sorry to be bothering you guys but I'm in such a rut. I'm 23 and graduated from college last May with a journalism degree. I had a great year last year as I got to go on the road with a famous musician and travel the world. Since January though I have been stuck.

I'm 23, unemployed and live with my parents. I have a part time job at a local house of blues but I only work like 12 hours a week! I just feel like I'm trapped here. I thought it would be easier to get a job since I have such a great resume (not to toot my own horn) but I'm either over qualified or nobody wants me.

I hate this feeling and I hate being stuck.

ugh sorry maybe I'm just having a bad week.

I feel for you! I clicked on your post because I was curious how a 23 year old could have a midlife crisis! (I was reminded how a floor-mate of mine in college genuinely lamented when she turned 21 that she was only 9 years away from being 30!)

What you are going through isn't that much different from what a lot of us experienced when we got out of college. I'm sure the economy isn't helping either!

Just out of curiosity, what kind of journalism are you interested in doing?

lol. I've been there. I graduated summa cum laude with a BA in PR and Advertising 5 years ago and no on is interested in hiring me. That's why I work at a hotel. Totally stumbled into it and my job has nothing to do with my degree. I wish you luck!

Hey, I hear you, and BTW, it's not a bother to ask for support, that's why we are all here, to support each other

I can see why you are frustrated. I lived with my parents when I was in my twenties and I wanted my independence. I think it also has to be incredibly frustrating when a job only gives you limited hours. A friend of mine is going through that same issue right now too! GRRR!

I'm not really sure what to suggest for the career options. Perhaps, if you get an interview again and they say that you are overqualified, talk to them about it and probe deeper as to what pay range they would be flexible with, room for promotion, etc.

Hang in there!

Quarter life crisis are rough. Im going through it now , not just with work but also with life in general. Its crazy. We were lied to.

OMG, this is my worst fear. Graduating college without a job in line. storm, have you considered moving or applying for jobs outside of your city/state? Sometimes the location can really make a difference! I'm not sure what to tell you because I feel like I'm gonna be in the same position a year from now. I wish you the best of luck!!

Journalism jobs are so hard to come by in this economy. Have you thought about freelancing? Write your on stuff and shop it out to various publications? A friend of mine did that a few years ago and landed a pretty good (although low paying) job at a small ton newspaper.

I clicked on this because I was in the exact same predicament. I graduated at 22 with 2 undergraduate degrees (psych and geography, not super useful) because I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. I contemplated going to grad school or teacher's college, but was unsure what the 'right' choice was for me. I ended up moving to Korea to teach English and 4 1/2 years I'm still here. I was hoping to use Korea as a year to figure out the next step which I still clearly haven't done!! However, I did end up meeting the man of my dreams and I know everything will end up the way it's supposed to be when we finally move back to North America.

Remember, you are still young. Things may seem as though they suck now but they will get better. As others have suggested you'll probably end up stumbling upon a great opportunity.

Haha the curse of our generation. Never had it hard so we never had a reason to take risks. Take risks, move out, light a fire under your feet. At the very least hit the pavement, free lance, blog, do whatever you can to get your name out or meet the right people. Most jobs are not found through the internet or job ads, you need to find the job opening before everyone else does.

I was where you are; and I ended up moving out the country, but If I could do it all over again, I would use my extra time to volunteer, (you never know who you can meet through volunteering maybe your workmate's uncle works at a newspaper), attend my major related events and join groups and start networking, putting out the word that I am looking for a job, putting in some hours for free to try to land a nice job. I didn't realize it then, but I know now that nothing just falls into your lap, an that sometimes you have to take the long way around to get where you are going. Oh yeah and never take a 'no' standing down. You'd be surprised how many no's turn to yes if you show a little bit of backbone and ingenuity.

Hey Storm! Welcome to the club! I'm also 23 and I majored in journalism too. It has been rough! Right now I work part-time in retail. It's not challenging or fun and it drives me nuts, but it pays my $500 a month loan debt. I'm always looking for better work, but it's hard. I got one journalism job offer shortly after graduation as a producer but the pay was only $9/hour! I sat down and thought of every way to make that work, but even on food stamps, no car, etc. with my debt the relocation was financially impossible for me to make.

I know it's hard when you want to get your life started and do better. Then it doesn't help if you have older people always breathing down your neck and criticizing you like you aren't trying hard enough. Those in their 40's and 50's who didn't lose their jobs in the recession and have probably held the same stable job for the last 20 years really have no idea what today's job market is like. Employers also play a lot of games during the hiring processing, wasting your time and making you feel like crap.

this.

I also went though a quarter life crisis, it's not fun

I recommend the books "The Defining Decade" by Meg Jay and "What Color is Your Parachute" GOOD LUCK!!!

OMG. *raises hand* this is me to a tee, although I graduated with an English degree. I'm about to start grad school to get my Master's to be a school media specialist, but in the mean time I'm working full-time hours with a part-time status at a department store and omg do I want a regular 9-5! And OMG are those hard to come by! I can't find anything I'm actually qualified to do thats within the area, and I need to stay in the area cause of where my school is. Ugh! I, too, live with my parents and really really really want to get out and am saving as much money as possible while I'm in this rut. I know being in school will help matters a lot but I just want a normal dang job in the meantime that doesn't stress me out so much.

I'm glad I'm not alone.

I have a BA in History and work at a processing center. I still want to go to grad school, but I nearly threw up when I saw my student loans. Journalism is a touch gig to break into, especially with the decay of print media. Depending on where you live, maybe you could do some freelance work and hope it leads to something.

YOU! I feel like you totally get me. Thanks everyone for your support! Seriously! to be completely honest I graduated with PR and have kind of no intentions of doing it. I only did it because I was forced to pick something and I really didn't want to switch my career choice during my junior year in college (am broke)

but really to people saying to maybe branch out I have been doing that also! I keep fighting with myself because it's like I should just go out and move but I also need money to keep myself afloat and I can't do that without a job.

I've also been considering going back to school but that's just because I have failed as a college graduate and it won't look weird to be unemployed because Hey I'm in grad school!

I graduated with PR and Entertainment Management thinking oh yes I'm going to do marketing/pr for a record label. HAHA what a good joke I told myself