Word from my kids are that kids graduating this year are having some difficulty landing jobs. Even the highly sought majors like CS. Trying to get a sense of how true this is. Any experiences you can share? Is it really any worse than in previous years?
MOD NOTE: For targeted job search strategies for new grads, there is a more recent thread. https://talk.collegeconfidential.com/t/productive-job-search-strategies-for-new-grads/
CS and tough are going to be tough this year - that’s well publicized in the news and that’s what scares me about all these Chance Mes assuming - it’s a bullet proof major. No major is bullet proof but the kids of today haven’t witnessed that and the parents all have short memories of tough times.
The economy is on fire - except for tech - which is leading the layoffs. Fortunately, it hasn’t impacted the overall market. But yes, CS kids may be in for a tougher time. It doesn’t mean they won’t do well - but it’s not projected to be as strong as the recent past.
That said, the long term growth outlook is still solid - I think companies got ahead of themselves but of course kids not hired in time then face the next class coming. Hopefully most don’t suffer that fate.
My daughter’s bf is in finance and he’s forwarded me multiple emails of jobs he’s had 2-4 interviews with and they cancelled the job - so it may be that kind of year.
A comprehensive list of 2023 & 2024 tech layoffs | TechCrunch
I think this is possibly sector specific. My husband’s company that designs hardware components can’t hire enough people (primarily looking for EEs & MEs, but also CE & IE and related fields.)
BUT the jobs aren’t located in CA and they don’t pay CA salaries. Those people must be getting jobs somewhere that pay what they want because his company is struggling to hire them. It does seem like the market might have softened a tiny bit in the past couple of months, but there are still plenty of jobs in the hardware field, especially if you’re willing to be flexible in location.
I agree. It might just be the sector. Health care, nursing in particular, is a BOOMTOWN right now and the money is flowing higher and faster than it ever has.
I have no data to back this ups but as a parent I also worry that many people can’t afford to retire anymore now that mortgages and rent and general cost of living is so high, so lots of us will need to keep working well into our 60’s and 70’s, keeping those positions from being made available to the young folk.
What my son’s girlfriend is making as a new cardiac ICU nurse is very impressive.
Those trying to go into consulting are struggling. Consulting firms have scaled back hiring a lot after over-hiring during COVID and some are doing layoffs.
Yes - sorry - I was referencing CS - so Tech may not have been the right word. OP mentioned CS specifically.
But I hear it in other majors too - but that is what is continually referenced in the unemployment reports - the economy is booming - except the big tech (i.e. software) companies are headed the other way. So I used the words interchangeably - sorry to confuse.
And of course, 80% of the chance mes are CS (OK, I’m embellishing but it seems so) and 50% want to work FAANG 
Time to open the minds!!!
Hope your husband finds who he is looking for!! If they are seeking grads, they have to expand their school reach - if they’re paying $80K +, they’ll find some as secondary schools (if they seek entry folks).
Consulting - and it depends what type you are seeking as there are many - will always be a difficult get - because it’s in many parts - an exclusive club.
I don’t disagree but I’m not aware of a single firm that hasn’t scaled back hiring significantly. So it’s much harder for this graduating class to break in than in recent memory. Fewer internship offers, fewer full time offers. It is not a good time to be aiming for consulting even for super strong candidates at feeder schools. It’s rough out there right now.
You better remind all the future chance mes
Hiring targets go up and down. I get a lot of hate mail on CC for reminding parents (and kids) of this. Your college had 8 grads go to BCG last year, 14 to McKinsey, 6 to Bain. 8 to Goldman Sachs and 1 each to Jane Street, DE Shaw and AQR. Another 30 spread across the M&A and Asset Management teams at the top tier banks.
This is not a quota system whereby these profit-seeking entities are obligated in perpetuity to hire from this college, these numbers, etc.
Business is soft? Targets get cut. Offers get pushed out or- in the extreme- cancelled. New hires are encouraged to take that bucket trip to Asia or learn Swahili or do a year of Americorps with a sign-on bonus but a start date 12 months hence.
I’m old enough to remember when math PhD’s were driving taxis in Chicago, and when aerospace engineers in Long Beach were working as substitute teachers in public schools. And more recently- when petroleum engineers were getting certificates from coding academies-- ridiculous as it might seem-- because some companies were requiring “certification” and a BS in engineering is NOT a certification.
Up and down, folks. Up and down.
I think this is the issue - the youth aren’t old enough to remember, they just know of good times.
And parents - how soon we forget.
There is a lot of hiring in the nonglamorous sectors. Get into manufacturing, insurance, healthcare. I’m sure there are many others.
In general, some young grads have very unrealistic expectations at the moment. They ignore entry level jobs. Having a degree is great, but, not dissimilar to getting into college, hiring managers and recruiters like to see certain things that indicate an ability to do the job they want to fill. If the employer sees extensive previous experience on your resume relative to the very high paying job you seek, that is great and maybe you will get the high paying job. But I’ve seen some friends’ kids remain jobless because they are aiming too high, or they aren’t patient enough. There is a lack of awareness of needing their resume and LinkedIn profile to reflect qualities employers seek. I strongly encourage every student to use their career center or the services of a professional who can make their resume and linked in look sharp.
(I’m ignoring the minority of grads who will walk into six figure jobs right after they graduate. We are all aware that some colleges have tight connections to elite starting level jobs. Worth noting that grads from less prestigious colleges also work for those companies, especially if they have relevant experience on their resume.)
My son started entry level last August with a decent salary at a company he clicked with, and the opportunity to earn more money in commissions. He is exceeding his targets and just got promoted, with a raise. He likes his coworkers and his job. He very consciously chose not to seek any finance jobs in which the highlight of the day is Grubhub at 2 am. He probably could have gotten a job like that through his contacts in that industry.
My son chose the quality of life route over big bucks. But he did apply to a lot of jobs, probably over 100. He got a fair number of second and final round interviews, which were all good experience for him. I’m hearing my friends with jobless grads say there is nothing out there for their kids, but I think it’s often a lack of awareness of what is realistic.
Agree with your post and I’d point this out. My son did this to get an internship (all from indeed…he didn’t like who came to school). There must have been 100 apps - he got a non related offer and last minute a car company called. The funny thing is it was the one I worked at in sales (not manufacturing) 10 years earlier (zero to do with me, btw - just coincidence as I don’t know anyone there) but I guess we ended up with shared history - but they needed someone last minute and I guess he floated to the stop somehow - had car activities at school and a car detailing job. had to go to a different state. I mean, no one wants to live where he did - but you go where you have opportunity to gain experience. It’s only 12 weeks!!
and while the 2nd internship, he didn’t need to do this because they brought him back…he did it again two years later when looking for a job and got 20 interviews.
My daughter, for her DC semester did - at least 50 if not more, and had 7 offers, 5 of which paid.
I know people say it’s inefficient (it is) or talk to alums or networks, etc. - but it works - and if you look at Cornell’s career outcome report where they show the how you got the job - while I don’t know how many companies people apply to - they’re finding jobs online. For CS specifically the last two years, 59 on the Internet (think indeed, company websites) and 53 linkedin. Far down the list are Career Fair (11), on campus hiring (4) and alumni (3).
The world has changed - and your students, in my opinion, will be much better selling themselfvesto as many places as they can - within reason.
For an internship, a student should be open to anything, anywhere - because having experience on your resume does wonders. And I’m not talking - something through a professor at school - but real world experience - although that’s great too but not the same.
For full time, of course you have to match your interests - so for my son, it was car companies and then leadership rotational - where you do x jobs over your first three years - because my wife was in one and she told him that’s how you get exposed to management and great projects, etc. and it turns out she was right. In his case, location was secondary - because in those roles, you move - but for full time, find what you want job wise without saying - FAANG - and when you figure out what you want and the where, go hard at it - looking at every career site in the area. At the same time, if you do limit yourself geographically, you are limiting yourself.
Careers are long - and ultimately, if you want to be somewhere, you can get there. At the same time, you can be at the dream and they can tell you to pick up and move to X place - or get out.
I talk to parents whose kids struggle - but they’ve barely applied everywhere, they are relying on the career counselors or calling alums or hitting the career fairs and that’s great - but that’s unlikely to place you into an open job. Yes, it happens absolutely - but the Cornell stats (I use them as they show the source) to me are very telling.
Have your student set up several searches on indeed - with the key words that matter - and it will email you new openings daily. It could be as simple as Mechanical Engineering Summer - and boom every day you’ll get new internships sent to your email.
Good luck to all.
Anecdotal stories during the past few weeks of campus tours:
MIT - MechEng senior, graduating into a job for a company they’d previously interned with
SDSU - Engineering senior, interned at a company previously, no job found yet
Mudd - a couple of seniors without offers as of yet
Adding:
USC - Engineering senior, starting a Masters in the fall (also at USC) for Aero/Space
Yes, yes, yes on entry level and non-glamorous sectors for the win wrt job prospects for new grads.
My D20 is about to graduate with a BSW. Just had her second interview for a position she is interested in at the hospital where she’s done her senior year field placement rotation. The pay is enough that she can swing her living expenses and the rent on her shared Boston apartment and continue to live “out of the nest”, which has been a goal (three cheers for graduating debt free!). It is a good, solid employer and there is the option for tuition reimbursement when she returns to school in a year or so to get her MSW.
I love hearing this!
Jobs are available, but college grads will have to think outside the box. If you’re a comp sci major and your only definition of a ‘decent job’ is by working at a Facebook, Google, etc., then you will be disappointed.
if you have skills in the area of cybersecurity, there are jobs to be had.
If you’re willing to relocate to an area which you think is not an ideal location but the job offer is there, you can find a job. You don’t have to work or live there forever. Just a year or 2 of job experience and then you can relocate somewhere else.