Greetings All!

Hello! My name is Chols and I'm 24. I graduated from Mississippi State University in May 2010 with a Bachelor's of Science in Chemical Engineering. It has been my greatest accomplishment that took 6 years for me to do. All of this was done to ensure that I would have a future and be financially secure (read: make bank).

I did everything that I was told to do. I went to college. I was told that an engineering degree would suit my talents in math and science. I was even prodded into the chemical field because chem e's, on average, make the most starting out of college.

While in college, I even did the highly recommended co-op program, because graduating with experience could give me the edge I needed to snag that full time position (and make bank while in school).

As my Senior Year progressed, I went head-to-head with the Engineering Judge, Jury, and Executioner. That would be, the Fundamentals of Engineering Examination (or FE). Now that I had passed the hardest test I would ever take, I was able to tack on Engineering Intern, or EI, to the list of accomplishments on my resume and finally be recognized (as far as the State of Mississippi is concerned) as a bona fide Chemical Engineer.

Alas, graduation came and went. My friends who had jobs, moved away. The ones who didn't, decided to hide out in grad school and pursue Master's in Business degrees, while others went for the gold and are working towards Masters in their respective engineering fields.

I decided that since I had neither a job to go to, nor the desire to keep going to school, I would jump on funemployment and ride out my time in Starkvegas until my apt lease was up.

So after a summer of goofing off, it has come to D-Day, H-Hour. I have done the unthinkable act - albeit very common now - of moving back in with my old roommates from high school, the parents.While home cooking, satellite TV, and unemployment checks ease the pain, they only address the symptoms, not the disease.

I have been afflicted with Start a New Life-itus, which is Latin for "get out on your own for good". I have decided to pool my options into a category called: Things I'm Good At. These options include 1) engineering and 2) fire fighting. Yes, during my time at school I took on the task of protecting my neighbor as a volunteer fire fighter.

So as this blog continues, I invite you to be along for the ride. The wild and crazy roller coaster of job hunting. It all starts scary as you make your way up the hill to the interview, but soon you will be filled with everlasting hope as companies tell you how great you are and how much they can use you. Then after a few loops, while your stomach is churning, the tell tale letter arrives. Either a "We are please to offer you the position of...", or a "Although your qualifications and experience are impressive...".

Don't forget that every roller coast does end, and you even get to see a picture of yourself at the beginning. Before you were jaded from the whole process of getting a big career opportunity you're smiling and carefree. I plan on ending this roller coaster, and when I do I won't mind paying the overpriced amount to take that picture home with me. That way I will remember how much fun it was to learn how to live with grown ups.