<p>Economic Policy Institute reports: "[T]he class of 2010, which will be entering a labor market with the highest rates of unemployment in at least a generation. It also shows that unemployment rates for both college graduates and non-graduates younger than 25 are nearly double their pre-recession levels.</p>
<p>Since the start of the recession, the youth labor force (workers age 16 to 24) has contracted by 1.1 million workers, and most young adults who come across hard economic times will fall through the large gaps in the public safety net." The</a> Class of 2010</p>
<p>I think the worst thing about high rates of unemployment during a recessing for college graduates is it follows them throughout their career. Lower salaries will haunt them for decades.</p>
<p>My friend’s daughter is a graduating senior. She accepted a good job offer with very competitive salary back in February.</p>
<p>After seeing her daughter and her daughter’s friends job searching experience, she said that top students from top schools with marketable majors don’t have trouble looking for employment. But others would have more difficulty.</p>
<p>It is bad, I agree. But I just graduated in December '09 and I’ve landed a GREAT job! It’s not as much money as I would like, but I have lots of opportunity to move up. My brother also graduated recently and landed a great job. Both of us went to state schools and had average grades (okay, his were a little better than average and mine were a little below average, but who’s counting?).</p>
<p>I think the key is this: </p>
<p>Approach the job search with an open mind. Remember that the narrower you are with the positions you are willing to take, the less chance you have of finding something. I knew I wanted to work in non-profits, but I kept it open past that. I was willing to work with ANY kind of non-profit in just about any role. If I had gone with my original plans, I would have only wanted to work with a non-profit that works with children and/or animals doing event planning and fundraising. That cuts out hundreds of jobs right there. Because I approached it without specifics of what I wanted and where I wanted to be, I found a job I never would’ve thought of and I am doing something I didn’t even realize one could do for a career.</p>
<p>One other thing I did that I feel really helped me out, and I know not everyone is able to do this, but I planned WAY ahead. I didn’t renew the lease at the place I was living, put all of my stuff in storage and sucked it up and stayed with my mom 'til the semester was over and I graduated. Then, I picked number of locations across the US where I had contacts and people I could stay with and looked for jobs in those places. I ended up finding a job in both Atlanta AND DC and I had family or friends to stay with in both places. All of my stuff was in storage so I just took myself and my clothes up to DC with me, stayed with some friends for a few weeks while I started my job and looked for an apartment. Once I found a place and had a bit of money saved up, I moved my stuff from storage up here and voila! It sounds complicated and hard to do, but if you plan it right, I really feel anyone can do it! It’s not like I had rich parents supporting me or anything. It’s all about planning and being willing to tough out bad situations for a little while if they help you get somewhere better more quickly.</p>
<p>Oh yeah, also keep in mind that you aren’t going to be making the salary you would’ve been making 3 years ago. You are going to have to start out lower than you want. That’s okay! Just because you start low, doesn’t mean you will stay low. You have to be willing to start SOMEWHERE!</p>
<p>Being able to find a job depends on many factors, and keeping your options open and your focus wide will provide greater results. If you will accept nothing less than X and Y, you may be in for a big disappointment.</p>
<p>Another thing to consider is that they older generation is not retiring. They are staying on and keeping their jobs as long as they can (or need to). The record number of college grads is not helping the job market, either.</p>
<p>On top of it, it really boils down to the degree and what the student majored in. Did the degree offer enough breadth, or was it narrowly focused? Are there tons of graduates with the same degree, or is the degree obscure? People laugh at ‘useless degrees’, but the person who majored in music therapy is not going to have a hard time finding a job because it is such a niche field. The accounting major or lawyer might have a hard time because those fields have been flooded for at least two decades now (yet students still study these subjects in college). The business major might have to suck it up and manage a Mc Ds. </p>
<p>Of course that depends on the school. A lawyer or business major from a top school will usually not have a problem getting a good job. </p>
<p>As for the GPA. Most career fields could care less about GPA and the ones that do, it usually becomes nil after you have worked your first job. GPA usually only matters in high-profile type of jobs such as going from Harvard Law into a Big Law firm.</p>
<p>The only country that I am speaking of is the US. Maybe other countries do take GPA into account, but this is primarily a forum for US schools. </p>
<p>I already said that in some instances and fields GPA does play a role.</p>
<p>I have been working for more than 25 years. But during the interview for my current job 2 years ago the VP of the company still asked what my GPA was.</p>
<p>I don’t believe foreign countries care a lot about GPA (only at graduation time for job, location selection). You only need to show the diploma after having some experience. I think only the US stresses on GPA, from high school to after graduation. If you have low GPA then you have to prepare to explain in order to get hired.</p>
<p>My daughter graduated in 2008, right before the recession hit with a vengeance. One day soon after graduation, she sent out 58 resumes, and heard back from one potential employer. After several interviews, she got the job and moved to New York State in order to be employed as a hydrogeologist at a small environmental consulting firm. The pay was not great, but the experience was terrific. After a week of interviews recently, she has just been offered four jobs in her field, with a much better salary and a graduate-school tuition benefit as well. </p>
<p>The lesson: in this challenging job environment, graduates need to be flexible and ready to uproot for a that first job, but, once they have logged some experience, they will find many more doors opening. </p>
<p>I won’t, because I didn’t say that. I said that an unintelligent person having a strong GPA was evidence against the flynn effect as an explanation for GPA increases (and evidence for grade inflation).</p>
<p>Hopefully the large increase in unemployment will be offset by the impending retirement of baby boomers, allowing for recent graduates to receive more lucrative jobs.</p>
<p>Also keep in account unemployment is generally underestimated. A student who just graduated from a decent college w/ a decent GPA will not be counted in unemployment if he cannot get a job because he was never part of the labor force.</p>
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