College students preparing to graduate and kick off their careers all know one thing for sure -- the job market is tough these days.
At a time when young Americans are unemployed at twice the rate of older workers, the race for jobs is more competitive than ever. And even when someone does get lucky enough to snag a great gig, they face the quandary of negotiating their salary and benefits, which can be incredibly difficult when simply getting a job offer at all seems like a crowning achievement.
HuffPost Live's Caitlyn Becker asked a few recent graduates and employment experts whether the gloom and doom surrounding the job market means millennials are being groomed to expect salaries that are too low for their skill set.
Justin Whaley, a writer for Newsy, recently graduated from the University of Missouri's journalism program. During his job search, he saw one job listing after another that listed all the duties, responsibilities and time commitments of a full-time job, but they were actually unpaid internships.
"You're basically doing the company's work for free, which I really don't think is fair," Whaley said.
But most new graduates are too afraid to actually express that opinion because they feel they can be so easily replaced by job hunters who are willing to work for little to no money.
"In the journalism and editorial industry, we are kind of -- not easily replaceable by any means -- but there are so many people in this field who are dying to get in, who would do anything to get in," Whaley said, "so where do you draw the line in wanting to negotiate and wanting to keep your job?"
Catch the full conversation about how to effectively negotiate salary and benefits at HuffPost Live HERE.
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