College graduates struggle to find jobs in a tough economy.
According to a study released by the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University, in May 2011, only 56% of college graduates in 2010 were able to find a job after graduation, as compared to the 90% of graduates from the 2006/2007 class. This statistic alone shows the sign of how hard economic times adversely affect the new college graduates that are entering the type of job market where even experienced workers are having a hard time finding a job—causing some white collar professionals to turn to bartending and waitressing to make ends meet.
Get Your Foot in the Door before Graduation
One of the key elements to make sure that you have a job in your career field is to plan ahead of time. One or even two years before you graduate, look for internship opportunities and part-time work with firms, businesses, organizations and companies in your field of study, or in the line of work you are interested in pursuing. When you intern or work with a company while you are finishing your studies, and you show what a great asset you can be to the company, you are likely to receive an offer for full-time work as you near graduation.
In other words, do not wait until you are about to graduate or after you have already graduated to scramble to look for work. Especially in a tough economy, the longer lead-time you have to start preparing for your post-graduation work, the better your chances are of setting up the process you need to go through to land a full-time position when graduation time does come.
Go Back to School
It may sound ironic or as if it is a procrastination tactic, but some careers truly require a higher education degree, such as a master’s degree or Ph.D., to find a job. For example, psychology majors are finding that an undergraduate degree in this field is simply not enough to land them a job in their career field. Not only does going back to school, or continuing your education, allow you to obtain the degree you need to start working in your field, but it also puts you back in the job market in what is hopefully a better economy and as a more marketable job candidate.
Be Persistent
Finding a job is, well, a full-time job. Even if you have to take on a job that’s not what you expected to be able to pay your bills, continue to look for a job. In other words, do not just take a job to make enough money to make ends meet, get stuck in a rut and expect the job of your dreams to just land in your lap. If it means working full-time, 40 hours a week at a job, but coming home each night and spending two hours looking for jobs in your field, sending out resumes and contacting companies that you want to work for (even if they don’t have jobs posted) to market yourself as a possible candidate, then do it.
While you will receive rejection emails, letters and no’s on the telephone, do not allow this to discourage you. Persistence does pay off.
Follow Your Entrepreneurial Spirit
When you cannot find a job in your career path, you can create a job in your career path. You can go through the process of officially opening your own business. You can also work side gigs while working a full-time job. Many part-time gigs turn into full-time gigs, depending on what the line of work is and how hard you work at turning the side gig into full-time work.
For example, a journalism or marketing graduate may aspire to become a full-time writer. Scour websites, such as Craigslist.org, Guru.com and eLance.com, to find and bid on writing gigs. First, landing some of these gigs helps you to bring in extra money. More importantly, however, it also helps you to build up a pipeline of work and even land regular clients to the point where one day your side gigs turn into your full-time gig—and doing what you set out to do in the first place.
Go Where the Jobs Are
While the entire country is affected by the downturn in the economy, there are states, cities and regions that have tons of jobs, but don’t have enough candidates to fill the positions. Do your homework to find out where the jobs are and go after them. Landing a job in a different city doesn’t mean you have to stay there forever, but it does provide you with the opportunity to start your career and apply for positions in the places where you want to live in the meantime.
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If you answered yes but don’t know exactly what field you would like to pursue, let this list help you in making your decision. I have included the estimated salary per year according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics as an extra dose of motivation. Don’t be intimated by this upcoming list, if you want to pursue a degree in a particular field because you think you would be great at it, then I say go for it. Like I have said in posts past you will never know unless you give it a try.
10 careers with online degrees
- Have you ever considered Web Design? Web designers tend to get a decent pay in the upper pay scale starting at $76,450. a year.
- Registered Nurse- You may be thinking to yourself that this career field is becoming the popular choice, mainly among moms. Why? Check out the estimated pay scale: $93,700 a year. Definitely not too shabby. I have a few friends who are registered nurses and they say that all the hard work truly pays off in the end. You can certainly see evidence of this statement in the numbers.
- Massage Therapist-Many moms consider this line of work because you can do it in your home if you so choose. The pay scale isn’t as high as a Web Designer or Registered Nurse but it certainly is a successful pay: $68.670.
- Network Administrator- Believe it or not Network Administration is a very successful line of work. How successful? Around $105,970 a year. Now I say that is successful.
- Software Developer- What exactly is a Software Developer? Someone in this field of work has a broader sense of computer programming, etc. The yearly income for this career: $113,380.
- Certified Public Accountant- This line of work a year is definitely not something to overlook, especially if you are good with numbers. The yearly income for this career field:$104,450
- Special Education Teacher- If you have a passion for children, especially with special needs, this career is definitely for you. The pay scale is higher than a regular teacher, the yearly pay: $79,850.
- Environmental Engineer- If you really want to climb up the ladder, environmental engineering is something to consider especially if you are environmentally minded. Yearly pay:$115,750
- Criminal Investigator- Though being a criminal investigator is less pay than I thought it would be, the yearly pay still isn’t too shabby: $99,980.
- Forensic Psychologist- For the highest paid field to pursue a career in this one takes the cake. Forensic Psychologists make around $117,470 a year.
Out of all of these 10 listed, which one stood out to you the most as something you could definitely do? Don’t look at the salary but the job title. Only you know what your talents and qualities are. With that you can apply it to any one of these jobs.
FYI: How much will you earn as a college graduate? Check out the average income of college graduates infographic right here on classesandcareers.com.
*If you are ready to jump on the college bandwagon so that you may graduate with a college degree, visit our online list of schools and degrees here on classesandcareers.com.
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Bryant & Stratton College, one of the leading higher education schools for online associate’s degrees, is hosting a free webinar series about post-graduation career opportunities for existing and prospective students throughout the month of April.
The classes will be lead by Kim Dority, an experienced speaker who has presented at numerous career conferences using her perspective as a career coach, information specialist and founder of Dority & Associates, Inc, an online content development company.
Anyone looking for tips and tricks on how to get ahead in their career path can benefit from the three-part series, which emphasizes that students should be preparing for life after graduation long before donning the ceremonial cap and gown.
Coupled with the rough economy, today’s competitive job market necessitates that students plan for their career as early as high school. Even college graduates will have to prove their worth, no longer being able to flash a college degree and land their dream job.
Dority stressed this point, saying that although having a college degree is essential to developing a career, job-seekers must do more to stand out among the competition.
She said recent college graduates who have little experience have trouble promoting themselves and building upon their skills after graduation. But, with the help of networking and “building their professional brand,” job-seekers can distinguish themselves from other job applicants, she said.
Her webinars are set to explain exactly how to take these steps, breaking the process into three topics.
Dority’s first webinar for Bryant & Stratton College, entitled “Jumpstart Your Career,” will be a general introduction to the idea of starting to plan for career opportunities before graduation day. The second webinar, “Build Your Professional Brand” explains how students can display their experience, personal and professional strengths and interests to the career world, helping them to establish value further than the points listed on their printed resume.
The third and final webinar, “How To Build a Resilient Career,” points out that even after finding a post-graduation job, people must continue to plan for their future in order to have a true career. Dority advises that a resilient career comes by making wise and informed decisions, taking responsibility for those decisions and rolling with the punches when plans are taken in a different direction. Confidence is another key point stressed in this webinar.
Scott Traylor, Associate Campus Director for Online Education at Bryant & Stratton College, said he is excited the college is able to offer Dority’s knowledge free of charge, to anyone who is interested. He said the webinars are intended to get people thinking about how they can become actively pursue their future by positioning themselves for success before college graduation. And as employers receive hundreds of applications for a single job description, viewers of the webinars will ideally learn how to stand out in the crowd.
The webinars also include a free hand-out that is available for download at Bryant & Stratton College’s Web site.
For information about specific dates and times of the webinar series, visit www.bryantstratton.edu.
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