All Educated With Nowhere to Go: 1 in 2 College Graduates Jobless Or Underemployed

April 23rd, 2012 - By Brande Victorian

At one point, young professionals were said to be the least affected by the down economy, as older workers were being pushed out in favor of cheap labor and forced to rely on diminished retirement savings to survive. The fact that the young labor force would have time to build up their 401ks was seen as their saving grace but you can’t put money up for retirement when you don’t have a job at all.

That’s the reality painted by a new analysis of government data conducted for The Associated Press that has found about 1.5 million, or 53.6 percent, of bachelor’s degree-holders under the age of 25 were unemployed or severely underemployed last year. That number is the highest it’s been in at least 11 years.

“Simply put, we’re failing kids coming out of college,” said Andrew Sum, director of the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University who analyzed the numbers. “We’re going to need a lot better job growth and connections to the labor market, otherwise college debt will grow.”

Professional prospects varied by industry and region. For instance, demand is strong in science, education, and health fields, but dwindling in the arts and humanities. Median wages are lower for those with bachelor’s degrees across the board when compared to 2000 data, and sadly most future job openings are projected to be in lower-skilled positions such as home health aides, who can provide personalized attention for the aging population.

According to government projections released last month, only three of the 30 occupations with the largest projected number of job openings by 2020 will require a bachelor’s degree or higher to fill the position — teachers, college professors and accountants,” Yahoo news report. “Most job openings are in professions such as retail sales, fast food and truck driving, jobs which aren’t easily replaced by computers.

The Mountain West was most likely to have young college graduates jobless or underemployed—about 3 out of 5. Grads in the rural southeast followed behind, while the Pacific region ranked high on the list as well. The south, particularly Texas, appears to be the place to be right now. The area was was most likely to have young college graduates in higher-skill jobs.

In more sobering news, American workers are also struggling to compete with educated foreign-born residents for jobs and degree inflation as more and more young people earn bachelor’s degrees, making them commonplace for low-wage jobs, but inadequate for higher-paying ones. Sigh.

What advice would you give a recent grad trying to make it as a young professional?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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  • Stippia

    Work while in school because it helps tons!! You are not a kid in college you need to work because you get all the scoop on jobs while you are working and in school plus its impressive too… it helps u build a resume .

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Pamela-Kennedy/100001233602883 Pamela Kennedy

      On-campus jobs are few and far between and off-campus jobs want you to ALREADY have the Bachelor’s or higher degree before they’ll hire you. Work while you’re on-campus, WHERE? The whole REASON I went to Yale was because there’s no way I would have been able to get a job doing anything at all with just a high school diploma and a typing speed of 57wpm with no errors back in the 80′s. And it’s just gotten progressively worse since then.

  • ♥kiss♥ my♥passion♥

    My advice:  apply, apply, apply.  Let your pride take a back seat and apply for jobs that may not necessarily be at the same level as the degree you’ve earned. I have a Master’s degree with the intent to go on to a PhD program and I worked at a hotel, bar and the airport. (I don’t like being stuck doing the same stuff all the time so the more jobs for me the better.)  I also encourage people to look outside of their local areas, start looking at rural areas, out of state areas, look internationally as well. 

    You also want to make sure you have an excellent resume and always carry a portfolio, business cards, and have references on standby. You never know when there might be an opportunity might be right in front of your face.

    Depending on how dedicated you are, become self employed.  I’m just sayin’ if you aren’t doing anything anyway why not?  Get all of the legal stuff out of the way and do what you do while looking for jobs that are in your field.  I find that when you aren’t really focused on the project the universe will finally decide to throw you a bone.  My life example happens to be right when I was about to finish the last of my legal documents and trademark stuff I had 2 job offers in my field.   Go figure, right?

    Good luck to all and don’t give up no matter how frustrated you are you will find something or something will eventually find you.

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Pamela-Kennedy/100001233602883 Pamela Kennedy

      Eventually meaning you’d better hope that your references from college don’t get old and die or forget who you are by the time something comes alone. I’m talking decades, not just months, here.

  • Jimmy Swaggerd

    Good luck to all the new college grads!!! Woo-hoo!!

    Buy used cars, contribute to your 401K starting on day one, find a reliable roommate, marry a black person, and don’t catch a DUI … you’ll thank yourself in your 30′s.

    • Brownielocks

       Can’t argue with a d@mn thing on that list… I’d like to add, though, watch those credit cards…

  • Sabrina

    Surprisingly, I’m graduating in May with a degree in Film and Television. I have a few entry-level job prospects, so I’m sure I will be employed in no time. Despite the economy, there’s plenty of jobs to go around in this field, and for the most part, a B.S. is good enough. So for anyone wondering what kind of path to pursue in college, it wouldn’t hurt to consider the entertainment industry. The starting pay isn’t very glamorous, but hey, it’s a job.

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Pamela-Kennedy/100001233602883 Pamela Kennedy

      No, you mean the B.S. and CONNECTIONS. Not just a B.S.

  • Guest

    Major in programs that are career related..like nursing or physician assistant. majoring in things like psychology and biology doesnt guarentee one a job. Also, attend a college that offers co-ops.

    • Stippia

      Excuse me but every doctor i know had a biology degree dentists, pharmD, surgeon physician assists also must have a bio degree, you don’t take calc or organic chemistry in nursing school which is required for physician assist, medical school, dental school pharmacy school veterinary school ect…

      • http://www.facebook.com/people/Pamela-Kennedy/100001233602883 Pamela Kennedy

        That was precisely the point. Biology alone by itself with just a B.S. won’t get you anywhere, not even a teaching license these days. B.S. in biology alone won’t even get you a lab tech job these days without industry experience or “connections.”

    • Stippia

      Most biology students can never stop at b.s. degree its just unexceptable.. very unexceptable u know from the jump professional school or medical school is the road..

  • Bluekissess

    I thought it was only me. 25 and a recent graduate from the medical field. I thought it was a California thing. Please email me bluekissess@Gmail.com with information on medical administration/ billing and coding

    ** Companies want experience but how can a new graduate get experience and their not hiring new graduates to gain experience?

    • Chicacollegebound

      You are not alone BLUEKISSES! Be encouraged, because as a young professional you have a lot to bring to the table. 

      In order to gain more experience, maybe try an internship or even community service in your field of study. These are just some of the avenues that can be a foundation for your career to come.

      Be determined, persistent and willing to work hard! 

      You can do it :-)

      Good luck!

    • Kenedy

      Exactly! The catch 22… We need someone with 10 plus years experience blah blah….but 10 yrs ago most of us were barely even teenagers…smh…& now that we’re not working…employers will want us to explain the gaps of having no jobs on our resumes….uh….because no one was hiring??

      • Stippia

        You right.. 10 years plus

    • LifeIsLove

      Bluekisses,
       
      You are currently in Cali right? Have you considered moving out of the region?

      I currently reside in Atlanta, and I can tell you that for your field, their are a host of opportunities here. I am acutally relocating from Atlanta this summer due to a lack of opportunity and a change of scenery, but for someone just starting out, Atlanta may be a good start. I will say just start early, because they tend to drag their feet down here calling people back, and it may be a couple months span between applying and actually coming in for an interview. Also, the DMV area is FILLED with opportunities. It’s a military region, so not only would you be able to get a job with the gov’t, but there are just alot more opportunities out there in general. It’s also a metro region, so you have DC, MD, and VA, as well as Philly and NY that are very close by.

      I truly hope you find something soon. I graduate with a BA in 2008 and I can say this hand we’ve been dealt really SUCKS….sigh..but we have to make the best of a horrid situation.

      Best wishes,

      Paris Coleman

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Pamela-Kennedy/100001233602883 Pamela Kennedy

      To some extent it IS a California thing. I’m only back in the greater Bay Area because the school districts I sub for are the only thing in the country that would take me BACK after I came back from overseas and from the New York Teaching Fellows. That’s how bad it is. At my age I’m “too old” to get hired-in as a new hire in any school district that didn’t have me on the books since 2002 or before. I’d LOVE to live somewhere cheaper to live where I could also get on state Medicaid for my health needs and prescription and dental coverage but if I did that, then I’d also have to live OFF of the state because I’m “too old” to get a job now? Yale or Princeton degrees mean nothing, even in the Sciences or Math fields, if they’re earned more than 10 years ago.

  • icanbutiwont

    LOL! WTH is happening? The BSc. is becoming irrelevant in a technologically sophisticated era. Haha, as I read this I sit sipping on tea hoping for the best for myself and others. I think personally the parents will be more stressed than the graduates, “I spent all that bread just  so you could move back in me and yo mama house, then why didn’t you just work for the past four f–qing years” – True story that cussing out took place right down the block from me.
    I know it might be hard but people have got to try and start a business in an area which hasn’t even been invented yet, that’s the only way we are going to survive.

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Pamela-Kennedy/100001233602883 Pamela Kennedy

      If they could have gotten a JOB they wouldn’t have HAD to go to college – what are people thinking?!?!

  • Daisy

    Expand your options by moving outside of the U.S.!  I moved to Africa and now I’m gainfully employed.  Our skills are way more marketable outside of the States right now.  You just have to be willing to try something new.

    • Kenedy

      I’ve been considering this. I might give graduate school a shot, but after that if i still cant find anything, back to the motherland it is….

      • Daisy

        Definitely, it’s great to hear that you’ve considered this as an option, there’s so much more opportunity abroad (career and entreprenurially (sp?)) .. and so many amazing experiences and people to meet (especially in Africa :) I wish you ALL the best!  Be courageous and the best will follow you!  Don’t get down about the situation in the States.  Step forward boldly and you will be amazed at the opportunities that surface!

    • jj

      I never thought of moving abroad. I’ll def look into it. I graduated may 2010 and I haven’t had a full time job since graduation. Just PT gigs and temp work. 

      • http://www.facebook.com/people/Pamela-Kennedy/100001233602883 Pamela Kennedy

        As an American expat, though, good luck finding other countries that will take you and give you a job when you couldn’t get a job in your own country. Don’t kill the messenger, this is what I was told by the AIRLINES when I was trying to buy a one-way ticket back in 2004!! And I’m Canadian!

  • tiki

    graduating in December with a degree in economics…I’m starting my search now!

  • Noah

    All I got to say is if you are in accounting do not go into industry or manufacturing as a cost accountant because we are getting laid off left and right. Go public or get CPA and start your own firm.

  • Ashleyudoh

    I’m still looking for a job as well. Advice please…

  • Kenedy

    Im still looking for a job…..so if anyone knows anyone…holla at me baby

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