Being a senior is tough. We’re graduating in under a month. There are only ten days of classes left to finish all of those projects. We’re about to go out into the “real world.” It’s terrifying.
The unemployment rate for twenty-something Americans who received at least a bachelor’s degree last year rose from 10.9% in 2013 to 12.4%.
Even if there was a job out there targeted towards grads, chances are that it has been filled by now, according to job listings website Simply Hired. By April, about two-thirds of employers say they have already made offers to college seniors ready to fill their positions.
So we know it’s tough to find a job, but thanks to a study from CNN we also know that 36.7% of recent graduates who were lucky enough to find a job are working in positions that do not even require a college degree.
Being a senior is exciting. We’re graduating in under a month. There are only ten days of classes left until all of those projects are finished. We’re about to go out into the “real world.” It’s thrilling.
According to the same CNN study as above, students who worked in their fields of study while in college were much more likely to end up with college-level employment.
EY (Ernst & Young, a professional services firm, based in London) is planning to hire 9,000 graduates this year (up from 7,500 in 2014). We owe this in part to the generation of baby boomers who are now starting to retire, according to Paul Wiseman, an Associated Press economics writer.
They aren’t alone. the National Association of Colleges and Employe (NACE) predicts that employers will increase overall hiring by 9.6 percent.
Plus, the benefits of a college degree pay off better in some states than others, according to a study by the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce. So, if you’re from one of the following 10 states, you may have it a little easier (and if you’re not, you may want to pack up and move there).
- Massachusetts — best for software developers, computer occupations, managers
- Delaware — software developers, computer occupations, financial analysts
- Washington — software developers, nurses, computer occupations
- Colorado — nurses, software developers, computer occupations
- Alaska — nurses, medical and health services managers, civil engineers
- Arizona — software developers, nurses, computer occupations
- Oregon — software developers, computer occupations, nurses
- California — software developers, computer occupations, sales representatives
- Minnesota — software developers, computer occupations, sales representatives
- Texas — software developers, computer occupations, nurses
It is particularly good news if you are studying to become a software developer, computer professional or nurse.
Even if you aren’t studying one of those three, a Pew Research analyst said those with a college degree can reasonably expect to earn around $500,000 more over a lifetime than their GED or equivalent peers.
So buck up. There are thousands of ways to look at the situation (well, at least two).
You may not get a job right away, and it might be drudgery to keep looking. But you can have a cheerful attitude. And that will make all of the difference. The opposite is just as true: a piece of cake interview and a job right out of college may make you miserable. I know it sounds cliché, but the easier you are to drag down, the more frequently you will find yourself in the pits.
The choice is yours. Your decision may make the months ahead extremely tough. It may make them tremendously exciting. Either way, it’ll be your fault.
