This year’s job market has been bleak, to say the least. Layoffs hit the highest level in 14 years; job openings are barely budging; and quits figures are plummeting. It’s no wonder people feel stuck and discouraged—especially as many candidates have been on the job hunt for a year.
But some mid-career professionals are working with the cards they’ve been dealt by going back to school. Many are turning to data analytics, cybersecurity, AI-focused courses, health care, MBA programs, or trade certifications for an “immediate impact on their careers,” Metaintro CEO Lacey Kaelani told Fortune.
But while grad school can certainly offer the opportunity to level-up your career once you’ve completed a program, it comes with financial and personal sacrifices, like time. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, one year of grad school, on average, costs about $43,000 in tuition. That’s nearly 70% of the average salary in the U.S.
We don’t need any more MBAs.
I actually think we need more people who hate MBAs to go through the degree so we can tell whats bullshit and whats not.
We actively need fewer, a lot fewer
Who can afford that?!
This article seems to be exclusively about masters degrees or people going back to school for a second degree in a new field, but what I’m curious about is if there’s been a similar spike in people going for their first degree. I’m trying to figure out how much of this is people trying to land a job in a recession and how much of it is people trying to make themselves appealing from an immigration perspective. There’s definitely a lot of people who feel like getting out of the country is a nonstarter simply because countries only want the kind of labor that comes from obtaining a degree in a field.
Where’s the leisure society? We have all the resources we need, all the energy we need, and simply put, there just isn’t all that much that needs doing that can keep everyone busy.
There are huge shortages in skilled experienced trades. I’ve seen it all over the US in steel mills. Operators, electricians, welders, etc.
Emphasis on experienced. There’s a fuckton of green apprentices who recently switched careers.
Been doin this work for like 10 years as an electrician so I literally applied to 12 jobs when I finally quit my job of 7 years, got 3 interviews, 2 offers.
Still love my job but I see the labor shortages that can’t be replaced by AI and even automated robotics for production lines
Just look at the multiple fires at the Oswego plant in upstate New York for why the mills are still the wild west sometimes.
This isn’t a news story, it’s an advertorial.
Discovering new paths and education is good. We should not look down at this, but encourage reschooling at 30, 40, 50 or any age. Most skills are out of date within 5 years of leaving school. Having said that, you can reup or relearn stuff in a year or two, or even six months.
Most skills are out of date within 5 years of leaving school.
Then they weren’t skills, they were trivia.
most skills are out of date within 5 years of leaving school
What kind of “skills” are you talking about and what kind of job are you doing if you require re-education after five years?? I honestly can’t imagine an education/job where you can’t remain up to date throughout your career, not to mention grow in your role.
Late 40s, highly skilled, trans, unemployed for 2+ years.
I’ve been down to the final candidate selection a few times now and still haven’t been selected yet.
I’ve hired plenty of people. In general, final candidates are usually all fully capable of doing the job they’re applying for. In the end, the hiring manager just gets to pick the one they want to work with most.
I feel like when hiring managers look at me, all they see are problems and risks. Time consuming HR meetings, extra effort making sure people use the right pronouns, judgements from executive leaders who might see a middle manager not doing a good job at leaning into where the winds are headed.
I wonder, even if I spend 3 more years on a secondary degree, whether I’ll find myself right back in same situation (talented and surrounded by cowards unwilling to hire me), but now with $200k in new student loan debt.
$200k in new student loan debt.
Jesus. I’m looking at getting some additional masters degree in Spain and it’s 10-14 months and 1.5-4k Euros.
That’s like the cost of a college meal plan for a 4 year degree in the US. Not including housing in the dorms, just the food.
Oi! Not trans, but queer, also unemployed for over 2 years now.
I used to be an econometrician, so I can tell you:
You, me?
We’re not unemployed.
We are ‘Not in the Labor Force’.
… we do not count towards the offical unemployment numbers.
… we do not count towards the offical unemployment numbers.
Wait…
unemployed for over 2 years now.
If you’re still actively seeking jobs you’d still be counted in the official unemployment category of U-3 unemployment. Even if you weren’t applying to jobs but still wanted to work you’d be counted in the (potentially more accurate) U-6 unemployment, right?
Normally, in a more sane and functioning world, you’d simply be correct.
I was a bit overzealous, I myself have given up looking because of the massive shadow jobs problem, the interview processes are ridiculous, etc etc, I erroneously transposed that onto them as well.
However, because Trump fired the head of the BLS, and Elon/DOGE cut back their workforce a good deal…
https://www.nisa.com/perspectives/heavily-distorted-cpi-print-reveals-little-useful-information/
https://www.markets.com/analysis/cpi-estimation-methodology-concerns-us-1010-en
https://www.bls.gov/cpi/tables/imputation.htm
For most of this year, they haven’t even had enough staff to actually directly measure about a third of what goes into CPI… they just take the old data, run a model on it, predict it forward, and pretend thats real data.
They call this ‘carry forward price imputation’ or something like that.
So they’re just using some esoteric price model(s) to estimate, instead of actually gather, a bunch of data that is then treated as if it is real data, for the next stages of actually calculating the various cpi segments.
If they’re that fucked at doing cpi, they’re almost certainly also fucked at actually doing the Household Survey properly.
Granted, I can’t strictly prove this, because I do not have a team of forensic accountants auditing their data…
… But, having worked as varying kinds of data analyst, I can say with high confidence that the BLS methodology itself is flawed, and their ability to actually undertake that methodology is severely hamstrung for this whole year.
You don’t end up realizing that you overcounted job growth by a fucking million jobs… if you have a sound methodology.
… So thats a very long way of saying ‘well technically, if you wanna get technical, actually, this is all horseshit at this point, thus the person I’m replying to probably isn’t actually being counted, via problems that go outside/beyond the simple stated BLS methodology.’
You make a very good point. I’ve stopped using CDC for any realistic data or health guidance and instead defer to Health Canada or the NHS.
I should have also assumed economic data from the trump administration was equally suspect now.
resorting to going to school instead of looking for work
I think they looked for work before considering more debt.
I did that in 2008… things must be going great
I was in the midst of a career change that I instigated myself with the blessing and support of my wife. I was substitute teaching while trying to break into the tech field and found that I actually loved subbing! So much so that I am more than halfway done with a Master’s program for Elementary Education.
There is a teacher shortage and I’m male, which is an underrepresented statistic in Elementary Ed, so I’m pretty confident I’ll land something. I’m taking a pay cut, but I enjoy the teaching and the positives it brings to children’s lives to have a good role model and someone that cares about them while being excited to explore new information.
I’m fucking stuck in this economic pit.
I like wondering and I just had the idea that I might enjoy welding because it seems like big soldering.
Would I like welding?
In my experience the biggest problem with physical labor is that it’s boring. If you’re used to finding creative solutions for complex engineering issues for work then you will not enjoy doing the same task 8 hours a day, day after day.
Lot’s of corporate drone positions are way more boring. At least your getting some exercise.
This depends a lot on the labor job. I worked construction/landscaping for a couple years, and pretty much no two days were the same. You were basically always trying to solve some small or large practical problem.
Having an education as an engineer, and working as a researcher now, I have to say that I really enjoyed my time doing manual labour.
Yes, I think if you can be the person making decisions it can be more interesting. Lots of entry level jobs and even fairly skilled labor is not creative at all though.
Oh.
Yeah solid point. That would drive me fucking insane.
I’m an aircraft mechanic that specializes in sheet metal. There are routine things we do but pretty much everyday is different. I like it a lot. Lots of problem solving and troubleshootimg. If you’re into electronics we have Avionics. While I specialize in sheet metal I still do everything so it is never boring. Biggest problem is paying for your License. It is costly. I got into it later in life. I got my license at 36.
Huh.
I do like planes. And electronics. Though everything I know in that area is self taught and I don’t know a lot. I can finance the education to make a shift in my life. I am so burnt out on my career - good money but completely burnt out and never want to do it again.
Hmmm.
Something to consider. And what ever company you went to would have training for Avionics. Or you may find something else you like. I hated sheet metal in AP school. But I LOVE doing it now. AP school is kinda dumb but if you play the game you’ll be fine. At the end there are 6 Federal exams. 3 written tests and 3 oral/practicals. People freak out over those and many never do them. They are pretty simple if you study and apply yourself.
What is AP school?
Also I’m in Canada so I’d imagine the whole thing is kind of different.
Its Airframe and Powerplant. So, you guys are a bit different than the US. But I work with guys from Canada. Your licensing is a bit different. You guys have more. There is the S license for Structures, A for Avionics (I think its A), and a Powerplant one. You can get one or all of them. I have worked with a lot of guys that have the S. I can’t remember if you guys do type ratings for each plane you would be working on or not.
Oregon Trail Sub-Generation. Always the God Damned Guinea Pigs.
I’m tired, Boss.
I have 7 years of oncological research experience with teaching/consulting. 2 years as the sole animal manager at a nonprofit with therapy animals. I can’t find a fucking job. It’s insane. Either I’m overqualified, or I’m lacking some niche experience.
It sounds like all your experience it’s niche. But I’m an outsider.
But I should be able to do anything involving teaching, management, biological science bench work, or animal related. That’s a lot of leeway imho.
I have a pretty dissimilar resume but have perhaps had somewhat similar challenges.
I too have distinct specialties that should, in theory, be desirable in many different roles. But to get any attention at all from employers, I had to take a lot of things off my resume to make it look less ”complicated”. This included removing things that I considered relevant experience for the position, but not explicitly asked for. It also involved scrapping half of my education background for a lot of positions.
Shit fucking sucks and are unfair. But I was just recently able to get a job that I’m happy with and so will you too, soon.
If a potential employer is telling you you’re overqualified, could you potentially be putting too much knowledge and experience on your resume (for that specific role)?
Grad school wreeeecked my finances. I went into it knowing that if it didn’t pass my boards I’d be ruined. And in the US all that takes is one medical issue practically. I just paid everything off at 38. Still renting 🥲
