Alumni, graduating seniors may not always find jobs

According to 2011 Current Population Survey data by Northeastern University, 53.6 percent of students younger than 25 who graduated with a bachelor’s degree were unemployed or underemployed last year.

Plattsburgh State Director of the Career Development Center Carolyn Delcore said past PSUC graduates have done well post-graduation. She said current students need to do everything they can to market themselves in the most positive fashion possible.

Delcore emphasized the importance of preparation. She said the Career Development Center has resources that include potential internships.

PSUC student Meghan Montgomery is a public relations major graduating this semester. Though she hasn’t done an internship, she said she has worked with real clients through classes.

Montgomery will be attending PSUC in the fall for her master’s degree. Montgomery said if she is unable to find a job after getting her master’s degree, her back-up plan is to continue to drive boats.

“The job market sucks right now, and also, I’m not quite ready to stop learning,” she said.

PSUC alumnus Andrew Gola is an advocate on the importance of a master’s degree. He said through email that because more people are going to college now, students need something that will differentiate them.

While Gola always enjoyed construction and working with his hands, he said that wasn’t something that would pay the bills with the deficit in the job market. He said he does not regret his decisions because by making a sacrifice, he may be able to afford fulfilling his dreams five years down the road.

PSUC alumnus Wander Morrobel said one has to do what he or she likes. He believes in taking risks and taking advantage of opportunities.

While Gola chose his path because of the likelihood of success, Morrobel chose his because it was something he had always enjoyed. He had applied for an internship to one of the world’s largest professional service networks KPMG LLP his sophomore year. Morrobel said he had a lot of experience through internships. However, he encourages students to do internships because they are interesting — not because it will look good on a resume.

“Don’t do it just because you need an internship,” he said. “When you really enjoy doing something, you work differently.”

According to the Associated Press article titled “1 in 2 new graduates are jobless or underemployed,” college graduates who majored in accounting were one of the few most likely to find jobs appropriate to their education level.

The article also states college graduates who majored in anthropology were the least likely to find jobs appropriate to their education level. Cristian Avila is an anthropology minor, along with history and political sciences minors. He is majoring in Latin American studies. Graduating this semester, he is looking into alternative teaching programs in New York City to teach children bilingual education.

Unlike an accounting degree, Avila said his degree is more open-ended.  

The job opportunities Avila looks toward are indirectly connected to his degree, he said. He said communication and analytical skills have been instilled in him through his degree. However, many jobs he wanted require two to three years of experience.

“I’m remaining open-minded and willing to uproot and just pack up everything,” Avila said.

Even with statistics saying people like Avila and Mackey may not find jobs, Avila said he does not regret his decisions at all. While other people have goals to make money and get a job, he finds that not everyone falls into those categories.

“I can’t force my mind to work in a way that it doesn’t,” Avila said.

That would be a fast route to burning out and dropping out of college, he said. He has seen friends flunking out of college for doing something they didn’t care about.