For liberal-arts majors, finding the dream job takes time, perseverance

History major Nicole Peterson has dreams of working in a library or archive somewhere, but after the University of Kansas senior graduates this spring, she’ll be working as far away from her dream job as she can imagine: at a cubicle in a small insurance company’s office.

“I have a customer-service job at this insurance company in Leawood, [Kan.,] so it’s not really using my degree,” Peterson said. “Ideally I want to use my major, but I don’t really know how.”

Peterson says she’s not the only one at KU’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences who can’t find work doing what she loves; many of her friends are struggling to find a career, as well. She said she thinks much of the difficulty of the liberal-arts job search comes from the lack of a clear career track to follow.

“A lot of the career websites like CareerBuilder don’t have, for example, a ‘History’ place to look, or ‘Communications,’” Peterson said. “It’s not like that. A lot of the time, the jobs open are in human resources or something I’m not really qualified for.”

While the job market for college students in general is improving, much of this improvement is due to increasing demand for students in high-tech and career-oriented fields of study such as engineering, healthcare and business. Many liberal-arts graduates like Peterson are struggling to find stable employment and figure out where their degrees fit in in the world of work.

A liberal-arts program may teach specific skills, such as languages and methods of criticism. But the real asset such an education provides, according to Ann Cudd, KU’s Associate Dean for the Humanities, is the ability to think differently.

“Employers are not necessarily looking for people who have a particular vocational skill for their particular job, but rather people who can think critically, write well and use basic statistical analyses and data analyses to solve problems,” Cudd said. “Those are the things that we teach liberal-arts-and-sciences graduates.”

But even though these skills are useful for employers, they don’t lend themselves to a smooth search for a career. Larry Fillian, director of the Student Academic Services office in KU’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, said the large umbrella category of “liberal-arts” skills can make the pool of job prospects broader and more daunting for liberal-arts graduates.

“Students [in career-oriented majors] need to have a solid knowledge of the technical skills required for those occupations, and therefore I would expect them to have a more directed and niched job search than perhaps a liberal-arts student would,” Fillian said.

This lack of specific skills can also make the job search more maddening for liberal-arts majors. According to Craig Warlick, a career counselor with KU’s Career Center, this means liberal-arts students often have to take jobs that are low on the totem pole and only tangentially related to their majors when they first start out.

“Generally, a lot of liberal-arts students have to take more of an entry-level position with certain things, because while they may have the tools, they may not necessarily have the experience,” Warlick said.

This doesn’t mean liberal-arts majors should give up hope on finding their ideal careers. The key to landing a dream job with a liberal arts degree, Warlick said, is to start out with lower expectations and climb the corporate ladder.

“Be patient and be persistent,” Warlick said. “Rarely do any of us get our ideal job, especially straight out of school, but if a company is solid, the environment is people you enjoy working with and the task is something you find somewhat rewarding, just take it. That might not be your ideal job, but it might be your ideal beginning job.”

Nicole Peterson said she isn’t sure if she can get to her ideal job from where she’s at, and she’s planning to go back to school for a graduate degree in history once she’s saved enough money for tuition. But she also said her new job isn’t totally unrelated to the skills she learned in her history classes.

“It’s customer service, so I’m going to be answering a lot of phones and a lot of questions that people are going to have, and since I’ve done so much research, I’ll be able to do that, if needed,” Peterson said. “Then again, I don’t know how much research I’m going to need to answer a question about somebody’s insurance, but I will use the critical thinking and being able to think quickly and provide useful answers in a concise way.”

What jobs do liberal-arts majors look for?

Even though a liberal-arts education tries to provide students a broad base of knowledge that they can apply to whatever field they go into, there are some careers that students in the liberal arts are more attracted to. Compared to their counterparts in career-oriented majors, liberal-arts students are less likely to look for jobs in high-pressure fields like business and healthcare and more likely to gravitate toward careers in education.

LiberalArtsCareerChart

The career-counseling process

Many liberal-arts students use career counseling services to help find employment. University of Kansas career counselor Craig Warlick, the majority of whose counseling assignments are liberal-arts majors, discusses the unique challenges associated with counseling these students.

Sylas May: “University of Kansas career counselor Craig Warlick says well-counseled students in the liberal arts can do just as well on the job market as students in career-oriented fields of study like engineering or business.”

Craig Warlick: “There’s a lot of data out there that says liberal-arts students typically rise much faster than people even in more of those career-track majors.”

Sylas May: “The trick, he says, is helping them figure out what they have to offer.”

Craig Warlick: “I was a double major—history and English—and now I’m getting my Ph.D. in counseling psychology, so I’m like a child of the liberal arts. And the thing that we really try and focus on is really, ‘What skills do you have?’ Like, for instance, if you’re a history major, yes, there is a direct pipeline for teaching and for law and for politics that way, but also, what other skills do you have? A lot of those things are going to be like the ability to research, the ability to process large quantities of information, the ability to write, probably the ability—especially by the time you’re graduating, you’ve probably done several presentations, so you’re probably a pretty decent public speaker. Companies really do look for those types of people.”

Sylas May: “For The Savings Scholar, I’m Sylas May.”

Credit cards can jumpstart your credit score—if you know how to use them

After being nagged by his mother to start building his credit history, University of Kansas junior Chris Ouyang finally got a credit card for small purchases as his high-school years wound down—albeit one in his mother’s name. But several months ago, when Ouyang tried to apply for another credit card, he realized that, because his card was still tied to his mother’s account, his credit wasn’t as well-established as he’d expected it would be.

“I applied for about five different cards, and I got nothing back—they all said, ‘You have insufficient credit history,” Ouyang said. “I thought, ‘How could that be? I make $15,000 or $30,000 a year, and I spend money on that credit card I’ve had since high school.

Since then, Ouyang has been able to get a credit card in his own name through his mother’s credit-card company and to start reestablishing his credit history with it. He’s also stopped using the other card almost entirely because it doesn’t fit in with his credit-building plan.

“I wanted to make sure that, if I was trying to build credit, that was accomplishing that goal,” Ouyang said. “And you can see that it wasn’t doing that, because it was so hard to get any other credit card.”

Ouyang isn’t the only student who has made mistakes in his quest to build a credit history. Despite the increasing popularity of credit cards among college students, there are still many pitfalls awaiting students who want to use one to establish or polish their credit scores.

The idea of using credit cards to build a credit history has been gaining traction on campuses lately. Not only have the majority of students at all grade levels been using cards over the past few years (as shown in the chart below), but credit-card companies have also been showing up more often at universities to market their services as investments in students’ financial futures.

“A lot of universities are allowing credit-card companies to come on campus at new student orientations to help students open up cards,” said Brad Goldie, a finance professor at the KU School of Business. “It’s something that’s becoming very prevalent.”

Whether the students applying for these cards are responsible or knowledgeable enough to use them correctly is a different matter. Karolyn Stattelman, the manager of Jayhawk Federal Credit Union, said credit cards are riskier for students than other types of loans because it’s easy to miss payments and difficult to get advice on how to use the card in a way that builds credit rather than harms it.

“Credit-card companies aren’t going to counsel a student like a bank or credit union can,” Stattelman said.

For many students, Brad Goldie said, the biggest problem for students trying to use a credit card responsibly is overspending.

“While it’s a good idea to have good credit and to build good credit, at the end of the day, the credit-card companies are in this to make money,” Goldie said. “[Students] often assume that there’ll be enough money next month to pay the bill; they don’t pay enough attention to how much they’ve charged.”

So how can students use these cards responsibly? According to Goldie, the trick to building a great credit score on a card is charging conservatively and not trying too hard to impress the credit-reporting agencies.

“If you’re just getting started, get something with a small credit limit, where even if you max it out you’ll be able to pay it off, and only use it for the essentials that you would otherwise purchase,” Goldie said. “Charging more on the card each month isn’t necessarily going to result in a better credit score.”

For the most part, Chris Ouyang sticks to this type of plan, only buying groceries and the occasional textbook on credit. However, when he’s certain he can pay the bills, he won’t hesitate to put a little more on his card, as he did recently when traveling for a mock trial competition.

“When we got [to the competition], we needed a hotel, so I put my own credit card on file and I paid it,” Ouyang said. “Eventually, Student Senate reimbursed me, so it worked out fine.”

Even though he was sure he could pay it back, Ouyang said that he’s convinced this will better prove his responsibility to people analyzing his credit.

“It shows your ability to pay back large purchases on your credit history, so I really benefitted,” Ouyang said.

Students’ credit habits

Surprisingly enough, many college students are using their cards fairly responsibly. According to data from education loan provider Sallie Mae, students who have credit cards overwhelmingly elect to keep a small balance on their cards, and fewer than one-fifth of students in all grade levels are running balances of more than $7,000.

CreditCharts

Source: Sallie Mae

In economically sluggish Britain, much whining but less wine-ing

Sometimes it’s easy to forget that recessions affect about everything—right down to what you toast with on special occasions. A new report from Britain’s Office for National Statistics shows that in the sluggishly recovering country, sales of champagne have dropped more than 30 percent, and consumers have been buying more “off-brand” bubbly like prosecco and cava.

Looking to get the most bang for your travel buck over the summer vacation? According to this article from MSN Money, you should try checking websites like STATravel and StudentUniverse, which post special deals on airfare, hotels and tours—all just for students.

There’s do-it-yourself aficionados, and then there’s Bryce Phelps, who made an entire spiral staircase out of cut-up IKEA countertops. In this post on Boing Boing, he shares how he accomplished this feat, in case you’re crazy enough to want to try it for yourself.

Pope Francis shows his frugal side

Pope Francis is forcing his fellow clergymen to live up to their vows of poverty a bit more this year: According to USA Today, the religious leader decided to forgo the $2,000 bonuses that usually go to Vatican employees after the election of a new pope.

Buying food in bulk can save you money, but make sure it’s not perishable, because you’re never going to be able to store it long enough to eat it. That’s just one of the money sinks in disguise detailed in this list from financial advice site Money Under 30, which also advises readers to stay away from buy-one-get-one deals at restaurants.

Rumors have spread about Apple releasing a cheaper iPhone, and investment site The Motley Fool agrees: Contributor Adam Levine-Weinberg says while the company won’t drop all the way into the low-end smartphone market, it will probably be priced at around $350 to better compete with mid-tier manufacturers like Samsung.

Investing doesn’t have to be confusing

It’s time to start thinking about retirement! … Yes, I know you’re only a junior in college. It’s still a wise idea to start playing the stock market or buying bonds even if you haven’t joined the workforce yet: Catherine Shenoy, director of applied portfolio management at the University of Kansas, says most retirement plans available at companies are based around investments, so most people have to start investing at some point in their twenties whether they like it or not.

If you’re clueless as to what investment products are out there and how to get started, this handy chart might help you out.

Investing

A “Nutt-y” theory about the financial crisis

There are many theories about what caused our current financial crisis, but this one’s by far the craziest: according to this Telegraph report, British professor David Nutt is blaming the crisis on too many bankers taking cocaine.

Doing your taxes can be a bitter pill to swallow, but free Cinnabon Bites or a half-price drink at Sonic might make it go down a little sweeter. It turns out many big restaurant chains are offering tax-day discounts like these, including Arby’s, Bruegger’s and White Castle.

Your summer road trip could be a bit less expensive this year: according to investment website The Motley Fool, gas prices are poised to drop to a national average of $3.63 per gallon this summer, three cents lower than last year’s summer average.

Devil is in the details for foreign students looking for work

If you ask Overland Park attorney Judy Bordeau, who has practiced immigration law for more than 10 years, one of the hardest parts of a foreign student’s education is getting the right visa.

Bordeau, who spoke to international students at the University of Kansas on April 11 about obtaining work visas as part of an employment workshop, says many international students find obtaining visas complicated and don’t know how to tailor their education to make the search simpler.

One of the most complicated aspects of U.S. immigration law, Bordeau says, is a type of work visa called the H-1B, which allows workers to stay in the country if they have specialized education in technical fields like engineering or computer science.

“It’s hard to get an H-1B with a degree in communications.” Bordeau said.

A common pitfall for students, according to Bordeau, is applying for jobs that demand language skills rather than technical expertise. While jobs that require bilingual communication are simple for many international students to get, they don’t typically qualify their workers for a visa.

“It’s not foreign students’ experiences in school, but their life experiences that are qualifying them,” Bordeau said. “That’s generally not going to work. Does the job require a specialized degree, or do they just like you because you can speak Spanish?”

Even if workers can obtain H-1B certification, they may still face hurdles getting permanent residency; the coveted “green card” is often inaccessible to people in jobs that are easier to fill. Nevertheless, Bordeau says the H-1B certification is a substantial step toward residency, and will make foreign workers more attractive to employers.

Immigration law practitioner Judy Bordeau teaches international students about work visas April 11. Bordeau says obtaining the right visa can be challenging for many international students entering the job market.

Immigration law practitioner Judy Bordeau teaches international students about work visas April 11. Bordeau says obtaining the right visa can be challenging for many international students entering the job market.

Courtship on the cheap

Dating can be a challenge, but, according to CBS Local blog Mancave Daily, keeping tabs on your wallet can take some of the stress out of the process. Among other things, it’s important not to set the bar too high; sure, taking the object of your affections to the ritziest restaurant in town will probably impress her, but how can you top that for the second date without taking out a second mortgage?

Private colleges often justify their high tuition by claiming to give a lot back in scholarships, but how much truth is there to that assessment? Actually, quite a lot, a new article from The Atlantic says: on average, 60 percent of schools’ tuition hikes between 1999 and 2010 has gone back to poorer students in financial aid.

And, finally, a reality check: no, you won’t be able to live like your parents right out of college. Also covered in this roundup of post-graduation financial pitfalls: avoid taking on bad debt, and stop mooching off of mom and dad.

Healthy eating doesn’t have to be expensive

Alexandra Brown, a junior at the University of Kansas and a fitness blogger, says she spends about as much as most other KU students on her groceries: a modest sum of about $30 per week. What she says is out of the ordinary is what she buys with that money.

Instead of heat-and-eat ramen noodles and frozen pizzas, her shopping cart is filled with fresh vegetables and raw meat that she’ll cook throughout the week.

Not only is it healthier to eat this way, Brown says, it’s also cheaper.

“Ironically, processed foods typically cost more,” she said. “You can save yourself money and your waistline if you can cook a little bit.”

Many college students think eating three healthy meals a day is impossibly costly, but there are many ways for students to pinch pennies without packing on the pounds—if they’re willing to put in a little extra effort, that is. With proper planning and some cooking skills, students can cut their budgets and their calorie counts at the same time.

Nancy O’Connor, education and outreach director at organic grocery store The Community Mercantile, says learning how to cook can pay off for students, because it generally costs less to buy raw ingredients than more convenient processed or prepared foods.

“I think there’s this misconception that fast foods are cheap,” O’Connor said.

Cooking isn’t the only such investment students have to make to stay healthy on the cheap, though: proper planning of meals is important, too. Dietician and University of Kansas lecturer Marty Glenn says many college students make poor dietary decisions because they often act impulsively and don’t plan their meals out in advance.

“College-aged kids have grown up in an environment where many expect meals in minutes; it’s become the norm thanks to the fast food industry,” Glenn said. “Also, a student’s schedule tends to be inconsistent from day to day, and students frequently eat on the fly.”

In addition to forcing students to think more carefully about what they’re eating, planning meals in advance can be an effective money-saver, as it makes it less likely that food will go to waste.

“If you come to the store and you’re hungry and not trying to plan ahead, you might buy all this broccoli and you’d end up throwing half of it out, because you don’t know what you’re going to use it for,” O’Connor said.

But even those who aren’t organized enough to meticulously plan their produce shopping in advance can easily add a nutritious twist to their diet. According to Glenn, one of the best ways to get more bang for your buck at the grocery store is to keep some dried foods in your pantry.

“Dried beans and peas are a good source of protein and fiber, and they last a long time without spoiling,” Glenn said.

Another advantage of dried foods is that they can be bought in bulk at many grocery stores like O’Connor’s. Although most people don’t think to shop in the bulk department of her store, O’Connor says that those who do generally pay lower prices for their food, because they aren’t paying for the extra processing that comparable packaged foods require.

Some of these tactics are a bit too extreme for Brown, who prefers simply looking for ingredients that are on sale over buying in bulk. That doesn’t mean she’s lax about her planning, though; far from it, as she says she makes everything she buys stretch as far as it will go.

“I can get two pounds of meat on clearance and make it last for a week and a half,” Brown said. “And it still fills me up.”

 

A tour of Alexandra Brown’s kitchen

University of Kansas junior and fitness blogger Alexandra Brown shows off some of the healthy bargains she picked up at the supermarket.

Sylas May: “The food in KU junior Alexandra Brown’s kitchen is healthy, but it’s also cheap.”

Alexandra Brown: “I have Fit and Active whole wheat spaghetti; I got this at Aldi, and each box was a dollar. One box has seven servings, so that’s a week of dinner, and it’s really filling. It’s 210 calories, and if I were to get white pasta, it would be around 400 calories.

“The manager’s special: $6.44 for a pound and 81 ounces (sic). And, actually, if you freeze chicken after you buy it, it can last for up to a year, so if you see meat on clearance or on special, you can buy it and save it for later; save yourself money.

“I got both of these at Aldi, and I think this box was $2 and this was $2 as well. I’ve had this since December of last year, and it is now April, so it lasts a long time.”

Sylas May: “I’m Sylas May, for The Savings Scholar.”

Spring break: stimulating, but far from a stimulus

Spring break must be a boon for towns in Florida, California and other popular vacation states, right? According to The Atlantic, not so much: not only does sales tax revenue in Bay County, Fl., one of the most popular destinations for students, typically decrease in March (in part because college students are notoriously cheap), but studies have also shown that the only industry that consistently gains from spring breakers’ antics is law enforcement!

Bad news for anyone looking for a job: a new report from the National Bureau of Economic Research says that college graduates will be increasingly forced to take unskilled jobs over the next few years, and could push less-educated workers out of the market altogether.

And if that report made you lose all of your faith in humanity, here’s a heartwarming story about an anonymous businessman who paid off a single mother’s student loans. If only there were more people like him out there…