<p><a href=“More than 4 in 5 college seniors don't have jobs lined up”>http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-mo-more-than-4-in-5-college-seniors-dont-have-jobs-lined-up-20140507-story.html</a></p>
<p>Is it all worth it? Are the numbers showing that college degrees eventually earn the graduates more based on data from the past? </p>
<p>I have to wonder specifically where they did the survey. What schools, in particular. I really don’t believe when they said that the technology and engineering students were pretty much in the same boat numerically.</p>
<p>The stats I have seen show more STEM jobs out there than those qualified to work them. There is a sever shortage on a the jobs and careers kids most want to pursue. </p>
<p>I know they didn’t look at engineering at Michigan. I can’t think of a single case where someone graduated with nothing lined up (either a job or grad school or something) after graduation.</p>
<p>True, the data is rather thin. How many people were surveyed? Across what areas geographically? Were the survey participants self-selected? Are they trying to drive people to their website? </p>
<p>Anecdotally, however, it is still rough out there for college grads. </p>
<p><a href=“2023’s Best & Worst Places to Start a Career”>2023’s Best & Worst Places to Start a Career;
<p>Recent article on hiring for this year</p>
<p>I have to wonder about that article, sax. They rank them based upon both quality of life and professional opportunities. Doesn’t really make sense.</p>
<p>For example, San Jose got ranked fairly low because though professional opportunities were ranked #7, quality of living #112. Well, San Jose is a beautiful place to live. No doubt ranked low in quality of life because it’s expensive. But you can live further out, and many of the jobs there pay big bucks. Plus, Tacoma WA got ranked fairly low, even though professional opportunities were #9. Quality of living was ranked way down there, #116. The city isn’t so great, but you can live just a little bit out of Tacoma in absolutely gorgeous places, that are fairly inexpensive. I think they ranked Pittsburgh as #9 for quality of living. Very bizarre conclusions.</p>
<p>One thing to be careful of surveys of new graduates is to make note of when the surveys were taken. Surveys of students before graduation will show lower rates of employment than surveys six months or a year after graduation, because not all students who find employment will do so before graduation.</p>
<p>sax, that’s an interesting survey but one of the worst graphics I’ve ever seen! Smaller size means a higher rank (because it’s a lower number) - this ends up burying the highest ranked cities in nearby blobs. Green is better, red is worse with weird dull green in between. Strange.</p>
<p>Also, DC is number 1? The job outlook is generally good here but living is also expensive. </p>
<p>My graduating daughter tells me all of her friends are having problems getting jobs - except the one graduating from Wharton, he has a job lined up already (in DC). But she is staying with her campus job; one friend is going straight to med school; one is going home to unemployment. She said the majority are staying with their campus jobs and then moving on to grad school.</p>
<p>I think it really depends on the location, college, major, and most importantly, how you spent your college years. I know many at the local public who graduated with bachelor degrees in all types of majors who now are jobless. They are the ones who partied their way through college and really did not take their education seriously. All the ones who did take it seriously, worked hard, and took advantage of the opportunities provided to them got wonderful jobs right out of college. I think a lot depends on whether or not you spent your college years wisely.</p>
<p>A friend’s S has been out of Law Sch. for two years now and still doesn’t have a "real " job. He does a p/t telecommute clerk job for a judge in DC I think. My friend had hoped that this job would be a good stepping stone but it hasn’t happened yet. She is beginning to think he will never practice law and still have law school loans to pay off.</p>
<p>Law has been very hard hit in the last few years. I’ve seen ads for file clerks in law firms that say “No lawyers need apply”, that’s how bad it is.</p>
<p>The college grads I know that aren’t going to professional school are getting jobs that they could have gotten without a degree or they are going to technical school to become radiation techs, that sort of thing. I think the statistics on how many grads are moving back home tells the sad economic story. When I graduated college (back in the Stone Age), none of my friends even considered moving back home. We were able to get first apartments with our jobs, and none of us had the crushing debt many of today’s graduates have. </p>
<p>^ Well moving back home doesn’t always mean they don’t have a job. I also graduated back in the stone age and did move home for about a year to save money. We have friends whose kids have or did do the same thing. Think how much money they can save by not paying rent even if it’s only 6 months to a year.</p>
<p>The people I know who are having trouble finding jobs are the ones who have no imagination, are only applying to one very specific type of job even though they have very broad degrees, and have no idea how to market themselves to the different fields they have available to them given their degrees of choice. </p>
<p>That isn’t to say it’s not hard out there, because I know it is. I had a job and was looking for a different one-- ANYTHING, really-- and after a year I was still coming up empty, it is hard. But the people I know who haven’t even been able to land that first job, I think they have no idea how to job hunt properly.</p>
<p>D graduating in June - from business school ‘only’ in the top 60 Accounting degree. She’s employed come this November…offer was made last October. Salary, benefits and PTO such that she will be self supporting in a rather high rent area of the country. Good number of classmates going to ‘big 4’.</p>
<p>D-s BF…graduated from same school - engineering ranked in the top 10. Full funded grad and PhD program in Big Bang Country. Fellow classmates all employed (or going to grad school) as far as I can tell.</p>
<p>Friend of D and BF - graduating from same school with a liberal arts degree (not sure of the flavor). Hired on with company which runs big buses to their campus. Also at a very livable wage. </p>
<p>This particular learning environment ‘employes’ a very practical and hands on portion in their curriculum. </p>
<p>I think the job prospects are commiserate with the ability of the individual to start contributing day one.</p>
<p>Anecdotal evidence is all very well and good. But I suppose the statistics look at the overall picture for all graduates - private and public schools, all majors, etc. Quite frankly, I don’t really care what the statistics say, I just want my D to find a job with a salary that can support her. Graduates on Sunday, still searching. Can’t “move home” (no work visa where parents are working), so we will have to subsidize her until she finds something. </p>
<p>My husband and I got our master’s degrees in engineering from UT-Austin in May, 1986. If you had surveyed me in April, 1986, I would have responded that I had a job. But then oil prices fell by 50% (down to $13/barrel!), and the Texas economy STOPPED. The man who wanted to hire me had to rescind the offer. Even with high GPAs and work experience, it took us six months to find work. We sent out almost 300 resumes all over the country. That was scary! I’m glad we stuck it out, because now our quality of life is good (we work as consultants out of our home).</p>
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<p>Different schools have different surveying and reporting methodologies, so one must use care when comparing between schools, or trying to aggregate the results between different schools.</p>
<p>@Emaheevul07 I agree: Many new grads don’t know how today’s job search is done in their fields of choice. </p>