According to last year’s April report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, over 50 percent of college graduates holding a bachelor’s degree were unemployed or employed in an unrelated field. This figure applied to graduates under 25 years old, which may sound rather disheartening for seniors excited about facing “the real world,” and are trying desperately to remain optimistic in the face of a still sludgy economy. So do any of these storm clouds look to have a silver lining?
Dr. Stephen Byers, assistant professor and student publications adviser in the Diederich College of Communication, had a positive outlook in his Wednesday, April 25 post on the Marquette Student Media Blogspot, “Journalism Graduates Have Lower Unemployment Rate Than Average College Grads.”
“Everybody knows journalism schools are turning out students who can’t get a job, right? Wrong. A new study from Georgetown University (which doesn’t have a journalism school) says the unemployment rate for journalism school graduates is below the average of other recent college graduates, as well as being lower than the general unemployment rate,” Byers says.
He continues, “The survey said that recent college graduates with an undergraduate degree in journalism have a 7.7 percent unemployment rate; experienced grads have a 6 percent rate, and people with graduate degrees in journalism have only a 3.8 percent unemployment rate.”
While this certainly is a mood lifter for journalism majors, are there any other good news for those in different fields? According to a recent Boston.com business article, one of the “Highest-Paying Jobs for Recent College Graduates,” is investment banking. The article also touts a preferred background is a “bachelor’s degree in economics, business, or math.”
The article goes on to let us know that engineering and computer science degrees are still popular, as are the job titles of internet marketer or financial analyst. For those more artistically inclined, web designers continue to be in luck, and the good old staple of registered nurse rounds out the top ten.
Other hopeful news per CNN Money.com, Annalyn Kurtz reports in her April 11, 2013 article, “Jobless Claims Point to Fewer Layoffs,” that:
“Claims for unemployment benefits are on a roller coaster ride again, falling dramatically last week after rising sharply a week earlier.”
Kurtz writes: “Jobless claims are closely correlated with layoffs. The numbers indicate that firms seem to be maintaining their existing workforces. Other data from the Labor Department, released earlier this week, also back up that layoffs are back to pre-recession levels.”
Although no one’s future is ever written in stone, it certainly could not hurt to keep a positive outlook upon graduation. Keep an open mind and enjoy the discovery process of where your particular career path may lead you.