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I was raised in a neighborhood with a top-notch school system filled with inspiring and caring teachers. I loved hearing their stories about working in inner-city schools and how drastically different their teaching experiences were there compared to teaching in a predominately upper-class suburb. My naïve mind thought that my teachers chose to work in the inner-city schools but that was far from the truth.

At the beginning of their careers, many of my teachers could only find jobs in neighborhoods with poor school systems. They described the struggles of teaching in such areas but believed it made their character stronger because they were able to help students who needed it most. Fast forward to the present, where some of my friends are pursuing careers in education: Many of them are complaining that they can’t find teaching jobs in “safe” middle- or upper-class areas, echoing the same struggles many of my high school teachers encountered.

Does this say anything about my generation? According to a recent Time article entitled "Millennials: The Me Me Me Generation," individuals in my generation is known to be narcissistic and refuse to take crap from the older generation. Since we’re known to take jobs that “feel right,” we disregard opportunities that don’t measure up to our standards; as a result, we suggest to others that employment rates are low because we can’t get jobs that people who worked in the field for 10 years have acquired.

Though the Me Generation isn’t all bad (I highly suggest reading the article to find out our positive characteristics), I think it’s time my generation had a reality check. My peers need to understand that we won’t get our ideal jobs when starting out but if we put in the proper time and effort, we will climb the ladder of success just as every generation before us had done. What do you think?

Carly Gerber is majoring in journalism at Columbia College Chicago. She loves fashion and hopes to cover the topic for a Chicago-area magazine. In her free time, she focuses on her blog, loves making jewelry and spending time on Pinterest and Pose. She hopes to use this blog to guide and relate to its followers: college students like herself!

Attention recent college graduates: You CAN find a job in your field...it just might be overseas.

Based on the analysis of the migration patterns of LinkedIn members in 2013, there are 10 destination cities that most recent college graduates flock to after graduation. By examining the geographic movement of its members over the last year and taking into consideration every new position added to a user's profile between November 2012 and November 2013 (excluding movements that did not exceed 100 miles), LinkedIn ranked each destination city by “the percentage of movers who were recent graduates.” Check out the 10 cities with the highest percentages of recent college grads below:

• Sao Paulo, Brazil – 34%
• Bangalore, India – 34%
• San Francisco Bay Area – 34%
• London – 35%
• Chicago – 38%
• New York City – 38%
• Madrid – 40%
• Minneapolis-St. Paul – 40%
• Washington, D.C. – 40%
• Paris – 42%

For more on the methodology behind this study, head over to LinkedIn. And for more info on adjusting to life after college, check out Scholarships.com: We've come up with some resources to ease you into that transition with information on everything from becoming a young professional to deciding whether it makes financial sense to move out of your parents’ house and into your own place. Browse through our Life After College section to put your worries at ease!

It wasn't too long ago that the majority of Americans agreed that one had to pursue a college degree in order to succeed in the workforce. Unfortunately for millennials, the rate of success after obtaining said degree is no longer so intrinsically tied: According to multiple reports, millions of college graduates suffer a mismatch between education and employment and hold jobs that don’t require costly degrees.

Among recent college graduates ages 20 to 29, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports unemployment stands at 10.9 percent, more than three points higher than in 2007. While a study from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found that of those recent college graduates who have managed to find work, more than 40 percent hold jobs that do not require a college degree; more than 20 percent are working only part-time; and more than 20 percent are in low wage jobs. Canadian economists Paul Beaudry and David Green of the University of British Columbia and Benjamin Sand of York University have documented a declining demand for high-skilled workers since 2000. They say, "high-skilled workers have moved down the occupational ladder and have begun to perform jobs traditionally performed by lower-skilled workers ...pushing low-skilled workers even further down the occupational ladder and, to some degree, out of the labor force altogether." If correct, their work might just turn conventional wisdom on its head. (For more on this story, click here.)

Do you think that a college degree is necessary for gainful employment and upward mobility? If so, check out our college search tool to find detailed information on more than 7,000 colleges including admission statistics, tuition and fees, financial aid and scholarships, academic majors and more. Not sure where you want to go to college? Check out our College Matchmaker.

Ah, college graduation. It’s a time filled with incredible hope, fear and potentially a famous commencement speaker. And while notable politicians, celebrities and artists are usually called upon to speak to a crowd full of fresh-faced 20-somethings embarking on the next chapter of adulthood, we couldn't help but wonder who shared some of the most memorable speeches this year. Check out some notable moments below:

Jim Carrey, Maharishi School of Management: "You can fail at something you don't want, so you might as well take a chance doing what you love."

Grace Potter, St. Lawrence University: "Honestly, more than anything else, it is love that got me here today… I see now that it's these experiences, large and small and people who give their time in our early lives that truly shape our path. I hope you can all feel my gratitude and share in this experience."

John Legend, University of Pennsylvania: "We’re taught when we’re young that the opposite of love is hate, but it’s not. Hate is a byproduct, hate is a result. Being a hater isn’t cool -- nobody wants that. But hate comes from one thing: fear. Fear is the opposite of love.”

Colin Powell, High Point University: "Go forth and raise strong families remembering that all you can ever leave behind is your reputation, your good works and your children for the next generation."

Rainn Wilson, University of Southern California: "In this me-me-me culture, focus on yourself [and you will] find only misery, depression, emptiness. Focus on helping others [and you will find] joy, contentment, gratitude and buckets and buckets of eudaimonia."

Charlie Day, Merrimack College: "You cannot let a fear of failure or a fear of comparison or a fear of judgment stop you from doing what's going to make you great. You cannot succeed without this risk of failure. You cannot have a voice without this risk of criticism. And you cannot love without the risk of loss."

For the full list of memorable commencement speeches, head over to the Huffington Post. And if you’re feeling anxious or nervous about going out into the world and finding that first job, or simply sticking to a traditional 9-5 schedule, check out some of our resources on what you should expect come life after college. We have everything from sticking to a real world budget to coping with the stress that may come with leaving college. So don’t fret, we’ve got your back!

With recent college graduates facing an unemployment rate of 6.3 percent and substantially lower starting salaries, we have to ask: What path should students take in order to flourish after graduation? And while there isn't one direct route that translates into post-collegiate success, H&R Block has compiled the top 10 majors with the highest unemployment rates for recent college graduates:

1. Anthropology & Archaeology – 10.5%
2. Film/Video & Photographic Arts – 12.9%
3. Fine Arts – 12.6%
4. Philosophy & Religious Studies – 10.8%
5. Liberal Arts – 9.2%
6. Music – 9.2%
7. Physical Fitness – 8.3%
8. Commercial Art & Graphic Design – 11.8%
9. History – 10.2%
10. English Language & Literature – 9.2%

What are your thoughts on the majors that made the list? Do you agree with the sentiment that these majors that aren't in high demand should be avoided or should students be encouraged to pursue their passion regardless of potentially high unemployment rates? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section. For more information on how to choose a major,the most popular college majors and 10 things to consider before choosing your major, head over to Scholarships.com’s College Prep section.

Reality check: For some students, heading off to college for four years isn't ideal. And while college isn't for everyone, an education should be. In order to stay competitive in the workforce, it's important to realize that there are opportunities in the form of both trade and vocational schools for students who don't see themselves attending classes on traditional college campuses...or are there?

According to a report by Boston-based labor analytics firm Burning Glass Technologies, more employers are demanding college degrees for positions that historically didn't require one. The shift is most significant for occupations traditionally dominated by workers without college degrees: For example, fewer than 20 percent of currently employed executive secretaries and executive assistants have bachelor's degree but now 65 percent of postings for such roles require the degree. Why? One reason may be that employers are requiring a bachelor's degree to narrow the applicant pool to a more manageable size. "For an individual employer, that may be an understandable step," said Matt Sigelman, CEO of Burning Glass Technologies, in a statement. "When everybody does it, however, this becomes a trend that could shut millions of Americans out of middle-skill, middle-class jobs." (For more on this study, click here.)

What are your thoughts on upcredentialing in the workforce? What problems do you see arising? Share your thoughts in the comments section. And don’t forget to fund your college education the right way – free! Create a Scholarships.com profile today and get matched with funding opportunities that are unique to you.

Is it feeling crowded on campus? It should be, according to new research. A Pew Research Center report released this week shows that in 2008, colleges experienced record enrollments, and early estimates indicate that 2009 enrollments may break the newly minted records for 2008.

Nearly 40 percent of young adults ages 18-24 were enrolled in college in October 2008, up from the previous record of 38.9 percent set in 2005. About 8 million young adults, or 27.8 percent, were enrolled in four-year colleges, representing a slight increase from 2007. However, community colleges have seen an enrollment boom, with their numbers swelling from 3.1 million students, or 10.9 percent of the young adult population, in 2007 to 3.4 million students, or 11.8 percent of young adults, in 2008.

A large part of the enrollment increase is attributed to the growing size of high school graduating classes, with the nation graduating the most students in 2009. This likely accounts for the growth in numbers overall, but something else may be contributing to the increase in community college enrollment. For that, most people are pointing to the recession, which encouraged students who may not have otherwise attended college to enroll, while pushing other college-bound students to explore less expensive options.

Giving further evidence to this theory is the decline in employment among young adults. In 2008, only 50.4 percent of young people aged 16 to 24 were working, compared to 52.7 percent in 2007. However, while more trouble finding work may have encouraged some students to consider attending college, it also has likely created a problem paying for school for many students. A large number of community college students tend to rely on income from work to pay their tuition, as opposed to applying for financial aid or student loans.

Based on enrollment increases for 2008 and anecdotal evidence of continued enrollment booms in 2009, it appears students are still finding ways to fund their educations. Still, students applying to college for 2010 may want to take note of these numbers and begin the college application process and scholarship search early just in case.

Current undergraduate students who are looking towards employment after graduation, as well as graduate students hoping to ride out the recession before beginning their job search may want to make note of survey results just released by Michigan State University's Collegiate Employment Research Institute.  The survey focused on job prospects for new college graduates at 2,500 businesses nationwide, and the numbers don't look good.  Things were even worse than anticipated for the classes of 2008 and 2009, with the job demand for college graduates dropping 40 percent in the past year, far exceeding initial projections of declines in hiring of 8 to 10 percent, and they aren't expected to soon get better.

Hiring of new college graduates is expected to remain low, with overall figures dropping another 2 percent in 2010, with mid-size and large businesses anticipating continued reductions. However, some sectors are starting to show growth, though none can yet be described as booming. Smaller companies, especially, are expecting to hire more recent college graduates: approximately 15 percent more than last year. New graduates looking for jobs will also have better luck in the west than the east.

The types of businesses that are most likely to hire new graduates in the coming months include web design, e-commerce, information systems, nonprofits, statistics, nursing, social work, environmental sciences, manufacturing, agriculture production and food processing. Accounting, banking, and real-estate will continue to be poor bets, along with engineering, transportation, utilities, computer science and computer programming. Education is also likely to continue to suffer without federal stimulus money supporting K-12 teaching, and non-academic university jobs are likely to be scarce.

The Michigan State University researchers who conducted the survey warn that many of these shifts in hiring appear permanent, or at least long-lasting. College graduates will have to continue to compete fiercely for fewer jobs with lower starting salaries for years to come. To improve their chances at landing a job right out of college, students will want to demonstrate their flexibility and critical thinking skills, according to the report. Taking rigorous classes and participating in internship and independent study opportunities can help.

Students who want to be more competitive or who are struggling to find work may also want to consider graduate or professional programs, or other alternatives to employment. These can develop and showcase your thinking, research, and analysis skills, as well as provide advanced training and work experience directly relevant to your intended profession.

It may not always seem like it, but going to college can actually make you happier.  Perhaps not in the short term--there are finals, after all, and that general lack of money or personal space that comes with the college lifestyle--but in the long term, people who go to college consistently report being happier.  They also claim to be healthier and more likely to make good choices.  This comes on top of the financial benefits of receiving a degree, which include better job security, lower unemployment, and higher salaries.

In a working paper entitled, "How Large Are Returns to Schooling? Hint: Money Isn't Everything," available from the National Bureau of Economic Research, two researchers use data from General Social Surveys from 1972 to 2000 to gauge whether increased education has any correlation with increased happiness, job satisfaction, and other indicators of a better life.  While it's difficult to show direct causation, their analysis did find a strong correlation between college education, especially receiving a bachelor's degree or higher, and many positives in life.

People with college degrees were more likely to report having satisfying jobs with a greater degree of autonomy, sense of accomplishment, and opportunity than other workers with similar backgrounds but less education.  This can play into greater happiness, since work is such a big part of many people's sense of identity and fulfillment.  Their research also backs up earlier reports that college graduates are less likely to face unemployment long-term or need to rely on public assistance, which can also correlate with higher self-esteem and a lower likelihood of depression.

Recipients of college degrees also make better decisions, likely due in part to the reasoning and research skills they gained in college.  They report being healthier, possibly because of making positive decisions about their health, including both lifestyle choices and healthcare decisions.  They also are less likely to get divorced, more likely to hold off on having children until they're financially and emotionally ready to do so, and may be more likely to develop better relationship and parenting skills than less educated counterparts.  They also are likely to plan for the future, as opposed to living only for today.  Finally, those who had more education were likely to be more trusting, believing that people are basically good, which can lead to more social participation.  Having stronger friendships, stronger family ties, better health, plans for the future, and positive attitudes can all tie in easily to increased happiness.

Achieving any amount of post-secondary education can influence all of these figures, and even respondents who just finished high school were more likely to report positive results than respondents who did not.  While increased education can correlate with less free time and more job-related stress, many people consider these acceptable trade-offs for overall improvements in quality of life.  So if you're wondering, " why go to college?" you hopefully have some good reasons.  If your question has now changed from "why" to "how," check out our free college search and scholarship search to get started on the path to a happier life.

A new survey of employers shows that broader may be better when it comes to higher learning. Despite students’ increasing interest in a college education that prepares them for a specific career, employers and the nature of the job market both appear to be demanding students with a wide knowledge base and flexible skills.

The survey, commissioned by the Association of American Colleges and Universities, an organization that advocates liberal arts education, was published yesterday. It focused both on what employers would like to see in new hires and on how well they think colleges are able to prepare students for the workforce.  Only one in four of the 302 employers surveyed felt that two-year and four-year colleges are currently doing a good job of preparing students for the challenges of the global economy. One in five believe that significant changes are needed in how colleges prepare students for the workforce and most wanted to see at least some changes made.

Many employers saw college education as increasingly important for job applicants: 28 percent said they would place more emphasis on hiring people with at least a bachelor’s degree in upcoming candidate searches. Nearly the same proportion, 25 percent, said they would be placing less emphasis on hiring people with no degree. The greatest increase in interest in candidates with a bachelor’s degree or higher comes from the largest employers—those with 500 or more employees. They reported 43% more emphasis on hiring candidates with a four-year degree.

Employers reported that degree attainment isn’t the only area in which their expectations for employees have increased. The vast majority of employers agreed with the following four statements about their company:

• Our company is asking employees to take on more responsibilities and to use a broader set of skills than in the past (91%)
• Employees are expected to work harder to coordinate with other departments than in the past (90%)
• The challenges employees face within our company are more complex today than they were in the past (88%)
• To succeed in our company, employees need higher levels of learning and knowledge today than they did in the past (88%)

To meet these increased expectations, employers overwhelmingly felt it would be helpful for students to pursue opportunities that are becoming common features of a liberal arts education, such as a capstone project that demonstrates their depth of knowledge and analytical skills (84%), an internship or community-based field project (81%), coursework that develops research skills (81%). They also expressed support for more education to build research skills, cultural awareness (both locally and globally), ethical thinking, and understanding of large challenges. An accompanying position paper from the AAC&U expanded on how colleges could foster these kinds of learning and thinking.

However, students do not have to wait for sweeping reforms in college education to take advantage of opportunities that will benefit them in the hiring process. Indeed, they might not have time. Of the employers surveyed, 38% expect to hire more people within the next year, and 54% plan to keep levels of employment steady, a sunnier outlook than was presented in another recent survey of employers. As the country comes out of the recession, recent college grads will be increasingly in demand, but they may also be in greater supply as many schools are currently experiencing record enrollment.

Luckily, at many colleges and universities you can find classes, internships, and other experiences now that will help prepare you for the workplace. If you’re a high school student working on your college search, focus on schools that emphasize research and offer numerous opportunities for internships and senior thesis projects. If you’re currently enrolled, take a variety of courses, especially ones that develop research and analytical skills, and see if your school currently offers internship experiences or opportunities for substantial research projects. By demonstrating through your experience and coursework that you’re both skilled in your subject area and able to learn and adapt, you may have an edge over your competition.