Job Prospects for ‘24, ‘25 Grads and beyond?

Parents Forum
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There are a zillion companies. Most don’t have “target” schools. They may have “targets” they visit due to geography - but your kid’s school has a placement report, and I’m assuming it’s not all zeroes.

And a non target for one company might be a target for another - so your school may have local connections or whatever else. My daughter will be in a role - and I haven’t seen the schools yet but she tells me from the onboarding, etc. - that it’s mostly all high level schools. Mostly is not all and yet kids find a way. It starts with - applying on line - in her case (and my son’s who had ample interviews and offers - but was an engineer and perhaps that made it easier).

My son’s company hires a class of 150 (engineers, supply chain, safety) and it’s everything from Michigan to W Michigan and Akron and named and non named schools in between for engineering and I assume similar (like Michigan State to no names for supply chain - his initial roomie was a Michigan State supply chain - they’re the tops) but they have them from all over.

When you talk about I Banking or Consulting, etc. you are talking about a tiny, very tiny fraction of the employment base. And even they hire from everywhere because not every job is related to the overall product of the operation - meaning, all companies have HR, marketing, IT, finance, accounting, purchasing, etc. that are coming from a myriad of schools.

So one can’t say - if we’re not a target. Every school is not a target - likely - for most organizations.

The Internet has truly democratized things even more.

But even smaller or lesser known schools have job fairs, etc. too and career centers who all see plenty of success stories. So there are myriad avenues of attack.

But kids may need to be open to get experience - lots of retailers are looking for college grads for managers and that includes these luxury, high end gas stations - that pay - big bucks by the way. One would do very well to be an Assistant Manager at a Bucees - at least based on the signs on their door. The QT as well.

Many a Publix millionaire out there who started moving carts in from the parking lot.

*If the going gets tough, the tough get going *(Billy Ocean).

Sometimes, you have to think outside the box - and use that experience to pivot later.

Good luck

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I had to push my son. This was him.

The job did come - in second semester but he didn’t even consider it.

It’s like college - you have the #1 school but they give an answer in February/March but you have 4 other answers earlier and sometimes you fall in love with the earlier after envisioning yourself there.

Your daughter has a lot of trust - too much.

But yes, it’s tough for parents. In the end, the kids have to do for themselves and you just hope. That’s really all you have.

The good news is - there are jobs - this is why the stock market fell the other day - because the economy remains too hot job wise.

They’re just not (apparently) the jobs these college grads seek. But that’s at least a fallback for kids who struggle - they will be able to find a full time or piece together a few part time jobs - to at least have something.

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May I ask what your or others’ experiences or impressions have been with respect to recruiters looking for specific majors? How specific does it get? Have you seen an openness to kids with liberal arts backgrounds? Thank you!!

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Really depends on the job. Obviously jobs requiring technical skills, engineering, computer programming, accounting, nursing, etc… are very major/demonstrated skill specific. A liberal arts (excluding the hard sciences and math) graduate these days needs some demonstration of quant skills if we are looking at analytical type jobs. The best opportunity for non quant humanities types are probably in sales, education, PR, HR (with some specialized training), anything where communication skills are paramount. I am sure I have left out some other decent careers.

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There are tons of jobs / people getting hired with liberal arts degrees.

One can look at school placement reports and see that.

It might be sales or a sales trainee program. It might be insurance claims. It might be in tourism. It might even be in a tippy top place.

The path isn’t as defined but there clearly hiring of these kids taking place.

You also don’t know who has a double major.

Not sure your major. Here is a few outcome reports. Plug in the major on the UNC and St Joes pages. Yes many kids will become underemployed but there are jobs.

See page 44 on the Oklahoma outcome report (2nd link)

https://surveys.lightcast.io/dashboard/embark_delivery_dash/RQL3ivq1ciaDxdZDfIga9?degree_level[]=Bachelors&grad_term[]=2023&major[]=Asian%20%26%20Middle%20Eastern%20Studies&tab=first_destination_outcomes

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Hi all – I’m back with an update on my S23’s (now a college sophomore, ME major) internship search. I’m so happy to report that he he was just offered a great summer internship with a medical device company! He’s thrilled, and thanks to all you for your advice and reassurance along the way.

Still, I echo what other concerned parents are saying: It’s really, really hard out there. He spent SOO much time researching companies, attending the internship fair only to find that many companies had such long lines that he never got to the front of it, doing mock interviews, then several real first interviews but didn’t get to the next level, etc. (Of course, all of that was great experience: he’s a pretty seasoned interviewer by now.)
And most of his ME friends (even at a top flagship school) still don’t have anything lined up for the summer. They are now looking for summer research positions, hoping for a late break, etc.

And D21 is graduating from college this year (!!) and only one of her friends has a ‘real’ job locked in for next year. Some have grad school acceptances or work abroad/travel/adventure plans (with D21 in the latter group), but the ones looking for positions in corporate America are struggling. I feel so badly for this generation. Gen Xers like me had it really easy by comparison.

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  1. Congrats to your son
  2. All the struggle paid off and future years he’ll have an easier time relative to others
  3. Many will not have an internship after sophomore year - so that’s not a huge concern - Junior year would be.
  4. It’s still way too early for most to panic in regards to internships - most will come later - and some very late - so if these kids seeking research are looking for internships, many will get offered in March/April.

Congrats to your student.

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Thank you!

We’ve had this discussion before on this thread, but just to clarify for any future readers: for engineering, most summer internship hiring happens in the fall. This was a really late hire (and in fact, the company told him that), and this offer came after months in the pipeline: he had started the process with this company back in the October.

Others have posted that for other fields, you are correct that now is hiring time for summer internships. And I agree on summer research positions, even for engineering: plenty of time still for those.

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I’d disagree with the Fall for engineering internships - at least what I’ve seen.

But perhaps it’s school by school.

But full-time, my son had 5 offers by xmas and 19 interviews - so that I’d agree with - that happens in Fall. Full time jobs.

I see engineering internship postings going up every day now.

But we can agree to disagree on that part or perhaps it’s both but I would not worry if I’m applying for internships and don’t have one yet (for engineering). My son’s offers for intern both came very late (after 2nd year).

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Our son just graduated from a “top-ten school.” He switched majors from economics to Social Policy and Leadership, hoping to get into one of the big consulting firms. Soft skills vs. hard skills: However, virtually no one got hired during this cycle, no matter the major. Many of his friends and classmates are still unemployed or went straight into graduate school.

It took him months, but he finally got a job with a small consulting firm. Our experience was that it was not what you knew but who you knew when getting an interview. AI has a significant impact and will have an even bigger impact in the future. There’s much speculation on which majors will be most immune from its impact.

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I hope you’re correct and that all my son’s friends (and other kids) still have a chance.

I promise to report back with an end-of-the-year report on both summer internships and after-grad plans for the benefit of all the other worried lurking parents following this thread :crossed_fingers:

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Congrats to him after the long slog.

I’d be interested to see past career outcome reports with the two majors.

Just as an outsider, I would find econ a stronger major than one that doesn’t really tie to anything (for someone reading the name, including a software screen).

I don’t know the school but interesting that at UVA (that has the major, so I used that), consulting is the biggest function that Econ Majors end up in.

Unfortunately, the Batten School has a much smaller data set so it’s hard to glean data although consulting is 2nd. That major, though, isn’t listed in the selection set so hard to tell.

He’s found a career starting point - so that’s great news. Congrats to him.

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They have to apply though - 3 a day. And yes, do the things other people say - career fairs, network with profs, contact alums, etc

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I’m not the right person to ask as I live with a family of engineers, my daughter works with all engineers, and she went to a STEM focused university. She works for a company where even the sales and marketing people have engineering backgrounds.

I’m glad to see you have other responses coming from more knowledgeable posters!

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We were skeptical of his decision to switch from Econ, and honestly, I don’t think the major mattered in getting the interview. Where the degree was from did matter, and knowing someone who knew someone mattered the most. He still had four rounds of interviews and three weeks of sweating it out while waiting for a decision. Also, it did seem that the kids with engineering degrees did the best; finance and investment banking seemed especially tough.

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This is true. Almost all bulge bracket IB analysts are hired as undergraduate interns from target and semi target schools. After a summer internship most are given return offers for an analyst position after graduation. The pathway for students from non-target, semi-targets and targets that didn’t get offers is as interns for an associate position between year one and two at a top tier MBA school. There aren’t as many of those positions available and an MBA without three plus years’ work experience is not a viable pathway.

Most bulge bracket analysts exit to private equity, mega funds, or corporate development after two years on the job for more money and equity. PE headhunters start contacting them during their senior year in college. There is little need to get an MBA for these analysts unless they want to pivot to a non-IB field.

Bear in mind we’re talking about six or seven hundred jobs at the bulge bracket AN1 position.

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I’m glad he finally landed somewhere! On a side note, I find the “who you know” piece to be rather frustrating…

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Just had a lunch conversation that reminded me of this thread.

The trend in my industry (and many others) is to persuade, induce or force employees to work on premises as close to pre pandemic levels as possible. This trend is seemingly picking up speed.

The discussion that I thought relevant was the seeming disconnect between senior executives (many of whom worked in office 5+ days a week for decades and thought polo shirt Fridays was for slackers) versus an apparent trend amongst recent hires (whose brief adult lives overlapped COViD) pushing back and saying they never agreed to such terms when accepting their internships or entry level jobs.

Given the employer is invariably going to win this struggle, and it behooves those starting their careers to be in proximity to potential mentors and experience work places first hand, I would suggest any and all applicants who receive interviews explicitly express a willingness and or desire not to be remote.

Interviewers may be hesitant to ask directly as these policies evolve but I think a proactive desire to “fully engage” and “contribute to the team” can help differentiate a candidate, particularly if it is thoughtfully framed around a stated desire to be in office.

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I think it’s genuinely beneficial for interns as well as other early-career employees to be in the office to interact with and learn from others. It’s very hard to absorb company culture, build relationships, understand inter-personal dynamics, learn by observation, and receive on-the-job mentorship when you’re logged in from home.

I’m supportive of companies providing the flexibility to work a day or at most two a week from home (that’s what we do), but a fully or mostly remote job is going to hurt the careers of young employees.

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In hindsight, maybe a mistake he made was to wait for the companies to come to him. Perhaps it was just this cycle, but the big firms did come into town to recruit, but virtually no one was getting offers for finance or consulting, and this was U Chicago and Northwestern. His success came when he started to network on his own.

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