By Hoover Wind
Ask Laura DeWitt what she wants, at 26, and she says, “A job.”
She graduated in 2007 with a Bachelor’s degree in biology.
Like many in her generation, that got her as far as the fast-food counter.
“For over three and a half years, I was working at a frozen yogurt store,” she says.
“For three and a half years, I would look at a schedule and have no idea if I would get the hours listed. In the summer, it was likely that I would get more, or at least close to what I was scheduled. In the winter, however, I might go a week or more without working, due to the weather.”
She had a second job, as a “breakfast bar attendant” at a hotel.
“I quit that job when I decided to take additional courses to prepare me for graduate school — to which I still have not been accepted,” she explains.
In October, the yogurt store closed, leaving Laura and 10 other employees jobless.
“We had almost no warning,” she recalls. “As I was the manager at the time, I was not only responsible for telling everyone that we were closing and that they were losing their jobs/favorite dessert spot, but I also had to help tear the store apart for the owner.
“This left me no time to job hunt. So I became unemployed.”
Laura is seeking laboratory or related work in the Raleigh area of North Carolina.
“I finally had an interview this week, which I believe went well — once I convinced them that no, I did not intend to commute three hours daily” from her home, in Boone. Laura is happy to relocate.
It’s telling that she offers this, without being asked: “I am trying to remain optimistic.”
What’s your dream job? I’d really love to do genetics research. Preferably with bats, big cats, or honeybees as my subjects. Right now, I’m looking for any kind of entry-level lab work, just to get my foot in the door.
What type of job are you seeking now?
At this point in my life, the most important thing in working is paying the bills, while not feeling horrible in my job.
Currently I’m seeking full time, but I’ll really take anything I can get.
What should employers know about you?
I am an extremely hard worker and always show up early. I work best alone, but am also great at working with other people. I can take orders as well as give them. I am good at math. I can figure most things out for myself (mechanical, technical, etc.), but am not afraid to ask for help when needed. Basically, I’m awesome.
I have experience in management, in addition to my degree in Biology, which I wouldn’t think that many people have.
Your views on historic unemployment in the U.S.?
Unemployment in the U.S. is far too high for a nation with our international standing. Many if not most of the positions I have applied for have been at least partially federally funded, and I feel that if the government was taxing the top 1% at similar rates to what they have in the past, more people like me could be hired.
I hate that in this country we’re told that there’s nothing more important than a college degree, only to find out after spending thousands of dollars on it, that a Bachelor’s degree isn’t worth that much anymore.
It seems in my job hunt that employers want either an associate’s degree with no experience or a Bachelor’s degree plus two years of experience (or a Master’s degree). So it seemed for most things I was either over- or under-qualified for, which is very frustrating since I’ll take almost anything at this point.
hireyourneighbor 