2019 CSUS Senior Grad MomAmerican Politics College graduates spend at least four years earning a degree to work in a career of their dreams utilizing that degree. Finding viable employment and housing has proven challenging due to the lack of work experience in their chosen field of study and the rising cost of housing. The lack of preparedness given to students while in college for life after college become surreal when faced with the reality that even after all the theory knowledge gained to do a job, it doesn’t hold much weight in the work force if you don’t have hands on experience. Confronting the reality of post college life makes living the American dream a fictitious thought for many college graduates.
Legislation on college education, employment for newly graduated college students and housing could help to regulate what happens when a college student graduates. One legislation on the 2018 election ballot was Proposition 10, but it did not pass. This Proposition could have helped with rising rent prices by placing a cap on the amount of rent that could be charged. The shortage of housing and the rising cost of housing prices in California makes it extremely hard for society to find and pay for a place to live. Rent controlled housing would be more affordable and allow society to live without additional financial assistance. Although Proposition 10 would benefit societies rental market it could hurt it as well. The bill could have created an even bigger shortage on housing and possibly caused landlords to lose money in the long run and not take good care of their properties. Basically, Proposition 10 could keep society from being potentially homeless. In a recent study, USA today reports that a person living in the United States needs to have an income of $75,000 a year to live comfortably. Because of the living index, the amount would change depending on the state. For the state of California, the median for a person purchasing a home is $425,000. The average price to rent a home is $1,900. The average price to rent an apartment in California ranges from $1,156 for a studio, $1,358 for a one bedroom, $1,723 for a two bedroom, $2,375 for a three bedroom, and $2,755 for a four bedroom. Compared to other places in the United States where rent ranges from $821 for a studio to $1,791 for a four bedroom, the cost of living in California is higher. California may be the sunshine state, but it is among one of the more expensive places to live, especially if you live in San Francisco or Los Angeles. The expectation is to graduate college and work in a job making $60,000 to $80,000 a year or more. But, the reality is college students find themselves in jobs making $40,000 to $60,000 a year. The less fortunate college graduates are more and more finding themselves working, in jobs that pay minimum wage or just barely over minimum wage. The minimum wage in California is currently $11 an hour if you are work for a small company with 25 employees or less. If you are lucky to work for a larger company that has 26 or more employees, the hourly wage is $12 an hour. By 2020, the minimum wage will be $15 an hour. None of these wages mentioned provides enough money for someone to live, especially if there is the issue of student loans, which adds to the problems a college graduate faces when entering life after college. According to Forbes.com, the average amount of student loan debt a college student or graduate has is approximately $29,800. The parents who are required to get loans to help their college student, have loans that average 35,600 in parent plus loans. The loans with interest compounded daily can make paying off the student loan seem impossible. Student loans are an issue that has reached $1.5 trillion. Some majors, such as medicine or engineering require more time and money and can equal higher student loan debt. College graduates are given a grace period before being required to start paying the loans back, but with a minimum wage or slightly higher than minimum wage job that can be difficult. Even with programs in place to assist with affordable payment options, in some cases, it is still not enough. Just another thing schools do not tell you about life after college. It is not for the lack of knowledge for a job, but for the lack of experience or because of the degree, now being over qualified that a college graduate is not able to find sustainable employment. It makes a person wonder, with the potential hardships that can come after college graduation, if education beyond high school is worth the time and effort? Although it may be a rough start out of college into your career, it is always worth the effort to gain knowledge that will provide a better future.
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AuthorUndergraduate student generated content. Blog posting and updating done by Kristina Flores Victor, Assistant Professor of Political Science at CSUS Archives
March 2020
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