| During a recent job interview for an administrative position, I was told by the interviewer that I had potential and that, although I was interviewing for a level three position, I might eventually progress to a level four or even a level five administrator. While this comment wasn’t meant to be mean, it solidified my worst fears – getting stuck, forever, doing a job I didn’t go to school for and didn’t ever envision doing.
When I was in college getting my English degree, working my butt off for those As, I thought it would be a breeze to get a job once I graduated. I was under the naïve impression that I could do something full time that is related to my English degree. Little did I know that the "real" world is quite a different place from academia. A major issue for employers is experience. Since I’ve been out of school less than a year, I don’t have the hands-on experience in my area that employers desire. I am not the only person who’s had problems finding relevant work after graduating with a bachelor of arts degree (in history, psychology or fine arts, for example) – there are plenty of us. I set out to find out what job search resources are available to BA students and why many of us aren’t using them.
A bachelor’s degree can give its recipient a broad understanding of many subjects. The generality of the BA is its strength but also its weakness. More often than not history majors don’t end up in a job researching the history of ancient Roman civilization and English majors will most likely not spend their lives dissecting the complete works of Chaucer (thank God).
In order to specialize in their major, or for their talents to be recognized at least, graduates may have to pursue grad school. What’s more, the more focused a particular job is on a BA-type of skill (such as writing, for instance), the more experience the applicant is required to have (usually five to eight years).
Elaine Balych, the co-ordinator of career education/career development at Mount Royal College, says "BA students are often not aware of their marketable skills." She admits, though, that with BAs, there is often "less integration of learning into the larger picture." While a BA education provides students with a rich course load, it can lack the "real world" knowledge and practical tools that other undergraduate programs offer.
Voula Cocolakis, director of career services at the University of Calgary notes that, "many students in the liberal arts are unsure of the type of work their degree is going to get them and often focus on their studies with the idea that they will think about their careers once they graduate."
Balych agrees with this sentiment and feels that students should be visiting the career counsellors at their institution "at least once a year to help them identify pieces they want to integrate into their futures."
Dustan Byrnes, who recently graduated with his BA in criminology from Mount Royal College, says of his post-BA job, "I was fortunate enough to have an inside connection to steer me to this position, and without him, I could be in the same rut as many of my fellow graduates, still working at grocery stores, dry-cleaning offices and other jobs that are not at all associated with our field of study."
As the old adage goes, it’s not what you know, it’s who you know. According to Balych, more than 80 per cent of jobs are not advertised, so graduates should network and publicize their marketable skills. Balych suggests that networking graduates "go out and meet people in a variety of settings, [as] networking is done almost everywhere." She also advises grads to "ensure you have a well thought out introduction to yourself that clearly conveys the specific information and advice you are seeking and what individuals you would like to connect with."
Men and women are leaving school with the same degrees and grades, yet men often get better jobs. Gurbir Sandhu, director of the Calgary Workers' Resource Centre, notes that the wage gap between men and women doing the same work is still present, and "on average, women in Canada are still making 70 cents to every dollar earned by men." One of the reasons for this disparity is "professions with higher female concentration in terms of employees are undervalued by our society [and] thus underpaid." In fact, even as women and men graduate from similar programs and enter the workforce at the same time, Sandhu says that "research shows… (that) after five to 10 years, women lag behind in income and job titles." While this is in part because of "overt discrimination," Sandhu observes that this is mainly "due to the systemic barriers women face because they are generally responsible for providing care to family members." Maternity leave, family responsibilities and a need to achieve balance in their lives makes women more prone to falling behind in their professional careers.
Heather John, who is the curriculum manager of Alberta Education’s First Nation, Métis, Inuit Initiative says that while a man’s identity is often tied to his career, women "strive to achieve balance in their lives and value relationships." She advises that women who wish to stay home when they have families might want to look at the growing trend of "female entrepreneurs that run successful businesses," most of them online and home-based.
The current boom has hugely affected the job market. Many employers are desperate to fill positions, many administrative in nature. Sometimes, this desperation leads them to attract people who may be overqualified and/or over-educated. Alison Delker, a recent BA graduate who has done plenty of job hunting, says that, in her experience, employers sometimes "add additional titles and responsibilities to the position. Rather than calling the person an administrator, he or she is referred to as a sales administrator or a communications co-ordinator."
BA graduates entering the work force have to contend with their own goals and attitudes. "Confidence is a huge issue that affects their success in the marketplace," says Cocolakis. If (graduates) do not believe that there are opportunities, then there likely won't be any." |
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