Assignment 7A

Opportunity: Recent college graduates in the United States struggle to find jobs they are qualified for after graduation due to the overflow of applications to jobs at major companies and a lack of resources, such as recruiting firms, necessary to find niche jobs that are being overlooked.

Interview 1:

I interviewed one of my former roommates who graduated recently. He was able to find a job with an accounting firm he had interned with the previous summer. He agreed that it is tough for college graduates to find a job because they often look for work at companies that are household names and these positions are often extremely competitive. He said the campus itself provides a lot of resources to help students get hired and that is how he found his internship, but it is not always enough for a lot of students. I asked if he knew about students seeking out recruiting firms to find work, and he said he thought that would be very uncommon and had not even considered it himself. he said he had not considered this because he associates recruiters with temporary work and most college students are looking for permanent positions.

Interview 2:

I interviewed my former boss from my internship at a major US recruiting firm. I wanted to talk to him because recruiters are experts in filling the needs of companies looking to hire with the ideal candidate for the position. He said that he does believe recent graduates are at a disadvantage for finding jobs compared to the rest of the workforce primarily due to hundreds of thousands of individuals simultaneously entering the job market seeking out jobs that require the same levels of experience. He used the analogy of a funnel to depict how only a select few end up with entry level jobs at Fortune 500 companies specific to their background and the others are often left working jobs they are overqualified for and could have gotten with just a high school diploma. I asked if his firm had worked with recent graduates and he said very rarely. This is because the company is rarely contacted by recent grads and an even bigger problem is the companies his firm works with often hire new graduates internally. He said the companies that would require assistance finding entry level talent are usually not partnered with recruiting firms due to their size and if they are, they do not hire nearly as many students as the larger Fortune 500 companies do.

Interview 3:

I interviewed a friend from college who is a second year engineering major. She agreed that it is tough for most new graduates to find jobs but not all. She claimed this is need is not as needed for certain majors and career paths. For example, students that are studying pre med or pre law often follow their undergraduate studies with graduate school, so this would not be needed for those students.

Interview 4:

I interviewed my father about this opportunity because he is an entrepreneur and a small business owner. His company uses a recruiting firm for some of their hires but very rarely do they hire new graduates or any new candidates at all. As a small business, there is not a lot of employee turnover and only ask their recruiting firm for new talent just a few times a year. 

Interview 5:

I interviewed one of the recruiters I was able to shadow for a few days during my internship last summer. She said the major reason why her recruiting firm as well as most recruiting firms do not place recent grads often is because most of the job placements she has to fill are temporary jobs. For the most part, recruiting firms hire mostly for temporary and contract work, so recent graduates are not getting this kind of help and are often left on their own to look for work.

After my interviews about this opportunity, I have learned that there is a need, but the need I described may need some tweaking. My third interview helped me recognize that this is not a need for all college students and may be more major-specific. This need is much more applicable to students with a business background compared to graduates with a STEM background. Furthermore, I originally believed that recent grads did not have enough access to recruiting firms due to students not understanding how to use a recruiting firm, but it may be the opposite. Most recruiting firms have not taken the time to establish a recruiting system for new graduates and could potentially require a completely different branch within firms to meet the needs of new grads. Additionally, many of the large Fortune 500 companies do not have problems finding candidates and do not seek out recruiters to fill these jobs. Smaller to mid-sized businesses would have to rely more on recruiters to connect them to candidates that would not find these positions on their own, but they would not have as many open positions as bigger companies. For this opportunity to be met, recruiting firms would have to obtain business from many more smaller firms than they would for a larger business.

Assignment 6A

Economic Opportunity 1

From my own personal experience as well as some online research, I have found that recent college graduates, who have struggled with finding jobs prior to the virus, are at an even greater disadvantage due to the spread of coronavirus throughout the US. This was a major issue prior to the viral outbreak because they had to fight for job placements with their peers all simultaneously looking for work. Now it is even more difficult because they have to compete with older candidates that are often overqualified for these jobs but are desperate for any kind of work. 

I believe there is an opportunity for these new graduates in the recruiting industry. For the most part, recruiting firms typically looking for older candidates and look to fill temporary or contract jobs. If these recruiting firms begin working with new graduates, and even current students looking to the future, there may be opportunities fro young graduates that they may not have had access to searching on their own. In addition, many of these recruiting firms are scrambling to place candidates due to the rapid influx of unemployed Americans. These firms could likely use more recruiters during this time to help fill positions and search for open jobs. By hiring new graduates as recruiters, the unemployment rate would effectively lower as unemployed individuals could take jobs as recruiters and work to find jobs for other unemployed Americans. 

The prototypical customer would be recent college graduates as well as Americans that have been in the job market with a sales or recruiting background with strong interpersonal skills. While there is a need for this opportunity, it may prove difficult due to the current lack of companies looking to hire as well as recruiting firms may not be in the position to be hiring.

It was relatively easy for me to see this opportunity from my own personal experience. I am graduating in December and the lack of open jobs currently is concerning for my peers and myself. I also interned with a recruiting firm last summer, and I have a good understanding of the recruiting industry and some problems arise.

Economic Opportunity 2

Another opportunity I found that has been overlooked by the general public is the United State's rare earth supply. Rare earth metals are used in almost all modern technology, including cellphones, computers, and cars. It is also used in US military equipment. The major problem is that the United States, as well as the rest of the world, rely almost entirely on China for its rare earth supply. China controls nearly 90% of the rare earths market and if political tensions rise with China, the United States could see an embargo of rare earths, which could severely cripple US consumption of rare earth goods as well as the US military. It is very hard to produce domestically as the mining process is incredibly damaging environmentally and would be costly in terms of time and capital for a company to receive all the licenses to safely and legally mine rare earths and it could take years for a US company to turn a profit

The opportunity I see with this economic issue is the expansion of MP Materials, the only American company that currently produces rare earth metals. It has taken five years and billions of dollars for the company to get to a place where they can legally mine in the US, but they currently mine a minuscule amount of rare earths in comparison to China's production and cannot compete with their prices. My solution to this problem is for the US to either subsidize MP Materials and possibly encourage more companies to begin producing rare earths to meet the rare earth needs of the US.

The prototypical customer is MP Materials and possibly entrepreneurs with a resource production background to begin or increase rare earths production to decrease China's comparative advantage on rare earths. This opportunity may be difficult to implement mostly due to the costly environmental standards required by the US.

I was able to discover this opportunity because I was able to work at a small rare earths mine in Brazil last summer and there I learned about how much control China currently has on the rare earths market internationally.

Regulatory Opportunity 1

One of the regulatory issues I saw was that across the state of Florida was hair and nail salons as well as tattoo parlors have opened or will be opening soon. This is being done to begin reemploying individuals and helping boost the economy. The major issue with this is that the virus is still spreading and this could increase its spread even more. 

A possible solution to this problem is to make some of these jobs on-call is possible as well as making access to the businesses appointment only in order to limit the amount of people in the shops and give employees time to adequately sanitize the equipment and stores. The prospective customers for this opportunity is employees working at hair salons as well as immuno-compromised individuals that may not be able to safely leave their home. This seems to be relatively simple to implement, but the major problem is the employees could possibly be at risk entering an unsanitary home and limiting to appointments would not allow these businesses to return to normal. I discovered this opportunity when I got a less than ideal haircut from a family member and I thought with the proper precautions, a barber would be able to come to my house and safely cut my hair.

Regulatory Opportunity 2

Throughout the global of COVID-19, the Center for Disease Control has urged people to begin working as contact tracers. Contact tracers are tasked with communicating with those diagnosed with COVID-19 and question who they have come in contact with in order to better understand how and how fast this disease is spreading as well as being able to notify individuals that may have unknowingly come in contact with. The CDC recently lowered the requirements to become a contact tracer to just a high school diploma in order to increase the amount of applicants for this job. 

The opportunity I considered is an emphasis on finding contact tracers on college campuses. College students would be ideal for this position because it is a pool of very intelligent and organized individuals that could have a background in medicine. In addition, college students are ideal now because it is summer and most students are have a light course load or none at all and have the time to commit to this job. Many students have lost internships or research opportunities due to the virus and this would allow them to develop professionally and receive paychecks when they thought they could not otherwise. This appears to be relatively easy to implement by marketing towards universities specifically to notify more college students about this opportunity. I was able to discover this opportunity because I have a roommate that is studying medicine and is struggling to find somewhere to volunteer so he can collect more experience in public health before applying to medical school. I know he is not the only one in this situation and I believe making this job more known to premed and pre-nursing students would be very beneficial.

Assignment 5A

Local Opportunity 1

A rent and eviction crisis is looming next week

Source: https://www.tampabay.com/opinion/2020/05/26/a-rent-and-eviction-crisis-is-looming-next-week-column/

Summary: Starting June 2nd, Florida landlords will be able to evict its tenants after a 3 month prohibition of these activities due to the spread of COVID-19 throughout the state. This  is a major issue specifically to the state of Florida because the state has the fourth highest number of renter-households and 50% of which were struggling to pay their rent prior to the spread of the virus. The author of the article highlighted some ideas for the state to implement to lighten this burden, but it is unlikely to completely negate the losses that Floridian tenants, landlords, and the economy itself will face.

Local Opportunity 2 

Virus detours driver's license testing

Source: https://www.gainesville.com/news/20200528/virus-detours-driverrsquos-license-testing

Summary: Due to the changes occurring globally from the outbreak of COVID-19 in the United States, the Florida Department of Motor Vehicles have had to change the test for new drivers to obtain a license. The test examiners will no longer be in the car with prospective drivers and will communicate with drivers through a phone or walkie-talkie and the test will be done on a closed course.Florida DMV's have been closed since March and local offices are now given a choice to reopen when desired  and implement the new testing procedures. There has been criticism as some claim one cannot conduct an adequate driver's test without being in the car. Furthermore, examiners will not be able to see how new drivers interact with traffic on the road as well as driving through intersections will no longer be observed with this procedure. The alternative is to have examiners in the car with the drivers while wearing face masks, but this poses a larger risk of infection for examiners as well as prospective new drivers.

Local Opportunity 3

Universities weigh options for fall semesters

Source: https://www.gainesville.com/news/20200507/universities-weigh-options-for-fall-semester/1

Summary: The spread and uncertainty of COVID-19 has left university students and administrators unsure of how classes will be implemented in this coming fall semester. Because students choose their classes in March, towards the end of the spring semester, students made uninformed decisions on their class schedule under the assumption that classes would be held in person. As time goes on, we are realizing this may not be entirely possible and most universities in Florida will be making the decision of whether to move classes online in the following months. 

Local Opportunity 4

Play Life, Live Games column: Old technology holding PSVR back from greatness

Source: https://www.gainesville.com/entertainment/20200528/play-life-live-games-column-old-technology-holding-psvr-back-from-greatness

Summary: Avid PlayStation gamers are frustrated with Sony's virtual reality (VR) technology as they claim it is limiting the amount of control players have in games. Unlike Oculus, a top VR gaming company, PlayStation's hand controllers are much more limited, lacking analog sticks to help users move around their environment. In addition, there have been complaints that not enough VR games have been released by Sony, but this is expected to change the upcoming months.

Local Opportunity 5

Rebuilding America: Touchless options the new norm in grocery industry

Source: https://www.gainesville.com/news/20200528/rebuilding-america-touchless-options-new-norm-in-grocery-industry

Summary: The grocery industry is seeing rapid change across the country as new technologies and

procedures are being tested to reduce the amount of exposure people have with germs and other people.

These changes include online shopping and delivery as well as the use of automated technology in grocery stores. While these new ways are unorthodox and perhaps confusing to consumers today, these changes are expected to last long after the pandemic has ended and this will soon become familiar to Americans.

Assignment 3A

    I was exposed to entrepreneurship at a very young age. My father has been an entrepreneur for nearly three decades in the health and nutrition sector. When he was a child, his mother was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and arthritis around the same time. One of the biggest problems she had was her arthritis medicine would make her MS worse and vice versa. At this point, the family began to look into alternative methods to ease my grandmother's pain. They found that there were a lot of vitamins and nutritional supplements that made my grandmother feel better that did not have to be purchased at a pharmacy.

    After my father graduated from USF, he moved to Gainesville where he and my grandpa opened an all natural supermarket. A few years later, that company was sold and he later moved back to Tampa and started a new vitamin and supplement business with two friends he met in college. He has always been passionate about his work and his company and I think that i s a huge reason for his success.

    I enrolled in ENT3003 this summer because I have always admired the idea of creating or providing something that can help people. I know becoming an entrepreneur can be risky and there are a lot of steps that entrepreneurs need to take to get their business off the ground. I am looking forward to learning about the actual process of how to take an idea and turn it into a successful business.

Assignment 2A

Bug List

1. It is extremely difficult to get all of the toothpaste out of the tube and there is often toothpaste left over.
1. Why? The tube is shaped awkwardly and a human hand is not capable of getting all of it out.
2. Highway traffic jams often last much longer than necessary due to people staring at the wreck on the side of the road even after all debris has been removed from the road.
1. Why? People do not think about holding up traffic to look by the time they get to the wreck and can easily speed up after. Only the drivers behind them have to wait.
3. People sometimes leave their shopping carts in the middle of the aisle at the grocery store making it difficult for others to pass.
1. Why? These individuals may have a lack of spatial awareness or just are not thinking about the other shoppers.
4. Chick Fil A does not serve breakfast after 10:30.
1. Why? It is probably difficult for employees to keep their current efficiency with a wider selection of products at once.
5. Undergraduate students often find themselves taking classes that are necessary to graduate but do not provide relevant preparation for their desired career field.
1. Why? Universities try to ensure their students are well-rounded, meaning they may take classes outside of their area of expertise.
6. Unlike other music streaming services, SoundCloud does not a have queue feature for songs. 
1. Why? SoundCloud is not as official as bigger streaming services such as Spotify and does not require copyrights to post. This company's main focus is helping users discover new music and playlists and queues may not be a priority for this company.
7. Parents who drive their kids to school find themselves in long lines for both drop off and pickup each day.
1. Why? Every child in the school starts and ends classes at the same time making every parent have to wait at the same time.
8. Video streaming services such as Netflix have enormous selections of movies and TV shows to choose from, but their algorithm makes it difficult for users to discover new shows and movies.
1. Why? Netflix uses watch history and popular shows by region to display on the front page. They also put their original shows near the front to drive up metrics.
9. Sometimes there are stickers on products that are extremely difficult or impossible to remove completely without residue.
1. Why? Product suppliers want to ensure the stickers does not fall of the product before it is purchased so they would rather add too much adhesive than too little.
10. During low traffic hours, drivers can often be stuck at a red light at an intersection where they could safely pass.
1. Why? The traffic intersections are designed to accommodate the heaviest of traffic rather than light or minimal traffic.
11. People can forget to change the air filters.
1. Why? They are not changed very often and can easily go unnoticed.
12. It is hard to trust food safety in restaurants amidst the virus breakout.
1. Why? The virus is extremely contagious and numerous precautions must be taken to ensure safe food which cannot be proved
13. My coffee gets cold before I finish it.
1. Why? I drink coffee slowly and my cup does not keep it at the ideal temperature for long enough.
14. Scissor packaging that zip ties the scissors to the cardboard.
1. Why? It could be a cost efficient way to save on packaging materials.
15. There is a lot of misinformation being spread throughout social media and it is difficult for people to distinguish between what is true and what is not.
1. Why? Due to the widespread use of social media, it is easy to post information without a need to establish credibility and the articles are spread by individuals who do not take the time to evaluate this information.
16. Paper straws are inferior to plastic straws because they break easier and have a cardboard taste to them.
1. Why? Gainesville decided to replace the plastic straws with paper ones because they are more environmentally-friendly.
17. While wearing a mask to protect from COVID, breathing can cause glasses to fog up.
1. Why? The mask causes the hot air from your breath to go directly into the lenses, making them fog up.
18. Occasionally the drawstrings in hoodies and athletic shorts get caught in the dryer and get knotted up and stretched out.
1. Why? When the strings are are loose in the dryer, they can easily catch on a hook and get tangled as the cycle goes on.
19. iPhone chargers are not very durable and have to be replaced every few months.
1. Why? Apple can generate more revenue by making cheaper, short-lived chargers.
20. It is hard not to get germs on your hands after washing them because you have to open the door to leave the bathroom.
1. Why? You cannot leave the bathroom without first washing your hands, so opening the door is the last thing you do.

    At first, I really struggled with this assignment. It took me a while to get to a mental state where I was aware of the things that bothered me and I could put them into words. I often found myself getting wrapped up in one bug and going further into how to solve it. When this would happen, it would take a while to find a new bug because I was still focused on fixing the first bug I recognized in my head. This was an interesting exercise because it is very different than my natural thought process. For me, I want to finish what I started before I move on, and recognizing a bug felt incomplete in a way. I was able to come up with a handful at first, and then the ideas slowed down. Towards the end, I was starting to get the hang of it just from practicing thinking this way with the previous bugs.

Test Post

This post is a test.