of Job Hunting, but No Job, Despite Low Unemployment

#26

Post by pwg »

spacedog11 wrote: post #23
technovader wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Install a browser extension that can quickly disable JavaScript. That bypasses almost every paywall.

Is that possible on a mobile device?

UblockOrigin is available for Firefox Mobile.

So, yes, possible, but you first have to install Firefox.

Re: Lots of Job Hunting, but No Job, Despite Low Unemployment

#27

Post by zentiggr »

melvinroest wrote: post #24

I'm honestly experiencing this as a CS grad in the Dutch job market. I find it weird and frustrating. I've noticed why: 1. Companies don't dare to value creativity [1]. University is so liberal and the job market is so the opposite. 2. Most companies can't value a CS degree. The exception is when enough people in the company did a CS degree and that's a lot more rare than I thought. 3. University didn't teach me to f…

Maybe some of these companies see DoodleDocs and wonder if you'd be a bad fit for a CRUD type position? Like, you've already gone beyond a lot of those basic needs, so why would you "step down" to a CRUD job?

Re: Lots of Job Hunting, but No Job, Despite Low Unemployment

#28

Post by JoeAltmaier »

lotsofpulp wrote: post #9

>say they cannot find jobs that provide a middle-class income and don’t come with an expiration date. Unemployment numbers don't measure quality. We have tons of available jobs, but low quality. And/or the people looking for jobs don't have the skills required for high quality jobs. Edit: Here's an income quintile graph from 2016 that shows quality of jobs (scroll down): https://www.cbo.gov/publication/55413

Right! Engineers driving busses; office managers flipping burgers. And the administration dares to call it 'full employment'.

Its part of the very wealthy keeping all the money - if nobody has a skilled job, we don't get (much) income, and wealth inequality zooms onward.

A better measure of employment would be, how much total payroll is across the country. Per capita if you like. That would tell us how we're doing. Not just a total of whom 'has a job'.

Re: Lots of Job Hunting, but No Job, Despite Low Unemployment

#29

Post by brookhaven_dude »

shams93 wrote: post #16

I'm having the same experience but I keep in mind that the Trump admin lies and also promotes discrimination. I lost my job to an h1b, in a good economy it takes me 2 weeks to find a new job this is anything but a strong economy. Lie with stats how you like but you can't use lies to generate reality the real economy is what it is.

It is illegal to hire an H1B if a qualified American is available. You should file a complaint with DoL.

Re: Lots of Job Hunting, but No Job, Despite Low Unemployment

#30

Post by eigenvalue »

melvinroest wrote: post #24

I'm honestly experiencing this as a CS grad in the Dutch job market. I find it weird and frustrating. I've noticed why: 1. Companies don't dare to value creativity [1]. University is so liberal and the job market is so the opposite. 2. Most companies can't value a CS degree. The exception is when enough people in the company did a CS degree and that's a lot more rare than I thought. 3. University didn't teach me to f…

It seems like you have diagnosed the issue, and that you believe it is simple and easy to fix. So why not just whip up a nice looking CRUD web app over the weekend and solve your problems? It doesn't matter how "hard" something is if it doesn't demonstrate to the typical employer that you can solve their business problems.
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