<p>PackMom – Congratulations to you and your son. I can’t help but add that I know two sets of paents whose kids are now officers in our military forces – two in the Army and one in the Navy. All three of the kids went to LACs and graduated without debt. They are alums of West Point and Annapolis.</p>
<p>My son graduated from Penn in 2010 as an English major with a lot of business courses, too. However, he had really good business and work experience and landed a good corporate job with a large, industry-leading company in a very desirable city. He was very smart about his job search. It wasn’t the 6 figure salary he and his classmates had been expecting before the economy crashed, but he’s doing fine.</p>
<p>DS is a self employed and very well educated musician. DD graduated with a double major in two tech fields (engineering and biology). She is in the Peace Corps.</p>
<p>D1, who graduates this May, began job-hunting last month.</p>
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<p>MOWC, did 2010 grads really expect 6 figure salaries, even back in 2006 when they entered college? (I know of only one recent college grad - - STEM from Harvard - - who landed a job with that salary; most were happy just to find paid employment and job in one’s chosen non-STEM field was considered unbelievable good fortune.)</p>
<p>My nephew, class of '10, was just offered a very nice job a couple of days ago, doing web design and PR. He graduated from a big state uni with a major in graphic arts and a minor in business. He’d been picking up odd jobs here and there - designing T-shirts, websites, whatever would bring in some cash. Being debt-free was a huge help - don’t know how he would have managed if he had loans to pay off. The business minor was very helpful also. It gave him a sense of how the business world works and how he could leverage his graphic arts skills to make a contribution.</p>
<p>“Being debt-free was a huge help - don’t know how he would have managed if he had loans to pay off.”</p>
<p>D’s friends who graduated in 2010, lived w/ parents and worked where ever they could - - waitressing, lifeguarding, etc. They started repaying the loans (which are “due” 6 most after graduation) a few months ago. None of them had debt of more than approx $16K - - not as good as debt free, but not an impossible burden.</p>
<p>Our S graduated with an EE degree in May 2010 & is still waiting for the security clearance for the job he accepted in Feb of his senior year. Some of his friends continued on to grad school due to passion & others because of junk job market. Some have gotten jobs while others are still looking. His frosh room mate was an English major & last we heard had not found a job. While he’s waiting, he has moved several times in LA & is now living with us at home, helping us declutter while he waits for his job to start. We are enjoying our time with him before he moves 5000 miles away.</p>
<p>D has friends who graduated in Cinema and many have found cinema jobs in LA. We are hoping she will be able to find something when she graduates next spring, but will see what evolves. It IS a tough job market for them & many other fields.</p>
<p>We are glad that both kids are debt-free, which gives all of us a lot more options and breathing space.</p>
<p>upstatemom – You indication on another thread this morning that your daughter has been accepted at Northeastern, Simmons College and Brandeis. You noted that she is still waiting to hear from Smith, Clark, Hampshire, Tufts, Brown and Penn.</p>
<p>So, your D applied to 4 LACs and 5 research universities. One of the latter is known primarily for its STEM programs and its coop program. The other four, Brandeis, Brown, Penn and Tufts house what are essentially large liberal arts colleges within the larger university.</p>
<p>You ask which one will make her more employable. I would answer that that question largely depends on your D, her course of study, what field she wants to work in, where she wants to work, the quality of her career services program, the contacts she makes and the stregnth of the alumni network. These variables are more significant than the type of school she attends. </p>
<p>An annual ranking of colleges and universities based on starting and mid-career salaries includes a mix of engineering schools, research universities and LACs in the Top 25. While this list does not directly address the issue of employability right out of college, it does indicate that financial success can be obtained regardless of the type of school one attends as an undergraduate. Dartmouth College, incidentally, came out on top, knocking Colgate out of first place. </p>
<p>I frankly don’t think a bright young person is going to handicap herself in the job market by choosing Brown, Penn or Smith over Northeastern.</p>
<p>Just because one’s major is in a profession, doesn’t mean the skills learned in that profession aren’t applicable to other fields as well.</p>
<p>I’m a 2010 graduate of the University of Idaho’s j-school… and the job market for journalists is, as you might expect, godawful. So I took a (paid) AmeriCorps internship with the United States Forest Service, doing public outreach, communications and Web development.</p>
<p>Now I’m on track to enter a federal student-to-career program that will see me head to graduate school to earn a master’s in natural resources, with a guaranteed job as a park ranger-interpreter waiting for me when I finish.</p>
<p>The same skills I used to interview sources and operate a sports blog for my college paper, are being applied to explain science for park visitors and build a social media presence for the visitor center.</p>
<p>It’s about being creative and willing to find a niche. Just because it’s not what you thought you were doing to do after college, doesn’t mean it’s not a rewarding and enjoyable career.</p>
<p>Writing and communication skills are so essential but sadly underrated in our society. Polarscribe, I’m so glad you’ve found your niche and it sounds like you’ll be providing a great service for park visitors as well. H & I would like to be volunteer docents at national parks someday, perhaps after we retire–it’s so relaxing and refreshing to be in the great outdoors!</p>
<p>I’m a 2010 graduate from UR. I got a job three months after graduation at a national magazine as an English major. My college roommate created her own major and now works at the National Archives in D.C. </p>
<p>A friend who was a theatre major is now working on sustainability projects at NYU. Two other friends who were theatre majors are working in theater administration. Another theatre major is working at a non-profit. </p>
<p>I have two or three friends who are currently doing Teach for America with plans to go to law school. Another is on a Fulbright in Korea. Another English major friend works at Random House. Quite a few have taken this year off (doing mission work, volunteering, hiking the Appalachian trail, etc.) before going to grad school or med school. </p>
<p>Quite a few other friends went on immediately to their chosen post-grad schools. One friend who was a studio art major started her own photography business and she is already quite the success. </p>
<p>I really don’t think attending a big state uni vs. an LAC makes much of a difference when it comes to who gets a job and who doesn’t. I think it’s more about the student. The people I know who went to school and pursued their path with a goal in mind–e.g. a particular job or career or industry–are now employed or continue to work toward their goals. The others are struggling because they sort of floated through school, doing whatever interested them without looking forward. No school can guarantee you a job, and neither can a major.</p>
<p>^^^well stated! Thank you.</p>
<p>Upstatemom, consider whether your real concern is how much your daughter will earn in her entry-level job four years from now, or whether she’ll be equipped with a wide range of communication and relational skills that will allow her to advance in her career, whatever that career is. LACs are especially well-equipped to help students build those long-term skills for success, especially when combined with a master degree in a career-related field.</p>
<p>My D who graduated in May is doing a one-year internship at a teaching organic farm and artisan cheese-making operation. She’s loving it and adding some business and public relations skills to the Government degree she got last spring. Am I concerned about her long-term career prospects? Not a bit.</p>
<p>All 3 of mine have only a B.A. and moved to cities they prefer right after college. Nobody has returned to live with us. </p>
<p>S-1, as an independent contractor, has been a working actor in NYC for 5 years with an ambitious theater company reviewed this week in the NYTimes and New York Magazine. He’s acted in numerous independent films for pay and runs his own business in theatrical photography. To get up to the next level re: access to a wider range of acting auditions, he’ll need professional representation. He graduated a top-10 LAC, double-majoring in Theater and Music.</p>
<p>D first worked fulltime as a nursery school teacher, then fulltime with a for-profit circus, as performer and backscenes person. Both employers were decimated by the recession. She’s getting through this winter working as a barista to pay bills. Of the 3, she’s having the hardest time. She graduated a top-30 LAC, majoring in Religion and Art.</p>
<p>S-2 is finishing up his B.A. in Screenwriting and History, one semester early outside Los Angeles. He’s virtually graduated, except for 3 credits he’s taking right now. To improve his geographic access to film-related internships, he moved to West Hollywood to live free with family friends. He quickly found an internship in a small, dynamic film production and management agency that represents writers and directors (not actors). He has a restaurant job, too. He’s at work very actively on films, mostly short features, with his alumni network around L.A.</p>
<p>A few of my friends who graduated in 2009 or 2010:</p>
<p>-English and French major (top 75 LAC): Works two jobs–one as an employment coordinator for people with cognitive and psychiatric disabilities and one as parking attendant (taking parking stubs and the whatnot). She lived at home for the first seven or so months after graduation but upon getting the second job was able to move out.</p>
<p>-Business major (relatively unknown flagship public university): Got a job with a large corporation several months before graduation. Still working for them.</p>
<p>-Accounting major (top 50 flagship state u): Quickly secured a job with a major accounting firm.</p>
<p>-Communications major (relatively unknown flagship state u): Worked as a hostess for a year while applying to Peace Corps. Got accepted and is now in Africa and loving it.</p>
<p>-Engineering major (relatively well-regarded tech school): Graduated in December. Still looking for a job but is somewhat geographically bound due to her BF and is still deciding what she wants in a career.</p>
<p>-Fashion merchandising major (for-profit design school): Graduated in December. Has a job working in fashion merchandising and apparently makes enough to support herself in LA.</p>
<p>-Health and Human Performance major (relatively unknown flagship state u): Had a paid internship in her field starting a few months after graduation. Works in customer service for a large company–not sure if she’s still doing the internship as well or not.</p>
<p>-Illustration major (well-respected art school): Works part-time at the library and builds her portfolio and customer base. Lives at home.</p>
<p>-HYP grad (I’m not sure of her major): Works in consulting. Excellent money but killer hours.</p>
<p>-Business major (local LAC): Got a temp job for the county that turned into a full time job. Got a lot of interview offers from companies but turned most of them down.</p>
<p>-Art History/Anthropology major (top 10 university): Works part-time at a museum and lives at home while applying for grad school.</p>
<p>-International relations major (top 20, maybe top 10? LAC): Worked for a re-election campaign through November. Not exactly sure what she does now, but she’s able to support herself living close to where she attended school.</p>
<p>-English major (decently known non-flagship public u): Works full-time in HR.</p>
<p>-Classics major (well-respected regional LAC): Works part-time as a speech pathologist’s assistant. Works on a novel in her spare time.</p>
<p>Some grad school and even marriage thrown in there as well, although many (most?) of the married ones still work or are in grad school. There’s a lot of variation, as you can tell, and I think the economy has hit hard, but interestingly enough, my friends with non-major-related jobs don’t really seem to mind that much–everyone who has a job just seems happy to have one, period.</p>
<p>Thumper1- my D is very interested in the Peace Corp. Did you D go right after college? Was it hard to get in? If you don’t mind my asking, where is she and does she like it? Thanks.</p>
<p>psych–thanks for the list; it’s great to hear about all the different post grad experiences of your friends. All the comments have definitely made me feel better about the LAC opportunities. </p>
<p>I remember when I was going to college (a zillion years ago), many of my friends were studying what I thought were dead end majors in LACs. I had a definite profession in mind, but of course, I changed many times and ended up majoring in something totally impractical. However, I have been very successful in my professional life. At the time though, the cost of living was much lower and college didn’t cost an arm and a leg (and yes, I do know that everything is relative). So I did not come out of college with mountains of debt.</p>
<p>Upstate, I sent you a PM.</p>
<p>Neighbor’s two S’s both went to highly ranked big state u. Her S1 majored in geography and is now a police officer. Her S2 ('10 grad) majored in business and is spending this year in South Korea teaching English at an all girl high school. Neighbor says her S2 is loving it. </p>
<p>Another neighbor’s S graduated from big state u. in '09 with a science degree they thought would be very marketable but almost two years later, he’s still unemployed.</p>
<p>Friend’s S graduated this past December from a state flagship that is ranked among the top U’s in the country … he has a job at a great corporation (one that makes things, which is an attribute near & dear to the hearts of my circle of friends).</p>
<p>D graduated in 2006 with a bio degree from a LAC.
Worked right away ( the summer after graduation- she had a position that was an amplification of her workstudy job) -changing jobs slightly over time-this past fall she began graduate school.</p>