<p>Good read, thx.</p>
<p>“My degree is in economics, and I was looking for a job in the sports industry. I work at a deli.”</p>
<p>We just added a sports mgt degree and they expect to have about 400 students in the next couple of years. It is not filled with rigorous courses either, very little critical thinking/writing. Good luck with that.</p>
<p>What may be of interest is Berkeley’s class of 2011 career survey:
<a href=“https://career.berkeley.edu/Major/Major.stm[/url]”>https://career.berkeley.edu/Major/Major.stm</a></p>
<p>For graduates in some majors, such as Computer Science, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Applied Mathematics, Industrial Engineering and Operations Research, Business Administration, and Economics, the bachelor’s level job prospects appear to be well on their way to recovery. But for graduates in other majors, such as Molecular and Cell Biology, Integrative Biology, English, Art Practice, Astrophysics, Public Health, Social Welfare, Architecture, and Landscape Architecture, the bachelor’s level job prospects are still poor.</p>
<p>The article is a bit unbalanced. Perhaps a quarter to a third of Drew graduates are STEM majors, but you’d never know it from the article.</p>
<p>I’m not too impressed with an article that feels the need to highlight sentences. I don’t consider that good etiquette when it comes from other CC posters, I certainly expect better from the New York Times. Maybe I’m expecting too much.</p>
<p>$ 100k in loans? That would be crazy for any school, let alone Drew.</p>
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<p>Seems to be a decent recovery in home prices and sales in California (see the thread in the Parents Cafe) - maybe that will create future demand?</p>
<p>But future demand may help current freshmen, not the current new graduates</p>
<p>I am so sick of these articles. And picking Drew (a U with a terrible record of extending merit and FA) to base examples on?!?</p>
<p>That being said, I know so many kids (non stem, non going to law school, med school, dental school)) who graduated from great schools and didn’t have a job lined up. So they went out, got any old job or even two, kept looking, and a year or two down the road got the ENTRY LEVEL job of their dreams. a few years down the road, with experience under their belts, they have moved up the ladder or into another, better position somewhere else. Rinse and repeat for the next 40 something yrs of their lives. The normal process most of us had to go through after we graduated. I have no idea what makes anyone think they are going to get a great job right off the bat, in their chosen field. </p>
<p>This is what life is like and always has been. </p>
<p>Yes, college is more expensive now, but when I got out of school, my first job paid $15K/yr and I got it through a connection. </p>
<p>Is it the constant of instant gratification this generation has grown up with?</p>
<p>I like using Drew because not a WOW type elite school and not a bad one either. People are sick of reading about a few Yale grads without jobs. But MANY more go to schools the level of Drew and lower==probably 2500 out of 3000 colleges give or take. And in much worse locations far from mega job markets. Have they been oversold on college for non-engineering etc majors? maybe.</p>
<p>I’d rather they look to see how kids from state schools, like, for example, Stoneybrook are doing as they aren’t generally $100K+ in debt when they graduate.</p>
<p>Well, it seems from the comments to the article that Drew graduates carry an average of $20k in debt, not $100k +. As has been mentioned many times on these boards, for some students receiving need-based or even merit aid, a private school can have a lower sticker price than an in-state flagship. </p>
<p>I would still want to know, however, if everything else being equal, a graduate who majored in English, French, or history at Stony Brook or Penn State is faring any better in professional school or graduate school admissions, or in the job market, than a Drew graduate. (I might want to know this about STEM majors offered at each school, as well.)</p>
<p>What seemed to resonate with me, from this article, is that parental connections seemed to play the largest role in who is getting jobs, and the types of jobs that graduates are getting. Just by asking around informally, I am stunned by how many young people in my area get their internships and first jobs through parental networks, or at the very least enter a field in which a parent or close relative already works. This seems especially true in fields outside of STEM, and in schools that are not well-known among potential employers. I suppose YMMV.</p>
<p>Out of curiosity, I might want to know how many freshmen in any major were looking forward to applying to medical school, dental school, law school, or other graduate school (parental connections would not matter so much or at all in these cases), but did not, or could not, follow through, for any number of reasons including loss of confidence in ROI for further education. </p>
<p>And, yeah, I think it is becoming wise to budget for an extra year to take career-oriented courses, if original plans fall through or a major falls out of favor with potential employers.</p>
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<p>We found that connections in general worked far better than any other form of application. I was at a job seminar a few decades ago and it had some statistic on the number of jobs found through connections and the number was very high and I didn’t believe it because I got my first few jobs from agencies. But I got my last 3 jobs (my last five jobs were in the same company) from people that knew me well.</p>
<p>It could be parent networks or alumni networks - if you have them, use them!</p>
<p>My advice to students (and their parents) who are anxious about post graduation employment, is don’t wait until March of your Senior year to start thinking about it. </p>
<p>No one springs fully formed from a liberal arts education into a prosperous career. Along the way you have summer jobs and internships, attend seminars and conferences, get to know professors who can write kind and personal recommendations, make connections with alumni/ae in your field. Become a regular “customer” of our college’s career counseling office. Ask your parents, your parents’ friends, neighbors and relatives for suggestions. Everyone likes to give advice and some of it is actually helpful.</p>
<p>In other words, you need to build a resume of work experience and related accomplishment that will at least allow your foot to keep the door open while you track down opportunities.</p>
<p>I often quote everyone’s favorite poster Curmudgeon (this is more a paraphrase) Don’t just pull on those strings: Yank them!</p>