The following originally aired on KCBS

By: Chris McCoy 

 The months following graduation have been a precious time for me to reflect on what I want to do with my life. What kind of work should educated young people like me aim for and what wages must we expect entering the work force?

I am not returning to school in the fall for the first time in seventeen years. I don’t have classes to enroll in or textbooks to buy, but pressure is building up for me to move forward and launch my career--whether it be as a poet, public servant, actor or journalist.

Now I’m starting to post my resume online and submit applications to organizations I respect. I’ve been getting myself out there, volunteering for campaigns and media outlets to get more experience and to stay active.

But will all that, I know an undergraduate degree may not immediately translate into a high paying job. During this transitional phase, I’m making sure to keep my job search swag.

The following originally aired on KQED-FM.

By: Jesse Bussell

Not too long ago I did an exercise in a small business class where students talked with each other about companies that had a negative image. A friend of mine mentioned that Goldman Sachs had a bad reputation and another classmate responded, "Really, you think so? I think they're one of the best banks on Wall Street."

The situation summed up the divide I see among business school students. One group is driven entirely by success and the other deeply believes that businesses have a social responsibility.

That divide pretty closely correlates with who is following the Occupy Wall Street protests, and who is ignoring or unaware of them. I have classmates in both camps, and they face different career paths. One group strives for banking and corporate careers, whereas the second pursues non-profits and start-ups. There is little room in between.

Coming from a small rural community and a working lower class family, for a long time I have dreamed of being successful without losing where I came from or regretting how I got there.

The problem is that there are very few options to accomplish both of these goals.

The following originally aired on KCBS.

By:Tajah Jones

Back in May, I put on a cute but professional outfit. Black pants and a button up. I was ready to search for a summer job.

The manager of an Oakland bagel store looked at me as if I was wearing ripped jeans. His first question: Was I was a student? (Like it was a bad thing.) Second question: Had I ever worked in food preparation? No.

I had all of the wrong answers, and in this economy I had bad timing too.

I understand. For employers it’s easy to decide between someone with a degree and a teenager in high school. In the back of my mind I knew I might not get a full-time job. I tried anyway. But it was still frustrating when I got looks that read, “are you serious?” just because I didn’t have experience. How will I ever acquire any skills?

This summer I had to settle for two part-time jobs. Together, they don’t add up to eight hours a day and they pay minimum wage.

By the end of the summer I wont be putting on my black pants and button up,ill be looking for babysitting jobs. Maybe next year i'll try again the professional route.

The following originally aired on KCBS.

By Maya Cueva

This Sunday I am heading to Europe with four of my best friends. And while in school, my friends and I have taken language courses to prepare, I’ve been thinking that a lesson on how to handle our cash may have been more useful.

In high school I took an Economics class for a semester and can now recite: the concept of supply and demand, how to calculate GDP, and how to maximize opportunity cost. But in that class we spent only two days learning about matters of personal finance. The California State Frameworks didn’t leave much room for teaching about personal and household budgeting, which is why my teacher couldn’t go into much depth.

I start college in the fall, and when I do it will just be me in charge of my credit card. What happens when I get my first statement, and I don’t know how to recognize my own purchases?

Which is why I wish it was mandatory in high school to take a financial literacy course. Not just learning about the great depression or the current recession, but how to avoid our own financial meltdowns in college and in life.