Last week I discussed, or shall I say ranted about, the many issues that recent and soon-to-be college graduates are facing.
While I stand by and support what I wrote, it is very unlike me to look at things with such a negative attitude.
This being said, I decided to search for the silver lining, because I strongly believe that most, if not all, situations have a benefit of some type.
I believe that there is something to look forward to after college despite all we may hear about the difficulty of landing good jobs.
For example, last week I quoted that the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics compiled data that showed, “that the unemployment rate for those under twenty-five is typically at least twice the national average, because they are so new to the job market, lack experience and may be the first let go when a company has to downsize in hard economic times.”
However, according to a more recent article in the Huffington Post from this past August, the exact same source — the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — shows that, “recent college graduates have always had an unemployment rate about two percentage points higher than for all college grads, other researchers have concluded.”
They say young workers have a higher unemployment rate than workers of all ages.
Aha, silver lining! So, yes, the unemployment rate for recent graduates could be better, but that’s also old news. This article also quotes an analysis written this year for the New York Federal Reserve proving this is true.
The analysis, Are Recent College Graduates Finding Good Jobs?, reveals “by historical standards, underemployment rates for recent college graduates have indeed been quite high since the onset of the Great Recession. Moreover, underemployment among recent graduates . . . is also on the rise, part of a trend that began with the 2001 recession.”
The analysis then states that their researchers compared the experiences of recent graduates nowadays with recent graduates from years passed and that both high underemployment and high unemployment are common for young people who have just received their degrees because they “require some time to transition into the labor market.”
On one hand, this makes sense. And it explains why so many of us considering our future options tend to keep our part-time jobs, or jobs unrelated to our degrees, until we can gain more experience and work our way up. On the other hand, those of us who have just graduated are in some sense the best candidates.
Though of course it depends on the job itself, the fact of the matter is that most companies, just like everything else in our world, are constantly evolving and adjusting to keep up with the new times.
Looking at it this way, we would be the most beneficial addition for them due to the fact that everything we have learned is the freshest it’s ever going to be in our heads.
The most recent graduates are the ones who can offer the most in terms of new information. So, the odds of finding a full-time dream job related to one’s major immediately after graduation may not statistically be in our favor, but this is neither breaking news nor the worst news.
The silver lining? We won’t be the most recent graduating class forever, and we have plenty of time until then.
Becca Falk can be contacted at bfalk@kscequinox.com
