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US economy giving a tough lesson to college students- When to apply for jobs, when to duck
December 1st, 2008
On the instant receiving end of the US economy’s dive are the next batch of college graduates. The employment market is sending mixed signals, but a bit of healthy skepticism is obviously going to be needed.
Employers were talking about hiring more college grads, but there’s a lot of serious questions, like Where, How Many, and When hanging over the talk.
Experts are a bit more positive than the grim daily market news would suggest, but all of them are saying that hedging your bets is the way to go. Layoffs and some very heavy cutting in various industries are making that look like a very good idea, at least in the immediate future. It’s hard to pick next moves when the people making them aren’t too sure, either.
It’s not all bad news. College grads do have some real employment options, thanks to turnover in the mass employment market. Many will find jobs, even if the process of finding and getting the jobs is probably going to be bumpy and very competitive.
There are also positives in hiring college grads for employers:
They’re cheaper
They’re at home with technology
They can multi task
They can fit into modern work and business models very well
So for college grads the world hasn’t quite ended. However, anything that costs money, right now, is a potential problem, both for employers and job seekers. Finding a job can’t be taken for granted, and what’s available is very probably going to be in the strictly No Frills categories.
The big downturn is expected to cause unemployment of the US of anything from 7.5% up to 9%, as ballpark figures. Employers are shedding jobs, and not rehiring. They’re going into Safe Mode, at least for the time being.
It’s interesting to note that even the US employment experts, traditionally over the top about careerism in all forms, are now saying Be Careful, in so many words. They’re now suggesting that for college students, staying in college is one of the ways of staying out of the firing line until this blows over.
With that advice, the other obvious point is the cost of staying in college. Loans are likely to be hard to get, thanks to the credit market squeeze, and what’s available is also likely to be expensive.
Obviously, this takes some planning. Since many college students are already carrying debt from prior loans, it’s not something to do without some prior thought and calculation. Budgeting years in advance isn’t exactly easy. You need to know rates, time frames, and have some hard cash in place.
Many people in the employment industry, Congress, and elsewhere are now taking a hard look at student loans and they’re not liking what they’re seeing. Some loans seem to be misrepresented, and all of them are considered both overpriced and social counterproductive in terms of providing an actual physical obstacle to training the next generation.
It’s taken a long time for them to wake up to that, but it looks as if things are going to change. Meanwhile, check out your rates and shop around, a lot, until you find a bottom rate.
The positive side to staying in college and moving on to grad school is that the added qualifications will pay for themselves down the track. It’s an investment which makes sense.
Some career tracks are getting derailed in the current jobs environment, and even the saintly, reliable MBA track is looking shaky.
So the message is Stay Alert.
Keep track of your intended industry, and keep an eye on any employment news affecting you or your job opportunities.
This isn’t the time for trying to just wing it in the job market.
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