Highly qualified but unemployable | Henreitte van den Berg | TEDxUFS

[@talonward2494]

I worked full-time minimum wage jobs (sometimes two) while going to college commuting 20 miles by bicycle each way, burned out, and dropped out of college, but I didn't quit; I went back and finished my BS in Mathematics, nine years after I first started college. I then applied to all the jobs that having a bachelor's degree should have opened up. Over 9 months I spent every day finding jobs, writing resumes and custom cover letters, and filling in applications with the same information over and over and over -- like a full-time job. I applied to every job for which I qualified, not just "good" ones. I got exactly two job interviews: (1) a retail position at a seasonal stand in Sea World and (2) a mathematics instructor at a for-profit university. Neither one hired me. I returned to graduate school -- something I vowed I would never do because of how corrupt education is. Over the next two years, I worked as a GTA and got my master's degree. Now, six years after getting my master's degree, I have received over this entire time exactly three job interviews: (1) fast food at minimum wage (I was hired), (2) adjunct at a community college, and (3) a position to train to become a CNA. For 7 months, I worked in fast food, hoping that having a job, any job, would improve my prospects of getting hired, while I continued applying to jobs that used my analytic problem solving skills. It became clear, however, that working in fast food only labeled me as a "fast food worker" and only made it easier for me to find more jobs in fast food. I became unemployable the instant I got a college degree. Now, a decade later, I do not work, and I have stopped seeking employment.

[@KristisTm]

to be employed you need this skills: experience working for a minimum wage, learn things quickly for every employer, and be temporary when needed. And i think you are ready for whatever job is there... even you finished whatever phd ... you still got to do a training for your actuall job... ;DD

[@MKMAPHORI]

I needed to hear this

[@liberalstudiesmaterials899]

What should an long time unemployed phd or master degree work and retrain please?

[@justin_hvn3108]

all i have to say is... if than else