Starting Pay?

[Campbell]

more important than finding a job you love is finding a job you don't hate. I left college and entered the job I "love" and have been doing it for 11 years now. These days I am not so much in love with it, mostly because the pay is low. It doesn't help that my wife also does the job she "loves" that doesn't pay that well. Together we get by fine, but we are usually on a tight budget. Now money isn't everything, but it sure helps. What I have discovered for myself, and I say myself because everyone will have different opinions, is that there are a lot of things I would happy doing that would pay more money. What it has boiled down to for me is that spending time with my wife and daughter, having a nice home, nice car, less stress over bills, etc. is really more important to me than what I do for 40-50 hours a week. I still love the work I do, and I am glad my wife loves her job, but lately we talk about changing professions.

[byualum]

Let's be honest...there are very few people that "love" what they do. We are not all as lucky as onpoint!! But I think you can find a job that allows you to do what you love.

I'm fine with my job, I make a decent living. But the key thing is my job allows me to coach youth lacrosse...which I love.

I think some of you younger guys might find that you don't actually love what you think you love. I wanted to work in television all my life. I landed a job as a sports producer in Denver. After four years I realized that job would never be as cool as I thought it was going to be. Plus I was tired of making $19K/year. Hence, I went back to grad school. Best decision I ever made.

[More Cowbell]

I don't want to sell anything, buy anything, or process anything as a career. I don't want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought, or processed, or repair anything sold, bought, or processed. You know, as a career, I don't want to do that.

Kickboxing. Sport of the future.

[laxative]

Speaking of starting pay, I just accepted an offer! I am now employed and can blow off finals!!!!!!

[Kyle Berggren]

I'm fine with my job, I make a decent living. But the key thing is my job allows me to coach youth lacrosse...which I love.

And the true reality of it, if you don't have a job you're truly passionate about , "Work to live, don't live to work."

[laxfan25]

Interesting thread!
I'm in GrayBear's group - taking a jr. sales rep position in 1977 for the princely sum of $9,600 a year. Woo-hoo! But the top reps in the country were making $60K, so I could see the opportunity. (and if you knew what
I was selling in that job, the fringe benefits were awesome! Ask me over a beer sometime).
If you can find work doing what you love, the pay won't matter, because you will find a way to make it work.
The main thing to realize is that getting that first job ain't like getting married - it's not for life. I think there is a stat saying that the average person will have 7 jobs in their lifetime. I seem to end up in a new position about every 5 years, with no complaints.
If you're not fired up about a particular career track (and if you have experience at a place like Best Buy) I highly recommend that you investigate a career in professional sales (not retail). Business to business sales is where it's at for the most part. A great starting point to see if you like it is in the office equipment, i.e. copier industry. You don't necessarily have to do it with a co. like Xerox, go find the best local dealership or a place like Ikon. If you have the qualities it takes to succeed (items like persistence, determination and a good work ethic) you will find that you can reach income levels in a couple of years that your peers in the corporate world can only dream of. YOU determine your income and your raises. If you can cut it, you can double or triple your income within a few years. A lot of people can't cut it, but that's why there are always good opportunities out there.
If you are successful, other employers recognize that if you can be successful in that industry, you can be successful anywhere.
I majored in Biological Sciences with a minor in Organic Chemistry, just because I liked that stuff. At the time I was in college, it was a major no-no to be going "into business". "What are you going to do, work for Dow and make napalm?" Now, there is not as much of a stigma on the word "business", and it is the best way to get "real-world" experience in college.
Also, I often look back and realize that if I actually followed that advice from The Graduate - "Plastics" - I'd probably be very wealthy and retired right now. Here's to you, Mrs. Robinson.
I would also recommend that you take a referee training class. It is a great way to stay in close contact with a sport that we all love, you likely would be good at it, and it can help support your other vices.
Good luck out there! And again, this first step is just that, a first step. If you go wrong, you're not that far off the path.

[Beta]

I dunno about being a ref....

But staying close to the game in terms of coaching, training and working camps is awesome...and can make you more $$$.

Everyday I sit in traffic coming back from the office...thinking about being a teacher, coaching and working a ton of camps in the summer and making almost as much as I do now

[DanGenck]

There are always trade-offs. I teach at a boarding school, so I literally walk across a quad to get to my office. No commute, coaching every season, my dog can come to my office with me, I get to spend time with nice kids, and summers off.

But... I never leave work, when I am "on duty" I work 24 hours a day for 4 days straight, kids can always access me, I have no private life, I have to deal with parents almost daily, and my pay reflects the free housing/utilities.

Trade-offs, indeed...

I should also point out that college graduates are not nearly the hot commodity that people think. Jobs are scarce in some industries (private education being one of them), so sometimes you need to be thankful for finding a gig in the first place.

[UofMLaxGoalie11]

Work experience

[ 3/23/2000 to Present ] Best Buy Co., Inc. Minneapolis, MN
Department Supervisor

Wow, driving to Minneapolis must have been quite the commute. Couldnt you find anything closer to school?

[yourmom]

Work experience

[ 3/23/2000 to Present ] Best Buy Co., Inc. Minneapolis, MN
Department Supervisor

Wow, driving to Minneapolis must have been quite the commute. Couldn't you find anything closer to school?

I was told to put the companies hq address on my resume
I truly hate resumes everyone has something to tell you about how to do it, and it's such an important thing that has no one end all be all how to do it rules. Just a bunch of people saying how they think it should be done.

[laxative]

I was told to put the companies hq address on my resume
I truly hate resumes everyone has something to tell you about how to do it, and it's such an important thing that has no one end all be all how to do it rules. Just a bunch of people saying how they think it should be done.

That is a little confusing. I would use the location you actually worked at.

[AIRTERP]

The best/worst thing about this thread is the breadth of the advice coming from the posters. We're getting advice from winners and losers, successes and failures, people who love their careers and soul-crushing burnouts.

Drink it all up...swirl it around in your mouth for a bit...and then spit it out.

There's not a single person here who has had the same trajectory to where they are in life as any one else. We all blaze our own trails because we all have completely different goals, priorities, backgrounds...etc.

You tell me "do what you love," and I will give you one million reasons why you may not want to. Tell me "It's about finding a job that allows you quality time for your family and hobbies," and I will show you one million examples of people who turn that idea on its head. We all want something different in life. We all have different aspirations. And we all measure our success by different definitions.

I don't want to take anything away from the people posting advice on this thread. Every single one of their opinions is as equally valuable as anyone else’s. But every single one of their opinions is also as equally worthless as anyone else's as well. As long as you are aware of that, you will be alright.

Now here's my advice (yes I am quite aware that this entire post is hypocritical because it is about being weary of advice and yet that itself is advice):

Pick a handful of people in the industry you want to get into, who you feel are rockstars at whatever they do. People who you would love to trade places with at any time (VP at a Financial firm, Manager at a nice restaurant, Partner at a top law firm in your area, employee of the month at the local Dairy Queen...whatever).

Then try and sit down with them over a cup of coffee and pick their brains. These are the people whose advice will mean the most to you because they are neck deep in what you want to be involved in. They will also be the best equipped to answer all of your questions as to salary expectations, quality of life standards, what to expect from a career in [insert business career]...etc. And you would be surprised how easy it is to get meetings with these people...simply play to their vanity and see where it gets you.

Best of luck to all of you who are graduating shortly...