<p>I am hearing of some sad stories of graduating seniors who are having a difficult time finding good jobs. Is it that bad out there for the graduating seniors? Should we be worried about which majors our chlldren decide to study in order to get a job?</p>
<p>yes
unless you’re one of the lucky ones whose DS or DD has a great job, then no…</p>
<p>I don’t think the major is that important – I think what is important is that the student gain work and internship experience relevant to their career goals during college, and that they strive to do as well as they can academically.</p>
<p>Yes, my neighbor’s S graduated in May '09 and is still unemployed. He did research work for a prof. the summer after jr. year and an unpaid internship in his major during sr. yr, but still no paying job in over a year since graduation.<br>
We have all been surprised because his major is not a common one and thought there would be opportunities for him.</p>
<p>“Should we be worried about which majors our chlldren decide to study in order to get a job?”</p>
<p>I studied Econ, and share this man’s frustration:</p>
<p>[More</a> Stimulus Despair - Paul Krugman Blog - NYTimes.com](<a href=“http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/18/more-stimulus-despair/]More”>More Stimulus Despair - The New York Times)</p>
<p>[Self-defeating</a> Austerity - Paul Krugman Blog - NYTimes.com](<a href=“http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/07/self-defeating-austerity/]Self-defeating”>Self-defeating Austerity - The New York Times)</p>
<p>Yes, the job market is that bad, and no, having internships in college and good grades will not guarantee employment after graduation.</p>
<p>Absolutely. I’ve been looking for 3 months… with a MA and a bunch of internships. 
Job interview tomorrow…</p>
<p>It’s a buyer’s market out there for the employers. They actually get to pick and choose.</p>
<p>It helps if the grad expands the search nationally and is willing to relocate. In my son’s immediate friend group from high school, the college grads have found work in Chicago, Washington D.C., New York, and Paris, France. A few have found work here in California- Irvine, Los Angeles, San Francisco and the greater Bay area, and Sacramento (my kid.)
Most found jobs either through their college networks, or though family and friends. The major doesn’t seem as important as the networking.</p>
<p>Yes, International search will help.</p>
<p>How bad is “that bad”? There are fewer career type, self supporting jobs for new graduates out there. Yes. If you can convince your college student to go into a field with a near certainty of such jobs, it would be great. But I doubt your English or Psych major is going to want to become an accountant or study engineering or computer programming. There aren’t that many general subject majors that ensure a well paying job right out of school. Most require a commitment to some discipline and if the person has absolutely no interest or desire in that field, getting the certification for it is not easy or likely. It has always been wise to give a tip to college kids to take certain courses if they can, or look for opportunities to make them selves more attractive in the job market. But what on earth can you tell a American Studies or history major at a LAC to do to enhance job possibilities? Leave and join a nursing program? I don’t think so.</p>
<p>Two graduated the same year (2009). One from law school (magna cum laude - surely would get a job right away) and never did find a law job. He’s working in software development just to earn money till the market improves. The other got a degree in something usually non-employable (film/video production) and has his own business doing visual effects for the film industry and is doing great. Go figure.</p>
<p>I’m a rising college senior – on track to graduate this may with school and national honors and with a pretty decent resume. But I know I chose to be a Political Science major – and those who aren’t going to law school are not exactly in super high demand. That being said, I’m pretty nervous about getting a job right out of school. I think a few things help though, that a lot of kids don’t utilize. </p>
<ol>
<li><p>Fall of your senior year: Set up an appointment with your College Career Department. See if they have any advice, leads, last minute classes you could take to make you more ‘marketable’. Also ask them for a list of career fairs, and if they have any knowledge of which companies are coming to campus in the near future. This would also be the time to have them look over your resume and a sample cover letter.</p></li>
<li><p>Market yourself. Set up a linked-in account and a Monster College account. I actually got a phone call today from a Marketing firm up in New York about my Monster College account, even though I still have 9 months before I can work full time. Connect to your school network on linked in, and think of everyone you’ve ever known to request them. </p></li>
<li><p>Network. Call your parents friends up – send an email during the holidays to old bosses and supervisors so that when the time comes to ask for a recommendation, it doesn’t seem like you’re just using them. It also keeps you fresh in their mind so that when they hear about a job that’s opening up, you’re in their head already. Email HR departments of places to ask if they’re hiring, it’s another way to avoid major competition.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I think part of it is that the job market is awful. I also think that the vast majority of schools today do a HORRIFIC job at preparing kids for the job application process.</p>
<p>Digmedia, my friend’s daughter graduated summa cum laude from a major law school, got some prestigious clerkships and was offered a fantastic position from a big law firm even while working at the clerkship. She was contacted and asked to defer her job start which gave her a 4 month gap. She was able to swing it and in some ways was glad of it since it allowed her to do some traveling and give her some time off that she will not get for a while, but it wreaked a lot of damage on her budget. She had to put her stuff in storage and sublet her place and move back home during this time. It was a real pain for her. </p>
<p>My son majored in musical theater and I hear nothing good about the job market for that, and he has been gainfully employed (knock on wood). Just depends on the kid and the luck of the draw, I guess.</p>
<p>If you have valuable, marketable skills to offer employers, then you really shouldn’t have a problem. :)</p>
<p>Good advice from AUTransfer but in CA we are still finding that it takes time. DS and his friends who graduated May 10 are still in the search. They are having to be flexible about where they want to live…both had internships, worked while in college, DS worked in fields related to his major. Still tough out there. They are competing with adults who have 10 plus years work experience. These guys are Business and Criminal Justice majors. On another front, </p>
<p>A friend is hiring teacher’s assistants at $8. an hour part time for our local public school. She has credentialed teachers applying. They are telling her they just want to get back in the classroom at any cost.</p>
<p>When a Cornell Law School Graduate of 2009 cannot find a job for a year…Yeah, the job market is really tight.</p>
<p>Of course major and competency matter to some extent. But across the board people are having a great deal of trouble. In my daughter’s friendship circle (consisting mainly of humanities and non-economics social science majors), only one 2009 graduate has a permanent, career-type job right now . . . and it’s in Korea (a place where she does not intend to live and have a career permanently). A few others have full-time jobs with benefits; most have been cobbling together part-time subsistence work and career-oriented volunteer work. Graduate school of various types, and short-term fellowships, are very popular. These are all smart, hard-working, good-resume kids who graduated from well-respected universities and LACs. The difficulty goes way beyond what I have seen in previous recessions (including the one that was on when I graduated from college).</p>
<p>And law school? Fuhgeddabowdit. Maybe there are jobs for the Harvard Law Review and Supreme Court clerks (two groups with a lot of overlap). For most people, including graduates of top law schools, it’s a desperately challenging environment.</p>
<p>It’s tough out there. Flexibility is key. DS did NOT want to relocate (serious gf in the area) and this really limited his options. He has a good major and a stellar GPA. His strategy was to find a paid internship or coop this summer and hope that it would lead to something (he was unable to find one of these last year -as a junior- due to the dreadful economy) So far- so good. He made lots of terrific connections within this company, is doing well and is now very close to landing a FT opportunity in another company location (also local). In the meantime, he’s working hard, getting invited to lunches and learning events, and gaining valuable work experience. So grads should work this angle vs permanent or nothing. A number of his friends have not been able to find work yet. All of his accountant friends are working though :)</p>
<p>It is near to impossible in non-medically related fields. But we are used to it here, the rest of the country just catching up to what MI and OH has been brought down by people in power and other groups, that pushed taxes up and forced businesses to southern states.</p>
<p>After reading this I’m glad I have a job. And I’ve got over 20 years experience.</p>