Live Frugally or Die Broke

The Lost Generation
I have noticed that as the job market sinks deeper into the abyss, college grads have been grumbling ever so louder. A lot of the career forums tell stories of depressed job seekers, fresh out of college, who are getting tossed to the curb. While it’s true that college certainly doesn’t guarantee a high paying job upon graduation, universities seem to imply it is much easier than it actually is. In this recession it would seem that employers are sticking with the older talent, rather than the young and eager. This is an opportunity in disguise, for the lost and forgotten. College grads should be eager to jump into the entrepreneurial mode, as the corporate world turns it’s back.

Find A Hobby
I mentioned in my article about the 2009 grads that graduates shouldn’t wait for employers to offer them jobs. Jobs are scarce right now, but working from home is the new fad. Ample opportunities are available in online business. I gave readers some entrepreneurial advice in my article Discovering Arbitrage. There are plenty of ample opportunities out there for college graduates to start small businesses. If your credit is good, you can find low interest rates on a business start up loan, from sites like Prosper, to get you started.

Start out slowly at first and experiment with new ideas. Try not to spend too much money, if at all possible. Once you get better at it you can invest more time and money into your project, as you gain experience. I tried and failed in many hobbies, before I found ones that could make me small amounts of income that I have used in Snowflaking.

My mother told me about a story she heard at work. An old man and has grandson went into business making bird feeders. The grandfather had been making them for years out of driftwood and selling them at rummage sales. His grandson started a website and integrated E-Marketplace into it. They are now making a small fortune.

In my mind college was a hoax, in the sense it didn’t give me the opportunities I desired, such as a great job. Just because life has thrown me lemons, isn’t enough for me to lose hope yet. There are great start up opportunities that have yet to be found. When the economy does finally rebound there will be many business giants that will be taken over by these small start ups. One of the companies I interviewed with after school, was started by two men during a recession. They coded a few websites for some small companies and eventually grew it into a business. They never waited for anyone to hire them. They seized a great opportunity and capitalized it into a business. Now is the time to keep ones eyes open and make opportunities happen for themselves.

I would like to be upfront about the fact I graduated college in 2009. Many said it was the worst time to graduate into the work force since back in the 1930’s. I know many of my friends gave up looking before they graduated. Collectively, we have been holding down fast food jobs since we started college. A few years later and now most of us are just shift managers in fastfood, which is usually where that career track ends. I tried for several months to obtain a professional job, before I decided to throw in the towel. I’m not implying I have become discouraged, just that I won’t be looking for one anytime soon. I imagine it is probably this way across the board, for those who received bachelors degrees.

Media Interest
There have been a few good stories, in the media, addressing the stark reality 2009 graduates face. I particularly like the one in the Wall Street Journal that describes to us exactly how screwed we are. Then of course there is the Forbes article that warns us college grads could soon realize that higher education was a scam. I have been following some of the blogs and comments, left by those who graduated, that paint bitter and malcontent images of the cons who sold them on the dream we call college. Now it seems we have new graduates hashing it out with the older work force in a competition over the dwindling supply of US dollars held by corporations. Basically it’s everyone’s worst nightmare coming home to roost.

Statistics
Now for the cold hard facts that can be drawn from the fallout. According to CBS, “The jobless rate among college graduates has more than doubled from a year ago to 4.3 percent.” I believe there is a caveat to that one though. How many of these job are “real” jobs and not just something like flipping burgers or waitressing? It seems that a lot of the jobs that are opening up are in the US Government. That’s all we need right now, a bigger monster to feed. We know that the average college graduate leaves with almost $20,000 in student loans. Although still better off than their peers without a higher education, it’s going to take college grads a lot longer to catch up to those who didn’t take the plunge. I am questioning whether or not it is possible to break even on my college investment. It seemed to me that I could have been much better off skipping the additional education and just saving money instead.

Look Elsewhere
I think it’s time for college graduates to start mustering up the entrepreneurial spirit that has kept this country running since it’s inception. We have many bright and talented individuals spinning their wheels that are well capable of innovation. The diverse liberal arts programs have strengthened students well enough to adapt to almost any role a small business would need. I for one welcome the challenges this market brings. I hope to see new and bold developments in the job market, created by those same individuals the job market left in the dust. Instead of getting mad about not being hired, I will instead get even. The great idea behind capitalism is; if you don’t like it, make it better.