Michael Nutter wants to make college possible for more Philadelphians. As it stands, only 18% of Philadelphia residents have college degrees. A better educated community means a better economy, so he intends to adjust the budget to benefit the Community College of Philadelphia in an effort to achieve a higher percentage of educated citizens. This is all wonderful.

So how come there are thousands of college grads without jobs? Sure, maybe we have jobs, but working as a barista or bike messenger isn’t what we spent four (or more!) years studying for. College was supposed to be the gateway to opportunity. It seems like for most it’s the gateway to debt.

In college, we’re forced to choose a major at some point. The sooner, the better. So, okay, you pick one. Say it’s History. That means you spend at least half of your college career studying things like the name of Charlemagne’s grandfather and how Anne Boleyn came to be Queen of England (which, of course, Natalie Portman could have told you). You finish up with your studies, graduate, and start the process of finding a job.

Maybe you apply for thirty jobs. Maybe, if you’re lucky, you get two interviews. Maybe no one except your Quizzo host asks you who Charles Martel was. Job applications often don’t even ask what your degree is in, just if you have one. It’s one thing to feel like your field of study was a waste of time, but feeling like the world just doesn’t need you, and your extensive knowledge of British India in the 1850s, for anything but a bar back, well, that’s another story.

We’ve got almost no advice on how to get your dream job, but here are some tips on how to get by while you’re in limbo:

1. If you’re desperate for work, some of the better places to work are Whole Foods and Starbucks. Yes, every hipster and his hipster girlfriend works at Whole Foods, but there are some good reasons for that: health insurance, profit sharing, store discount, and competitive pay (they start at like $11/hr). Same goes for Starbucks. If you have to work for the man, pick a man worth working for.

2. Go to a temp agency. Although the work may be menial, it’s temporary. You can handle anything if you know there’s an end to it. PLUS, you might wind up with a great job, or at least in a great company, that will give you some great connections. They tend to pay pretty well, too, especially if you have a degree. Temp agencies love people with degrees. Try the Bettinger Company or Uniq Advantage.

3. Pool your resources and beef up your resume by doing tasks for whomever you can. Maybe you know someone with a small business. Ask them if you can merchandize their store, and then put it on your resume. Now, you don’t want to have a hundred employers on your resume, but come up with things that will help you in your field. Don’t merchandize anyone’s store if you’re trying to be an accountant. Help them with their taxes instead.

4. Be conscious of your Googlability. Take that Mardi Gras picture off your MySpace page. Delete your blog entry about that time you got picked up by the cops for public urination. In addition to taking yourself off the internet, find ways to make yourself look good via search engines.

Another big help in the job search is knowing what you’re looking for. You might not want to be too specific, but narrow it down so that you don’t get jaded in the search. Otherwise, you might wind up with a job you really hate, which will eventually take you right back to the beginning.

Here are some of the better places to look for jobs online because, let’s face it, craigslist can be skeevy and monster.com is a black hole.

• Philaculture.org – a myriad of job listings for museums, concert halls, schools, etc.
• Idealist.org – Non-profit jobs to prevent you from selling your soul
• MediaBistro.com – jobs for all communications and media fields
• EmploymentSpot.com – Listings for everything, temp and perm. Minimal bullshit listings
• College/University web sites – most Philadelphia schools are unionized and provide a lengthy HR page for every job from janitors to Deans

Disclaimer: The author of this article does not have a job. Not even at Whole Foods.

Image Credit: Flickr user timmenzies