Disheatening story in the NY Times

<p>The Smith CDO gave all of us seniors in 2009 (when the recession was even worse than it is today, by quite a bit) good advice: Yes, it’s hard. But you have the best possible tools for success here. You should not be afraid. But you should use this as a challenge a wake up call. </p>

<p>Basically, they were telling us that even in a really tough market, a Smith degree can get you places. But you can’t be lackadaisacal about it. If we wanted jobs, they wanted us to know that we would need to fight for them, much harder than ever before. And they would be there to arm us with the best possible preparation, not just academically, but in terms of the things that make you sucessful in the career marketplace: having a well crafted resume and cover letter that exhibits you to your best advantage, being practiced and comfortable with interviews, having a strong network of contacts to draw on. </p>

<p>All I can say is that nearly all of my friends from the class of 09 are gainfully employed, and were employed either before or shortly after graduation. Not all of us are working in the field we studied or the field we imagined we would be in, but we’re in jobs that let us be self sufficient and help us build toward our goals. </p>

<p>I got a great job right out of college in the deep middle of a recession thanks to contacts I made while at Smith in the Picker Semester in Washington program.If anything, the economy has improved since then and (hopefully) will continue to improve.</p>