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   A millennial in Virginia with two degrees has been job hunting since   
   January 2020.   
      
   He says his degrees haven't helped him find work and have made him   
   overqualified for entry-level roles.   
      
   He's among the Americans with college degrees who are having a hard time   
   finding a job.   
      
   Roland Hesmondhalgh started searching for a job in January 2020. He's   
   still looking.   
      
   In 2019, Hesmondhalgh was a part-time photojournalist while working toward   
   a bachelor's degree in multiplatform journalism at the Florida Institute   
   of Technology. He thought it might lead to a full-time opportunity after   
   he graduated, but then he was laid off, the 32-year-old, who lives in   
   Virginia, told Business Insider via email.   
      
   Aside from the occasional freelance gigs doing photography or YouTube   
   scriptwriting — which he says pay very little — he hasn't found work   
   since.   
      
   It hasn't been for a lack of effort. Hesmondhalgh says he looks and   
   applies for jobs every week, and he earned a master's degree in journalism   
   from Georgetown last year. He says he's even expanded his job search to   
   restaurant and retail jobs — "stocking shelves and flipping patties," for   
   example.   
      
   But he's struggled to even get a second interview for any job.   
   Hesmondhalgh says that his journalism degrees have "opened no doors" and   
   that he's overqualified for many of the entry-level positions he's applied   
   for — something he thinks has made some employers less likely to hire him.   
      
   "I cannot get a job to save my life," he said.   
      
   While the male unemployment rate is low compared with past decades,   
   Hesmondhalgh is among the men who have struggled to find work — or have   
   stopped looking altogether. In 1950, about 97% of American men ages 25 to   
   54 had a job or were actively looking for one, according to the Bureau of   
   Labor Statistics. As of June, this figure had fallen to about 90% — though   
   it's the highest it's been since 2010.   
      
   Among the explanations for this decline is that in recent decades, it's   
   become difficult for some men to land a high-paying job without a college   
   degree. These challenges persist today for men even as more companies have   
   become open to hiring candidates without degrees. But as Hesmondhalgh can   
   attest to, having a degree doesn't guarantee success in the job market.   
   The cost of college and pursuing a degree may not be worth it for some   
   people.   
      
   Hesmondhalgh shared why he thinks his job search has been so challenging   
   and what he plans to do moving forward.   
      
   His degrees have sometimes worked against him in his job hunt   
   Without a consistent income coming in the door, Hesmondhalgh says, he's   
   been forced to rely on student loans, the Amazon sales of a young-adult   
   book he published, insurance money tied to the death of his father, and   
   his mother's disability payments — some of which she shares with him.   
      
   To save money on rent, he recently moved from Washington, DC, to   
   Arlington, Virginia. If his job struggles continue, he says, he'll   
   probably move in with his mother next year.   
      
   Hesmondhalgh says his job-search strategy has consisted of being on the   
   mailing list of roughly six online job boards, applying to roles in person   
   rather than online whenever possible, and expanding his search to almost   
   any job he feels qualified for.   
      
   Ideally, he'd land a job in journalism — the field he has two degrees in.   
   He thinks he's struggled to land journalism roles because most of the   
   positions he's looked at require three to five years of formal newsroom   
   experience, and he doesn't have that. A broader hiring slowdown across the   
   industry hasn't helped matters.   
      
   When it comes to non-journalism roles, he says his college education has   
   worked against him.   
      
   "Wherever I see a hiring sign and think I'd be comfortable working there,   
   I go in and talk to a supervisor," he said. "Their eyes light up at first,   
   but after I go over my credentials it's just pure ghosting. I don't want   
   to lie, but it seems like honesty is the worst policy."   
      
   He also says prior work experience in entry-level roles doesn't seem to be   
   of any value.   
      
   "For the low-level grunt work, it's not an issue with experience," he   
   said, adding that he's worked in pizza restaurants, dog kennels, and   
   supermarkets.   
      
   Hesmondhalgh says the closest he's come to getting a job in recent years   
   was when he applied for the Supreme Court and US Capitol police agencies.   
   He says he had tentative job offers from both, but for some reason, they   
   fell through.   
      
   Going forward, Hesmondhalgh says he plans to continue his job search for   
   as long as necessary. While he's looking, he says, he's continuing his   
   education through Harvard's online creative-writing program to boost his   
   writing credentials further and "stay active."   
      
   Hesmondhalgh says he misses working and the sense of purpose it can   
   provide.   
      
   "It hurts to see so many people and news stories saying there's record   
   hiring and I can't get anything even at minimum wage," he said. "Never   
   mind what I spent years of college and tens of thousands of dollars being   
   trained for."   
      
   Have you given up looking for work or are you struggling to find a job?   
   Are you willing to share your story? If so, reach out to this reporter at   
   jzinkula@businessinsider.com.   
      
   https://www.businessinsider.com/millennial-looking-job-cant-get-hired-   
   college-degress-entry-level-2024-7   
      
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