Problems starting a career.
September 8, 2010 2:40 AM Subscribe
Graduated from university but still unemployed at 24. Only part-time job experiences. Will there be a problem for my career direction?
I graduated slightly late compare to my other peers (usually 22). Over half of them already got into graduate school. I have yet to be employed. It's depressing as the American economy is bringing down the whole world.
I know this is silly to say but I have experienced ageism very often in my school life just because I started elementary school 2 years older the average age of enlistment. I can't personally overcome ageism.
Will I be in a disadvantage in the long run?
I graduated slightly late compare to my other peers (usually 22). Over half of them already got into graduate school. I have yet to be employed. It's depressing as the American economy is bringing down the whole world.
I know this is silly to say but I have experienced ageism very often in my school life just because I started elementary school 2 years older the average age of enlistment. I can't personally overcome ageism.
Will I be in a disadvantage in the long run?
Yeah, let go of what happens in school - don't be one of those people that let it define them for the rest of their lives. Most people you see now don't know about you in school, and they don't want to know. They are interested in who you are today. Once you have left uni for a bit longer, you will understand that the same principle holds true there, too.
Fuck, I work with people between 19 and 52 in my current team, and I treat them exactly the same - as individuals.
Remind yourself: With age comes wisdom.
posted by smoke at 4:08 AM on September 8, 2010
Fuck, I work with people between 19 and 52 in my current team, and I treat them exactly the same - as individuals.
Remind yourself: With age comes wisdom.
posted by smoke at 4:08 AM on September 8, 2010
Your only concern is saving more money for retirement than you might otherwise have to. No one doing hiring cares.
posted by SMPA at 4:13 AM on September 8, 2010
posted by SMPA at 4:13 AM on September 8, 2010
I started my first full time job at 25. Things are fine.
I could imagine this exact post by someone who graduated early and thinks they're too young for a real job. No one at work cares about how old you are or what you did in school. I don't even have a degree that's really appropriate to field I'm working in. Show up early, be nice to everyone, do your best to fix things even if they're not your fault because they're a chance for you to learn. You need this attitude: you're not clocking hours there for the paycheck: you're there to learn and improve, learn and improve. The capital you gain isn't what's in the bank account at the end of the day: it's the lessons and skills you've picked up working the business.
You'll be far ahead of the guy with a masters at 21 who thinks he knows everything.
posted by xdvesper at 4:24 AM on September 8, 2010 [2 favorites]
I could imagine this exact post by someone who graduated early and thinks they're too young for a real job. No one at work cares about how old you are or what you did in school. I don't even have a degree that's really appropriate to field I'm working in. Show up early, be nice to everyone, do your best to fix things even if they're not your fault because they're a chance for you to learn. You need this attitude: you're not clocking hours there for the paycheck: you're there to learn and improve, learn and improve. The capital you gain isn't what's in the bank account at the end of the day: it's the lessons and skills you've picked up working the business.
You'll be far ahead of the guy with a masters at 21 who thinks he knows everything.
posted by xdvesper at 4:24 AM on September 8, 2010 [2 favorites]
You will be at zero disadvantage because the difference in age evaporates as you get older.
Once you leave academia, adults are adults. Developmentally, two years make a big difference when you're 5 or 15. It makes virtually no difference when you're 25 or 27. Nobody cares.
You have about 20 years to enjoy this new, level playing field before you bump into the other end where you're beginning to age out of some roles and opportunities. Enjoy it, it's nice here.
posted by DarlingBri at 4:54 AM on September 8, 2010
Once you leave academia, adults are adults. Developmentally, two years make a big difference when you're 5 or 15. It makes virtually no difference when you're 25 or 27. Nobody cares.
You have about 20 years to enjoy this new, level playing field before you bump into the other end where you're beginning to age out of some roles and opportunities. Enjoy it, it's nice here.
posted by DarlingBri at 4:54 AM on September 8, 2010
My brother was 23.5 when he graduated from college, and I don't think anyone has ever noticed. Unless you were clearly a non-traditional student, I think most people set your career clock from the date of your college graduation. I don't think it has ever occurred to most people to inquire how old my brother was when he graduated.
(Plus, I work at a college, and it's not that unusual to see students graduate when they're 24, for any number of reasons. Some of them take a couple of years off before college to figure out what they want to do, go on Mormon missions, do a stint in the military, etc. Some of them take some time off to establish in-state residency in the middle of their studies. Some of them take some time off because of family emergencies, like their mom is in chemo and they have to take care of their younger siblings. Some of them are like you and just started elementary school later than usual. There are a ton of reasons that someone could graduate at 24. This is not something that's going to shock employers.)
What you might want to avoid is having a gap in your resume because you can't find a job now. If you can't find a career-oriented job, consider trying to find any job that pays the bills and then doing something (freelance, cool volunteer gig, internship, community college classes that will get you useful skills) that will make it look like you were using this time productively.
posted by craichead at 5:12 AM on September 8, 2010
(Plus, I work at a college, and it's not that unusual to see students graduate when they're 24, for any number of reasons. Some of them take a couple of years off before college to figure out what they want to do, go on Mormon missions, do a stint in the military, etc. Some of them take some time off to establish in-state residency in the middle of their studies. Some of them take some time off because of family emergencies, like their mom is in chemo and they have to take care of their younger siblings. Some of them are like you and just started elementary school later than usual. There are a ton of reasons that someone could graduate at 24. This is not something that's going to shock employers.)
What you might want to avoid is having a gap in your resume because you can't find a job now. If you can't find a career-oriented job, consider trying to find any job that pays the bills and then doing something (freelance, cool volunteer gig, internship, community college classes that will get you useful skills) that will make it look like you were using this time productively.
posted by craichead at 5:12 AM on September 8, 2010
Response by poster: Forgot to say that I'm in South Korea right now. Age discrimination in the workforce is very active even for foreigners like me.
posted by sanskrtam at 5:23 AM on September 8, 2010
posted by sanskrtam at 5:23 AM on September 8, 2010
That's an important detail! I don't have a clue how things work in South Korea.
Having said that, most of the South Korean guys I see in my job are a little older than average, because they complete their military service before they go to college. Is it really that weird to graduate when you're 24 in Korea? Or would that be considered a special situation that doesn't apply to you?
posted by craichead at 5:30 AM on September 8, 2010
Having said that, most of the South Korean guys I see in my job are a little older than average, because they complete their military service before they go to college. Is it really that weird to graduate when you're 24 in Korea? Or would that be considered a special situation that doesn't apply to you?
posted by craichead at 5:30 AM on September 8, 2010
Response by poster: They tend to recruit younger English-speaking foreigners for assistant language teachers (ALT). They usually demand energetic vibes who just graduated at a very young age of 22 for starting positions. Let's say it this way. I can't compete with those young American kids compare to an old Canadian like me.
posted by sanskrtam at 5:37 AM on September 8, 2010
posted by sanskrtam at 5:37 AM on September 8, 2010
I just want to point out that South Korean job ads often specify a desired age range, and it's difficult to get by the age restrictions as one's age gets revealed in the job application form itself.
Nevertheless, 2 years does not strike me as a huge age difference regarding energy in the classroom, especially for people in their early 20's.
Lastly, are you restricting your job search to South Korea? The job market is especially bad for young people right now - I saw one estimate claiming 40% of recent college graduates were unemployed. Would it be possible for you to look for a job in another country, perhaps in another Asian country or in Canada?
posted by needled at 6:49 AM on September 8, 2010
Nevertheless, 2 years does not strike me as a huge age difference regarding energy in the classroom, especially for people in their early 20's.
Lastly, are you restricting your job search to South Korea? The job market is especially bad for young people right now - I saw one estimate claiming 40% of recent college graduates were unemployed. Would it be possible for you to look for a job in another country, perhaps in another Asian country or in Canada?
posted by needled at 6:49 AM on September 8, 2010
Response by poster: Not really. I'm stuck in South Korea. All I can say is that the current South Korean president called Lee Myeong Bak is an inhumane individual for driving up the unemployment rate.
posted by sanskrtam at 6:55 AM on September 8, 2010
posted by sanskrtam at 6:55 AM on September 8, 2010
This may not apply in South Korea, but lots of young people are filling what would otherwise be gaps in their resume with volunteer "jobs." You still have a position, duties, organization you work for, references, etc. -- you don't even have to specify that it was a volunteer position, just lump all your paid and unpaid work together under "Experience" or "Positions Held."
posted by Jacqueline at 9:04 AM on September 8, 2010
posted by Jacqueline at 9:04 AM on September 8, 2010
I graduated from college at 24. For me, it was not that I started primary school later than other kids, but that I made some fairly big mistakes that resulted in me taking some time off from college. Which, theoretically, should be a much bigger deal than starting school at 5 vs. 7.
And yet here I am at 29, happily employed in a career I mostly like, looking for new opportunities, paying the rent on time, etc.
You come off very passive here - blaming current job woes on a chance occurrence from 15+ years ago, "stuck" in Korea, "can't compete" with other applicants who are only marginally different from you, etc. If you speak this way in interviews, there is a strong chance your attitude is the black mark against you, not your age.
How long have you been looking for work? Your original post makes it sound like you're only a few months past graduation. If you're looking for a stable career sort of position, these things can take more than a few weeks. You probably need to adjust your timeframe from what you're used to if your only prior experience was part time college kid jobs where they basically hire you on the spot.
Somewhat off-topic, if you are an expat looking for ESL work in Korea - what kind of qualifications do you have in addition to your bachelor's degree? Do you have any teaching experience? I've heard it can be quite difficult to get a teaching job in Korea, especially fresh out of college with no experience or qualifications. You might look into doing a TESOL certificate course, or doing some volunteer work in a teaching capacity.
posted by Sara C. at 9:43 AM on September 8, 2010
And yet here I am at 29, happily employed in a career I mostly like, looking for new opportunities, paying the rent on time, etc.
You come off very passive here - blaming current job woes on a chance occurrence from 15+ years ago, "stuck" in Korea, "can't compete" with other applicants who are only marginally different from you, etc. If you speak this way in interviews, there is a strong chance your attitude is the black mark against you, not your age.
How long have you been looking for work? Your original post makes it sound like you're only a few months past graduation. If you're looking for a stable career sort of position, these things can take more than a few weeks. You probably need to adjust your timeframe from what you're used to if your only prior experience was part time college kid jobs where they basically hire you on the spot.
Somewhat off-topic, if you are an expat looking for ESL work in Korea - what kind of qualifications do you have in addition to your bachelor's degree? Do you have any teaching experience? I've heard it can be quite difficult to get a teaching job in Korea, especially fresh out of college with no experience or qualifications. You might look into doing a TESOL certificate course, or doing some volunteer work in a teaching capacity.
posted by Sara C. at 9:43 AM on September 8, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
People reading your resumé/CV aren't going to be working out the ages at which you started different parts of your education. To a prospective employer you'll be a 24-year-old who studied X at university Y. They'll be interested in your university education and in whatever you've been doing with your time since you graduated, and that's all.
Kids in school are often cruel to each other, and it sounds like that's at the root of your insecurity. Ageism isn't going to be an issue in the long run. What you'll find as you get older is that a two-year difference in age is a lifetime at 8 years old, something of moderate interest at 20, and an irrelevant blip by the time you're 30. You've only been an adult for a few years, and so this two-year difference seems like a major thing to you, but it honestly isn't, so try to stop worrying about it.
posted by le morte de bea arthur at 3:18 AM on September 8, 2010