This Year’s College Grads Leaving in Record Debt

MILWAUKEE — (from USA TODAY) After four years at Marquette University here, Molly Mead is graduating Sunday with a bachelor’s degree in women and gender studies and history — and student loan debt totaling more than $28,000.
In the fall, she plans to attend the University of Texas at Austin, where she expects to borrow another $20,000 as she pursues a master’s in social work.

Her situation is not the least bit unusual.

“I knew coming to Marquette that I would be taking on quite a bit of debt,” Mead said. “I won’t be making that much money even with my master’s, so debt is something that’s concerning for me. … However, it’s somewhat of a relief to know a lot of my peers are going through the same thing.”

Students graduating from college this spring are entering the healthiest job market since the recession, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, an organization that tracks college hiring. It says U.S. employers expect to hire 5.2% more recent graduates this year than in 2015.
But graduates entering the job market are doing so with a record amount of debt, according to recent surveys.

Along with their new diplomas, this year’s graduates will leave campus with an average of $28,950 of student debt, according to the latest figures from The Institute for College Access & Success, an independent nonprofit research organization. The institute found that from 2004 to 2014 the share of graduates with debt rose modestly from 65% to 69%, but the average debt at graduation rose at more than twice the rate of inflation.

Other groups have produced different estimates. Cappex, a college selection website that generates its projections based on federal student-loan data and economic factors such as inflation, predicted the average debt for this year’s graduates at $37,173. This is up from $35,000 for 2015 graduates, and an increase of more than $15,000 in the past decade.

However, the group most likely to default on payments aren’t graduates buried in debt, but the students who borrowed then dropped out.

This group generally owes less than $9,000, according to the Education Department. But without the income boost that typically comes from a degree, dropouts represent a disproportionately high portion of defaulters.

Students leaving college — whether graduating or withdrawing — with federal student debt are required to participate in exit counseling, a process that helps borrowers make smart decisions about repaying their loans.

Tim Opgenorth, director of financial aid at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, said one of the best ways for students to manage debt after graduation is to make sure they’re keeping it under control during their undergraduate years.

“Hopefully, students have been borrowing responsibly,” Opgenorth said. “It’s important that they take out no more than they need to so they can pay it back in a timely matter.”

The debt situations facing three other Milwaukee-area students or recent grads play out countless times across the USA:

Vic Oliver

College: University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Annual tuition: $9,429 for in-state students

Current debt: $70,000

Despite having a job lined up, Vic Oliver worries that the new position lacks the security and salary she needs to shrink the $70,000 she owes in federal and private loans.

“The job is guaranteed, but security isn’t,” said Oliver, who will have a seasonal job as zoo education coordinator at the Menominee Park Zoo in Oshkosh, Wis. Oliver works seven months of the year and earns $13 an hour.

The job will last at least two years, she said, and in the off-season she plans to work as a waitress or bartender.

She is graduating Sunday with a bachelor’s degree in conservation and environmental science.

Oliver received numerous donations from friends and family to help pay her tuition during freshman year, so she needed a loan of just $6,000, she said. But without the same financial support in the following years, she had to take out bank loans to pay for tuition, books, housing and studying abroad.

Additionally, she borrowed $3,000 to $5,000 each year through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA.

Today, she’s accumulated debt that she estimates will take 15 years to pay off.

“The way FAFSA is set up is really unfortunate because it puts a lot of people in a lot of debt, but that’s just the reality of how the system works,” she said. “And a lot of students are in a similar or worse condition.”

To combat mounting debt, Oliver has been working two campus jobs throughout college, one in the office of international education and the other as a peer mentor through university’s orientation program. She works 25 hours a week, the university maximum for students with campus jobs.

“I’m prepared,” Oliver said. “I’ve been saving and living a very frugal life.”

Kimberly Hadinata

College: Marquette University

Annual tuition: $38,000

Current debt: $51,000

With one year to go before graduation, Marquette junior Kimberly Hadinata already owes more than $50,000 and plans to borrow another $17,000 to help pay for her senior year.

“I worry about paying it off in time before it keeps adding up,” she said. “I want to have good credit so that I can live on my own, but I know realistically I probably will have to live with my parents after graduation.”

Hadinata says she has maxed out all federal loans the private Catholic university offers and has taken out additional loans with a bank in her home state of New Jersey.

After graduating from Marquette in May 2017, she hopes to attend law school, which will mean even more debt.

“The process of applying for loans can be annoying,” Hadinata said. “It feels like it’s not a mutual agreement. Students are slapped with a payment plan that we really have no choice but to accept if we want to continue pursuing a college education.”

Tatiana Zaldua

College: Milwaukee Area Technical College

Tuition: $160 per credit for health classes; full time, $2,080

Current debt: $6,500

Tatiana Zaldua has been pursuing a college degree on and off for seven years, but she estimates she will be able to pay off all of her debt within three months of graduation this month.

Zaldua, who graduated Friday from Milwaukee Area Technical College with an associate degree in cardiovascular technology, owes $6,500. In June, she will begin working as a cardiopulmonary technician at All Saints Hospital in Racine, Wis., making $24.95 an hour.

Zaldua will work alongside doctors, assisting with surgeries and helping fix hearts.

“It’s a good job,” Zaldua said. “I’m fairly confident I can have everything paid off by the end of the summer.”

Before attending the two-year public vocational-technical college, Zaldua was enrolled at Alverno College in Milwaukee, where she was studying to be a cardiac nurse. After one year in the program at the private four-year Catholic college, Zaldua left.

“Unfortunately, I got into a lot of debt,” she said. “At the beginning they tell you, ‘Don’t worry, we’ll give you financial aid.’ But after that, you realize that their scholarships are bigger because their tuition is more expensive.”

According to Zaldua, Alverno offered her an annual academic scholarship of $10,000; annual tuition that year, 2009-10, was around $27,000. It took her three years to pay off the loans she took out.

At Milwaukee Area Technical College, she was more cautious with her borrowing. She continued to work throughout the two years it took her to complete the cardiopulmonary technician program. Sometimes she went to school part time, sometimes full time, but she was always applying for grants and scholarships.

“I applied to every single one I could possibly find,” she said.

Zaldua plans to work at All Saints Hospital for at least a year before returning to school for her bachelor’s degree in cardiopulmonary sciences, which Zaldua said the hospital would help pay for.

Hiring Hurdles: Employer Drug Testing

SAVANNAH, GA. — A few years back, the heavy-equipment manufacturer JCB held a job fair in the glass foyer of its sprawling headquarters near here, but when a throng of prospective employees learned the next step would be drug testing, an alarming thing happened: About half of them left.

That story still circulates within the business community of this historic port city. But the problem has gotten worse.

All over the country, employers say they see a disturbing downside of tighter labor markets as they try to rebuild from the worst recession since the Depression: They are struggling to find workers who can pass a pre-employment drug test.

That hurdle partly stems from the growing ubiquity of drug testing, at corporations with big human resources departments, in industries like trucking where testing is mandated by federal law for safety reasons, and increasingly at smaller companies.

But data suggest employers’ difficulties also reflect an increase in the use of drugs, especially marijuana — employers’ main gripe — and also heroin and other opioid drugs much in the news.

Ray Gaster, the owner of lumber yards on both sides of the Georgia-South Carolina border, recently joined friends at a retreat in Alabama to swap business talk. The big topic? Drug tests.

“They were complaining about trying to find drivers, or finding people, who are drug-free and can do some of the jobs that they have,” Mr. Gaster said. He shared their concern.

Notices at Gaster Lumber & Hardware attest to its certification as a drug-free workplace since 1994.  Drug use in the work force “is not a new problem. Back in the ’80s, it was pretty bad, and we brought it down,” said Calvina L. Fay, executive director of the Drug Free America Foundation. But, she added, “we’ve seen it edging back up some,” and increasingly, both employers and industry associations “have expressed exasperation.”

Data on the scope of the problem is sketchy because figures on job applicants who test positive for drugs miss the many people who simply skip tests they cannot pass.

Nonetheless, in its most recent report, Quest Diagnostics, which has compiled employer-testing data since 1988, documented an increase for a second consecutive year in the percentage of Americans who tested positive for illicit drugs — to 4.7 percent in 2014 from 4.3 percent in 2013. And 2013 was the first year in a decade to show an increase.

John Sambdman, who employs about 100 people in Atlanta at Samson Trailways, which provides transportation for schools, events, tour groups and the military, must test job applicants and, randomly, employees. Many job seekers “just don’t bother to show up at the drug-testing place,” he complained. Just on Thursday, Mr. Sambdman said, an applicant failed a drug test.

In August, Gov. Nathan Deal of Georgia promised to develop a program to help because so many business owners tell him “the No. 1 reason they can’t hire enough workers is they can’t find enough people to pass a drug test.”

That program is still under discussion. When job seekers contact Georgia’s Department of Labor, which provides some recruitment services to employers, the state would like to begin testing them for drugs; individuals who test positive could receive drug counseling and ultimately job placement assistance, Mark Butler, the state labor commissioner, said in an interview.

“Obviously, it’s not an easy process, and it would be costly,” Mr. Butler said. “But you’ve got to think: What is the reverse of that?” People needed to fill jobs are turned away, and, he added, “it’s pretty much a national issue.”

In Indiana, Mark Dobson, president of the Economic Development Corporation of Elkhart County, said that when he went to national conferences, the topic was “such a common thread of conversation – whether it’s in an area like ours that’s really enjoying very low unemployment levels or even areas with more moderate employment bases.”

In Colorado, “to find a roofer or a painter that can pass a drug test is unheard-of,” said Jesse Russow, owner of Avalanche Roofing & Exteriors, in Colorado Springs. That was true even before Colorado, like a few other states, made recreational use of marijuana legal.

In a sector where employers like himself tend to rely on Latino workers, Mr. Russow tried to diversify three years ago by recruiting white workers, vetting about 80 people. But, he said, “As soon as I say ‘criminal background check,’ ‘drug test,’ they’re out the door.”

While employers’ predicament is worsened by a smaller hiring pool, the drug problem for those that require testing is not as bad as it once was. “If we go back to 1988, the combined U.S. work force positivity was 13.6 percent when drug testing was new,” said Dr. Barry Sample, Quest’s director of science and technology.

But two consecutive years of increases are worrisome, he said.

A much broader data trove, the federal government’s annual National Survey on Drug Use and Health, reported in September that one in 10 Americans ages 12 and older reported in 2014 that they had used illicit drugs within the last month — the largest share since 2001.

Taken together, Mr. Sample said, his data and the government’s indicate higher drug use among those who work for employers without a drug-testing program than workers who are tested, though use by the latter increased as well in 2013 and 2014.

Testing dates to the Reagan administration. The 1988 Drug-Free Workplace Act required most employers with federal contracts or grants to test workers. In 1991, Congress responded to a deadly 1987 train crash in which two operators tested positive for marijuana by requiring testing for all “safety sensitive” jobs regulated by the Transportation Department. Those laws became the model for other employers. Some states give businesses a break on workers’ compensation insurance if they are certified as drug-free.

Here at the main yard of Gaster Lumber and Hardware, faded certificates and signs (“Drugs Don’t Work Here”) attest to its certification as a drug-free workplace since 1994.

Mr. Gaster’s human resources director, Chuck Keller, said that status reduced workers’ compensation payments for its nearly 50 employees by 7.5 percent in Georgia and 5 percent in South Carolina. The savings, about $4,000 this year, offset costs of about $2,500 for laboratory and on-site testing and related requirements.

“We’re always short of drivers,” Mr. Gaster said, “and drug testing is part of it.”

Terry Donaldson, 53, who was tested when he started 20 years ago, supports the policy: “If they want to have a good job, the drugs got to go.”

So it was for some of his new co-workers.

Britt Sikes, 38 and a single father to three young girls, lost his teeth to methamphetamine and used marijuana since he was 8 — until three weeks before taking the test for his $13-an-hour job as a Gaster door installer.

“I’m a recovering drug addict myself, and to raise my girls, I had to learn to leave it alone,” Mr. Sikes said.

Kevin Canty, 55, said that in his experience, “most people can’t pass the drug test because they don’t want to pass a drug test.”

“They want the job,” he added, but “they still want to be in that lifestyle. And they have to choose.”

One of the newest hires, Frederick Brown, 34, said, “I come from a society where drugs is common – marijuana, weed, it’s common,” and people who cannot pass a drug test seek work at McDonald’s. Most restaurants do not test.

“I asked for this job,” Mr. Brown said, calling it a blessing. “I already knew what I had to do — you know what I’m saying?”

Class of 2016, time to clean up your digital footprint!

For the class of 2016, May’s graduation may seem quite a ways away still, and it is, but what you do now can greatly affect what happens in May. The holidays fast approaching, now is a great time to be starting to think, and act, on cleaning up your on-line persona. Using the time now to be making sure, as you start to meet with potential employers, that your ‘digital footprint’ is working in your favor. Here are some steps and ideas to make that favorable impression when launching into your the beginning of your career!

1.  Search yourself!

Google your name and see what everyone else would see if they did the same.  This is a good opportunity to see what’s ‘out there’ with your name attached.  Once seeing anything that might not be favorable, now’s the time to be proactive and get it eliminated, ‘sanitizing’ you on-line presence.

2.  Start managing your reputation.

LinkedIn is a great place to start and the best thing about it; you get to control what’s said and how it’s presented. You can use your privacy settings to your advantage to decide who sees what and when.  The same can go for updates to your LinkedIn site, allowing people to see, or not see, your updates and edits.  the great thing about LinkedIn is that it not only gives you a chance to make a favorable presence in terms of content but a canvass to get involved with other people involved in things you are interested in.  You can get into individual discussions, get involved in news or discussion groups.  All various modes of demonstrating your prowess for certain topics, discussions or fields of interest.

3.  Check Facebook privacy settings

If you think employers will not be checking you out on-line, think again.  They do, they will and will also look for various avenues to see what portrayals your digital footprint leaves behind.  It’s very important that you take this time to clean up and comments, photos, events, etc., that may compromise your impression.

4.  Think before you post anything

All of the possibilities for social media represent a mosaic of ‘who you are,’ at least on-line and your hope is to present as favorable of an impression as possible!  Be wary of anything that may be posted, said or uploaded. Imagine a compromising tweet that is re-tweeted or a suspect photo that is shared.  Once you’ve hit ‘send’ it’s out there – forever….

Oh, no! Please not another (bad) infographic.

Under construction.  Early October this will be published.  Thanks for checking in!

Job Searching for the Older Worker

Under Construction.  Come back soon!

Don’t suffer the mistake of incorrect word usage on your resume!

Too often, I’m reading documents (and sadly, articles on-line); resumes, cover letters and/or college essays, seeing some confusion around some of the issues of proper word usage. Commonly, the mistakes I am seeing typically involve words that are similar sounding in nature, but actually different in definition and/or homonyms, words that sound the same but provide a different context in their use. These mistakes, simple oversights really, immediately reduce the credibility of said reading and, particularly, when it is in the construction of a resume/cover letter, it can be a death-knell for its chances on the author’s behalf.

For some simple clarity and an attempt to help those in the midst of constructing some important writings, I have outlined some examples below that can help your writing make a positive statement!

There are more, many more in fact, to consider, this really just being a primer to get one thinking about grammar when making a written presentation when it counts!

Too, to and two – Sure, they all sound the same, but they are different! “Too” is used when you are including something or someone. For example, “I would like one too.” “May I come too?” If you can substitute the word ‘also,’ then ‘too’ is the right option. “To” tends to be a destination or an action. “I’m going TO the park.” “I need TO get the dog.” Finally, “two” is numerically relevant. “I have TWO dollars with me.” “I need TWO hundred pieces of paper. Easy rule of thumb, if it’s inclusive; “too.” If it’s a destination or action; “to.” If it’s quantifiable; “two.”

Till and ‘til – The word “Till” can be used as a transitive verb or a noun. “I need to TILL the garden” and “put the cash in the TILL” are examples. Whereas “’til” is a truncated or shortened substitute for ‘until.’ If meant to say ‘until’ and shortening, then it is “’til.”

Adverse and averse – Adverse meaning harmful or unfavorable: “Adverse weather conditions canceled the trip.” Averse refers to feelings of dislike or opposition: “I was averse to the idea of paying $400 for a ticket to see U2!”

Affect and effect – Affect is a word of influence: “Aaron’s inclusion in the soccer match can affect the team’s performance.” Effect means to accomplish something or an outcome: “Aaron’s goal was effective in securing the win.” Use effect if you’re making it happen, and affect if you’re having an impact on something that someone else is trying to make happen.

Bring and take – Both have to do with objects you move or carry with the difference being in the point of reference. For example, you “bring” things here and you “take” them there. You ask something to be brought to you. You ask someone to take something to someone or somewhere else.

Compliment and complement – “Compliment” means to say something nice to someone as in ‘pay them a compliment.’ “Complement” means to add to, enhance, improve, complete, or bring close to perfection.

Criterion and criteria – One is “criterion,” two or more is “criteria.” Pretty simple in that the former is in the singular and the latter, plural.

Discreet and discrete – “Discreet” meaning careful, cautious and/or showing good judgment while “discrete” means individual, separate, or distinct.

Elicit and illicit – “Elicit” means to draw out or coax whereas “Illicit” means illegal or unlawful.

Farther and further – “Farther” involves a physical distance whereas “further” involves a figurative distance or goal to be met.

Fewer and less – Use “fewer” when referring to items you can count or quantify, like fewer hours or fewer dollars. Use “less” when referring to items you aren’t necessarily quantifying as in less ability or less time.

Imply and infer – The speaker or writer “implies,” which means to suggest. The listener or reader “infers,” which means to deduce. Whether correctly or not is another issue.

Insure and ensure – This one’s easy. “Insure” refers to insurance. “Ensure” means to make sure.

Regardless and irregardless – Simple here too. “Regardless” means without regard or respect to/for something. “Irregardless is NOT a word but, sadly, has started to appear in some dictionaries as a slang mis-usage of ‘regardless.’ “Irregardless” has, wrongly, become an amalgam of “regardless” and “irrespective.” One can pretty much use regardless or irrespective synonymously, but “irregardless” just doesn’t cut it! For those on the receiving end, it can really cloud their impression of your speaking/writing ability.

Precede and proceed – “Precede” means to come before. “Proceed” means to begin or continue.

Principle and principal – A “principle” is a fundamental. “Principal” means primary or of first importance.

It’s and its – “It’s” is the contraction of ‘it is.’ If you are using the apostrophe, that means that you could substitute ‘it is’ appropriately and it isn’t in any ownership. Whereas “its” typically DOES mean ownership, for example “its color is blue.”

They’re, there and their – All sounding exactly the same but quite different in context. “They’re” is the contraction for ‘they are.’ “There” is a destination or an action. “Their” refers to ownership. Here’s an example of all three in the same (rough) sentence; ‘we are hoping “they’re” home early as we planned on meeting “there,” so they can show us “their” new house in the woods.’

Who’s and whose – “Who’s” is a contraction of ‘who is’ whereas “whose” typically refers to ownership.

You’re and your – Once more, “you’re” is the contraction of ‘you are’ while using “your” means you own it.

There you have it! Some ideas on what to watch out for and be thinking of when you’re constructing anything it writing, but especially when putting together important documents such as a resume and cover letter for employment consideration. Proper grammar, all things being equal, can be a determining factor in your candidacy! Good luck!

How to Best Use the Holidays in your Job Search!

Hiring During the Holidays

There is a common misconception that hiring is to fall off during the holidays. Where in reality, it can be a time of the year when chances of getting recognized by a prospective employer are actually better odds for the active job-seeker. Finding success during this time of year requires, perhaps, a slightly different set of skills or techniques, but for those that embrace it, the New Year could ring you in on somebody’s payroll!

But, many wonder, if the holidays are such a great time to find work, why don’t more job seekers take advantage? Actually, there’s a pretty simple answer to this. Many think that the hiring process is in a bit of a stall mode and that, combined with the many distractions of the holidays; family, get-together’s, shopping, seasonal festivities, etc., it’s easy to have the search be resigned to the back burner for a bit.

I mentioned a ‘different set of skills or techniques’ and what I am meaning by that is an individual who can persevere, shake off the ever-present seasonal blues and be flexible enough to quickly change tactics to address varying situations, will have better luck during the holidays in their quest to find employment.

Another factor that tends to help in the search during the holidays is that many seekers buy into the myth that hiring falls off so they’ve effectively removed themselves from the mix. Essentially, lessening the competition and bettering the odds for one who is active and motivated, as it opens up more opportunities for those that choose to be actively engaged.
Remember these five reasons why actively looking for work during the holidays and the New Year could ring in nicely:

Less competition

Not only do many potential candidates tone down their search during the holidays, some stop entirely. In addition, those with jobs already that are considering a career change will usually stay put into the New Year to make sure they receive bonuses, vacation time and whatever else they might be accruing throughout the year. For every person who takes a break or drops out of the search means one less you’d be in competition with.

Hiring managers are easier to reach

Hiring managers and decision makers, for the most part, are less likely to be traveling during or as the holidays approach. Instead, they may be ‘home-based’ focusing on wrapping up the year, finishing projects, attending year-end meetings with colleagues and all the obligatory holiday parties and gatherings that are constantly parodied in prime-time television.

The holiday spirit pervades

Let’s face it, everyone (most) is a little happier at the holidays as it seems a welcome distraction for many in the workforce, so leveraging that good-will can be made to your advantage when trying to get your foot in the door and meet prospective employers. A great time to really nurture your networks and keep yourself visible – contacts are often more available and willing to meet as the correlation in work demands slow down, helping turn short discussions into long-term opportunities.

Getting a jump on January and the New Year

People who are fortunate to be starting a new job in January really had been planting the seeds well before. Applying and interviewing for that job in December, November or even earlier? For organizations that are to review their staffing needs in January each year, you’ll have had a head start wth these opportunities and be at the ready in case a need arises quickly.

Avoiding ‘the rush’

The New Year is full of count-downs, lists – 10-Best’s, 100-Best’s, etc… All reminders to be starting fresh, ‘turn over a new leaf’ and all that. And while very true, it CAN be a great marker to be setting, or re-setting career goals, you, by being active, can beat all of those to the punch by maintaining your job search throughout the holiday season. You’ll be at the advantage and on board by the time others are making their first calls.