<p>I’m curious if recent college grads here are finding jobs. If they are what fields are hiring? Seems the ones I know are going to grad/professional school as a “Plan B” option as the jobs don’t seem to be available.</p>
<p>I was pleasantly surprised when talking to the graduating seniors at my son’s college this month. Most of son’s friends had jobs lined up. They were in bio research, financial consulting, environmental consulting, mechanical engineering and computer science (Google and Microsoft.) One friend is joining the Navy. My own son has a fellowship with the State of California, probably working in an energy related agency, but the exact job is to be determined. Most are waiting to go to grad or professional school until they have worked for a few years.</p>
<p>We’ve had some threads about this. You might want to do a search. My son just graduated from Penn and (miraculously) got a job lined up last fall. Most of his friends (including Wharton kids) really struggled finding jobs and got them much later in the year than would have been the case several years ago. That said, most of his friends finally got something, although it might not be exactly what they thought they wanted and certainly not at the salaries they entered Penn expecting. There are still a lot of graduates with no jobs. My niece (Penn State engineering) has no job- she has a summer engineering job but it is not permanent and no benefits. My friend’s son (USC engineering) has no job at all.</p>
<p>Recently Gettysburg College and Elizabethtown College posted entry level positions in their Admissions departments. Gettysburg received over 300 apps, Etown received 400. If anyone has a graduate who is not finding a job - don’t be too hard on them.</p>
<p>My d. just graduated and was hired for a terrific position related to her major the same week she graduated (she actually received the call offering her the job the morning of her graduation). By “terrific” I mean in terms of the learning and networking opportunities it offers her, as well as level of responsibility – plus great benefits – the work is with a nonprofit agency, so pay is not great (but probably more than those entry level positions mentioned in post #4 – I think a lot of undergrads have pie-in-the-sky ideas about expected starting salaries. My d. started seriously looking for work about 2 months before graduating – she says she sent out about 30 apps. Prior to getting the current job, one agency called back and offered her an unpaid internship, which she declined.</p>
<p>(I think that her getting a job with 30 apps was pretty good – I had told her to expect a lot more! )</p>
<p>One thing I did note:
My d. got a response for positions that were well-matched to the experience on her resumes. I think it is probably a waste of time to apply for a position if the applicant isn’t already a good match for what they say they are looking for. </p>
<p>My guess is that when hundreds of apps come in for a posted entry level position like mentioned above in post #4, a large number of resumes don’t get past the first screen – so employment odds might not be quite as daunting as they look – as long as the college grad does not also make the mistake of applying for jobs that s/he is patently unqualified for. (In other words - if it seems like a dream job with a great salary, the job title has the word “manager” or “specialist” – and they say that they want someone with “3-5 years experience” … they probably aren’t going to hire the newly minted college grad.) Plus when they say they want <em>experience</em> - they mean it – I think that’s probably the hardest part for a new grad. Students who have worked steadily or had internships during college may be at a decided advantage in the current job market.</p>
<p>Yes son with new BSME is starting job in a week. He is fortunate. (referring to previous posts, I should mention that S’s 3 internships probably played a role.</p>
<p>S had job offer from his engineering internship. Chose grad school instead as that was always his plan.</p>
<p>A neighbor kid who grad. last year (May '09) has yet to get a job…still living here in the old neighborhood with Mom and Dad and does an unpaid internship a couple of days a week.</p>
<p>Another neighbor kid who just grad. with a Business degree is unemployed. </p>
<p>S1’s good friend who just graduated with a Landscape Arch. degree has a paid internship that might turn into a job.</p>
<p>A couple of S’s female friends who graduated last May and had teaching jobs this past year have been laid off due to state budget cuts. </p>
<p>S1 graduated last year. He’s in the Navy.</p>
<p>I attended my D1’s graduation today! She has a job, offered to her last Aug. at the end of her internship. She will be living w/ two fellow graduates also offered jobs last Aug. All the jobs are in finance/Ibanking.</p>
<p>One of her roommates was accepted into Teach for America and another is attending law school. One of her closest friends has been called back for a round 2 interview for HR.</p>
<p>But I also talked to graduates who were not sure what they were going to do. Some were still waiting to hear from grad schools, some going back to old jobs. And I heard one guy saying he was going to be a professional fire fighter for national parks and forests out west.</p>
<p>My S graduated last year. He is working for a bank. He got the job last March. He could do better if he would relocate. We do not live in a big city or a developing area. But he has a job, benefits and is getting experience, starting a retirement account and collecting a salary. Before he got this job, he worked a seasonal job. He is not ready, willing or whatever to relocate at this time, so at least he is working. And I do not mean to imply it is a bad job. It is not.</p>
<p>I think there are jobs out there for graduates. A lot (not all) depends on how hard the student is trying, their major and their geographic location and/or willingness to relocate.</p>
<p>^^I agree that willingness to relocate is very important. </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Hey, now that’s a job!!</p>
<p>There’s a lot of job opportunities for Mechanical Engineering. There’s quite a few people I know of who are graduating and will continue working for the companies they’re working with at the moment.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Agree, and I would add GPA.</p>
<p>Just for clarification of post #5 since there seem to be a lot of posts in this thread re technical majors, like engineering – my d. was a poli sci major, interest in international relations. Her ideal career goal would be to work with an international NGO, but most jobs in her chosen field would require at least a Masters degree. So she is delighted with the position she has lined up – which is directly related to her field and will probably provide a very strong foundation for the future. </p>
<p>So my point is that there is work out there for liberal arts majors too. </p>
<p>As to post #12, I can’t comment because my d. does have a very strong GPA and the accompanying academic honors to bolster it… but I still think the internship/employment experience is the most important. Certainly my d’s interviews were centered around questions related to her internship. (Though of course there’s not much to ask when it comes to GPA).</p>
<p>My S just graduated last week with a liberal arts degree and yes, he has a job. Its a great job for him and the pay is decent. With one exception, every one of his friends (also non-technical, non-business degrees) has a job, law school plans, or TFA assignment. However, these kids also had interesting internships or study abroad experiences that helped set them apart from the rest of the job applicant pool.</p>
<p>Son just graduated and has a paid ft internship in his field with a terrific company. A necessary first step since he was unable to land an internship last summer (worked at a camp) and did study abroad the previous summer. Pay is quite good but no bennies…not a problem since our health plan allows us to keep him on. He did NOT want to relocate which was a bit limiting (long-term gf is local…big reason). </p>
<p>Some of his friends have jobs or at least internships. Many do not. A few were not able to finish their requirements and will be attending school for one more semester in the fall. </p>
<p>Regarding GPA, I agree that it’s somewhat important. But work experience is MORE important. Son was a teaching asst for a full year at his college but that didn’t really relate to his career aspirations so I’m not sure it did him much good. You need that first foot in the door. And many of those doors were closed last year (lots of companies canceled internships last year…some at the last minute after putting kids through multiple interviews…ack.)</p>
<p>To clarify, I agree that internship would be more important than GPA, but you need the GPA to get the internship in the first place. </p>
<p>My D had 3 great internships with 2 different companies, one of which was unsolicited. She didn’t have anything on her resume that really stood out other than excellent GPA. (one thing that may have stood out in the actual interviews was her demonstrated interest in her field going back to middle school, tho it didn’t include any spectacular achievements).</p>
<p>disclosure: techical major</p>
<p>Agree about internships and GPA. But last year was an extraordinary year. Son had an outstanding GPA - and two canceled internships (last minute). In the end, he felt lucky to have a job at a summer camp. Here on the east coast, an internship is a vital requirement and last year set quite a few students back (this year will too, but it doesn’t seem as bad). </p>
<p>Here’s an article on the outlook:<br>
[Report:</a> 2010 College Graduate Jobs Outlook](<a href=“http://www.examiner.com/x-2452-Minneapolis-Workplace-Examiner~y2010m5d11-Report-2010-College-Graduate-Jobs-Outlook]Report:”>http://www.examiner.com/x-2452-Minneapolis-Workplace-Examiner~y2010m5d11-Report-2010-College-Graduate-Jobs-Outlook)
An excerpt
“Among 2009 U.S. college graduates, 80 percent moved back home with their parents after graduation, according to a report by CollegeGrad.com. That was up from 77 percent in 2008, 73 percent in 2007, and 67 percent in 2006.”</p>
<p>“The percentage of graduates returning home could reach even higher this year, as new graduates compete with last year’s graduates and other more experienced job seekers for available positions. We may even see young people who have been out of school for two or three years and had jobs and apartments returning home following a layoff,” said Challenger.</p>
<p>Dontpanic – not all internships come through the same channels. My daughter got the job she has now because of an internship she essentially created for herself at another agency – where she was able to pester her way into the internship in part because it was unpaid and she was willing to finance all associated costs. (It was also overseas, so that included shouldering travel and living expenses)</p>
<p>I admit that it was a nontechnical major and my daughter has an excellent GPA… but since she pretty much blustered and nagged her way into that opportunity, I’m thinking that persistence and chutzpah were probably the deciding factors. (She didn’t qualify for any of the “official” internships offered by the organization in question – I had checked their web site and they only offered internships to graduate students, and she was a college sophomore. So even with a good GPA, she technically was not “qualified” for the internship she had. She ended up working in a place where there were about 30 interns, and she was the youngest one there. However, there actually was a survey taken of all the interns, and roughly half had gotten their internships in a process like hers, rather than coming through the process of submitting a resume and application for an advertised position. ).</p>
<p>I’d add that many of the jobs she applied for this year – including the one she got – made it clear that they were looking for a self-starter who could work with very little supervision. In the case of the job she has, one of the qualifications specified was “Demonstrated ability to take initiative.” </p>
<p>So I’m sure some people might think its unfair that there are interns in an agency who come in outside the regular interview process – but my point is that there are also employers who are looking for the kind of people who would do exactly that.</p>
<p>I think that if a kid, for whatever reason, doesn’t have a great GPA – then they need to look outside regular channels for internship or internship-like experiences, and they need to focus on whatever strengths they do have. It doesn’t have to be labeled “internship” in order to produce the same results in terms of building experience and contacts – that is, the kid can “volunteer” rather than “intern”. </p>
<p>My kids were poli sci majors so I do realize that there may be a lot more volunteer opportunities for them than for a many technical majors – though some of the stuff my son did along the way was “technical” in nature (such as setting up sophisticated databases).</p>