A huge trade off for graduates in highly technical fields is that skills get dated quickly! I would encourage internships, contract work, classes etc where possible if the end goal is in fast moving industry. No one is telling kids to sit around and do nothing, but there is a huge opportunity cost in taking a full time, unrelated job in some industries. Transitioning back can be extremely difficult.
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This is a valuable post. It’s one reason why I caution kids against the super narrow, seemingly “bullet proof” majors, because you cannot predict (or outrun) the talent market.
You don’t NEED a specific degree in Neuroscience. You don’t NEED a specific degree in Health and Society. You don’t NEED to major in Aerospace engineering to work in aerospace- ME is just fine. Etc.
The core skills of analysis, communication, being able to synthesize information from multiple sources- these don’t go out of style. Hundreds of “E-commerce majors” were downsized every day in 2002 once the dot com bubble burst– and I know a bunch of them wished they’d have just majored in something a little less specific once that industry went away. It’s really and truly ok to major in applied math. Or econ. Or history.
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OP here, and can’t believe how many responses my original post generated. Wanted to chime back in to provide an update on my ‘24 grad.
After searching for more than a year, he finally got not one, but two offers. We too, had read the studies about the correlation between first jobs and income trajectory and did not want him to take an interim job that did not relate to his interests. As he was living at home, he had the luxury of holding out for a job where his degree was required. And as many have stated, looking for a job is kind of a FT job in itself. Some observations from his experience:
- He didn’t use a scattershot approach. All his cover letters/resumes were tailored to the position. Many didn’t require much editing (just position and company name) but he took the time and effort to make sure he was highlighting the areas of his experience to match the job requirements.
- It really does matter who you know. He focused on networking, reaching out to alumni from his school via LinkedIn or to contacts gained thru friends/neighbors/parents of friends, etc. for informational interviews. Out of all the jobs he applied to, the only responses he ever got back were those where he had a contact at the company and was able to list them on the application. This often got him the initial screening interview with HR. He did not get a SINGLE callback from a company where he had no connection. Reaching out to former alumni on LinkedIn made a big difference for him.
- In all the cases where he made it through the final round of interviews but did not get an offer, he was told that they really liked him but ended up offering it to someone with more experience. These were ALL for entry-level positions.
- The position he ended up taking for a consulting firm was one where he did not get the job, but he followed up with a polite email to HR and the interviewers thanking them for the opportunity to apply. When another opening came up two months later, they reached out to him.
To everyone out there with a recent grad, don’t give up hope! I feel for all the kids going through this - it is a tough environment out there and don’t believe anyone who tells you it isn’t.
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Congrats to your son and thank you for circling back to let us know!
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It depends how they spend their time while job hunting.
In some fields it would be wise to spend time attending conferences, presenting, volunteering, maintaining foreign language skills, etc.
It might also pay to work on your interview skills.
This ^ could be done in addition to working retail, dog walking etc….as I realize that people do need to earn money.
Working full time (if you actually get full time) in a totally unrelated field for a year or 2 would likely put you at a disadvantage….at least in some fields (as noted, I do recognize the need to earn money).
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I was both an engineer and a CFA charter holder.
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Working in your field > working in semi-related field > working in unrelated field > unemployed.
For a new entrant to the labor force, the last two categories have a high likelihood of ending one’s career in the field before it begins, although the second to last one may result in a different career (not necessarily the most desired one or one which one’s education was intended to prepare for).
The bad luck of entering the labor force when the job market is poor increases the likelihood of the last two categories. Not everyone in this situation can afford a “gap year” (graduate school, volunteer work, etc.) until the job market improves.
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100% agree
Also some fields may have more “semi related” jobs than others.
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Yes - but again, let’s move past, i was talking about the poster’s child who mentioned - he only wanted a job where he can do MechE things….so this isn’t going to be their path.
As it is, it’s only December - the student has 6 months to go - as they are in school which I didn’t realize - so they have a long time b4 panic time.
I think part of the issue really is that new graduates don’t always know or realize the kind of options they have. So things that don’t appear to be even semi-related at first glance might actually be so. And I’m not really sure how this gets addressed/how they find out all the possible options they might have, just like engineers may not realize that the financial industry is an option.
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I know many mention fake jobs here. A LinkedIn contact said they are having a hard time filling this one.
It’s media/advertising entry-ish; if anyone is in So Cal, this appears to be a real gig in a tough industry to crack.
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I think this is a really important question. I’d like to say that’s part of the job of a good career services office - to help brainstorm ideas and share information to help students or recent grads think outside the box for possible options. I just remember a million years ago when I was a college senior - at an excellent college - and I went to career services and it felt like the only options for a non-stem person were be an accountant, work at a bank (I don’t mean an investment bank, I mean like your local Wells Fargo or something), go to grad school, go to law school. There were then, and are now, so many more paths than those. Those are fine paths, but the career services people then did not do a great job of helping to expand horizons at all. I sincerely hope that career services folks are better now than they were then.
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I would hope so, but I really have no idea how careers offices work and how they deal with so many students, so many majors, so many options, so many ways to use the transferable skills you learn and not just the obvious outcomes. Maybe this is something AI can help with?
Part of what makes me think about this is C26’s applications (to an architecture major) and what some of the websites say. Most of the schools are …architects design buildings or indicate careers in obviously adjacent areas to do with …designing buildings and living or public spaces. One (I can’t remember which to look it up and see the full list which I don’t remember) listed a whole bunch of possible and wide-ranging options, including game design, set building and historic preservation.
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Sadly college career centers and on campus job fairs vary widely school to school. Some have very robust offerings across all majors, and others do hardly anything at all.
@OctoberKate - FWIW, Clemson is supposed to have a great Career Services Center although it sounds like your younger son is already set for the summer!
I do think AI can be a useful tool in this regards as can finding a mentor already working in the field (alumni networks can be really good for mentoring).
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The current “Best Practices” in Career Services is to have a team which specializes.
So the person advising on fellowships (Truman, Marshall, Rhodes) is NOT the same person who has deep ties within consumer products or oil/gas or banking. And the person who focuses on “how do I get into Med school” is likely the person who also advises OT/PT/Nurses, but not the person who can help walk a student through the Peace Corps/Americorps/Teach For America.
There is no “secret sauce” and a diligent kid who isn’t afraid of networking with professors and alums can do most of this on their own. But there is a bit of a heavy lift involved for someone who has direction ‘I’m really interested in the media industry” but no specific focus beyond that.
The key issue that I am observing is that current students are VERY reluctant to pick up the phone. Not everything can be conducted by IM or text. I serve as a volunteer career mentor for my alma mater and it’s sometimes funny how hard it is to get a college senior to commit to a phone call. I’m a volunteer. If I can be available on Tuesdays between 8-11 am EDT (because that’s the time blocked out on my calendar for “Blossom’s thinking time”) then it’s fine to say “I have a seminar on Tuesday mornings- is there another time that works?” What is a little strange is ‘Oh, just call me sometime when you get a free minute”.
That minute will be never. We either set up a phone meeting or sadly, you will drop to the bottom of my to-do list. And I don’t want to call you when you are on the treadmill, walking across campus, or eating lunch.
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I think many grads, at least at big companies, get hired on and have really no idea what’s out there job wise.
In my industry, everything from distribution to incentives planning to marketing communication to product management to network to PR to service marketing to connectivity to Sales Operations to field sales to insurance products to project management to training to event planning or web leadership and so many more areas. I really don’t think kids think or know about all this kind of stuff. At some companies, like where I initially worked, you do all these things and get well rounded.
At others, you basically stay in one channel.
I just think that after kids get into a place - the world explodes - in regards to what is possible, most of it likely unknown at the beginning even if they get to the right place in the right role initially.
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My daughter insists on video calling with her mentees. She finds it not only more personal and professional, but it ensures the mentee is engaged and paying attention ; )
She was paired with juniors this year which she finds more helpful than seniors because there is a longer runway for coaching. That said, her senior last year did end up getting and accepting an offer in March before graduation.
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IMO, it’s very difficult for students to find meaningful internships after their freshman and sophmore years.
If you’re a junior and havent had any real job experience in the professional world, you’re probably at a huge disadvantage compared to your peers.
Im not sure how many kids think they can wait but they may be way behind and not even realize it, especially those that arent utlizing the career services center early on.
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Having “non career track” positions in colleges is FINE. Anything that shows initiative, ability to work with all kinds of people, taking direction and feedback.
Honestly- some “internships” are make-work at Uncle Charlie’s private wealth management firm. Working as a temp answering phones, checking the weekly supplies order with vendors, and guiding visitors to the right office at a “not Uncle Charlie” company is perfectly OK. Companies understand that after freshman year, a kid likely doesn’t have truly marketable skills. And they also understand title inflation– the kid that used to get the coffee and run the copier machine is now a “Wealth management intern” providing support services and data collection for the principals.
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I often wondered why those young men who type 90 wpm are not taking temp jobs as admins or receptionists at corps in the industry they are hoping to work. Slide that resume over to HR!!!
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