Spartan Daily - Serving San Jose State University since 1934

Issue date: 1/31/08 Section: Opinion

Osvaldo Castillo Jr.

I remember a couple of years ago, a professor of mine told the class that we would need to get a retail job after graduating because it would be difficult to get a job right away.

"Why the hell am I even here?" I thought to myself.

Don't people go to college so they won't have to work at a retail store?

I already had a retail job, one that paid me enough to get through college and help me finance a social life.

I did not want to hear my professor say those words. I was discouraged and slacked off in school, prolonging my academic career.

Nonetheless, I eventually graduated and began my search for a "real job" the next day.

Searching for a job after graduation is in itself a full-time job. You have to constantly be looking at classified ads on the Internet and in newspapers and be talking to some industry contacts.

Once you feel that you may have found something, you hear or read those words that send you back to step one: Experience required.

Three years ... five years ... eight years.

I wonder why employers ask for someone that has some sort of experience. Why don't they give someone fresh out of college a chance, someone who is eager and excited to finally be out in the "real world" contributing to society?

And yes, I'll admit it, someone who will not be paid as much as someone with experience.

So where was I to get the experience I would need to get employers interested in hiring me? The only answer I could come up with was school.

"Why are you going back to college?" my friends asked me. "Didn't you graduate?"

I tell them I did graduate, but apparently I do not have enough work experience.

Many students at SJSU do some sort of internship in their respective fields. I have already done one, but I feel that another one would enhance my resume.

Aside from getting more work experience, an extra semester at school will give me a chance to tighten up some skills that I have gained. This is something I feel that I should do regardless of whether I am in school.

What about when I do get that job interview and I am asked to demonstrate a skill that I was supposed to acquire in college? I would not want to be caught not knowing how to respond.

Another advantage of returning to school after graduating is that the amount of pressure decreases dramatically.

Continued...

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