In the past, people who graduated from college felt proud of their academic achievement and confident that their degree would help them to find a good job.

However, in the past four years the job market has changed dramatically.  This year’s college graduates are facing one of the worst job markets in years.  For example, Ryan Stewart, a graduate of San Jose State University, got a degree in religious studies, but he has not gotten any job offers.  He points out that many people already working are getting laid off and don’t have jobs, so it’s even harder for new college graduates to find jobs.

Four years ago, the future looked bright for the class of 2003.  There were many high-tech (“dot com”) job opportunities, graduates received many job offers, and they were able to get jobs with high salaries and benefits such as insurance and paid vacations.  However, “Times have changed.  It’s a new market,” according to Cheryl Allmen-Vinnidge of the San Jose State Career Center.

Allmen-Vinnidge says students who do find jobs started preparing two years ago.  They worked during summer vacations, they have had several internships, and they majored in fields that are still paying well, such as accounting or nursing.

Even teaching is not a secure profession now.  Ryan Stewart wanted to be a teacher, but instead he will probably go back to school in order to become a college teacher.  He thinks college teaching could be a good career even in a bad economy.

In conclusion, these days a college degree does not automatically lead to a good job with a high salary.  Some students can only hope that the value of their degree will increase in the future.

Follow-up Notes

San Jose State University is in San Jose, California

A “dot com” is a company whose operations are mostly Internet-based.  The term comes from the Internet address of such companies.  For example, www.microsoft.com is read as “w-w-w dot microsoft dot com.”  In the 1990s thousands of new dot coms started up, opening up work opportunities for many thousands of college graduates.  Many of these companies eventually failed.

For more information, see the websites below:

Several articles from 2004 indicate that the job market for college graduates is improving, in contrast to the information presented in this story.

• Job prospects finally looking bright for graduating college seniors: 7 out of 10 employers are expected to increase salary offers to new college graduates - The Columbia Chronicle Online, Nov. 22, 2004.
• Grads see brighter job prospects:  USA Today, April 13, 2004
• Job prospects look bright for college seniors: MSNBC, Nov. 18, 2004