News from the job market front - college graduates

[matt819]

One of my children, graduating from college in June, attended a job fair at his school today - DC area. No companies were hiring. None. Only offers were for unpaid internships, available only to enrolled students. Not a good sign.

[Warpy]

1. Why pay for good help when you can get it for free?

College students are gulled into accepting these "jobs" to pad their resumes. It's really a mistake. Selling yourself that cheaply adds up to the fact that you'll be expected to sell yourself that cheaply the rest of your life, something kids graduating with a large debt load can't afford to do.

Lincoln freed us all. These internships need to be declared illegal and companies should be forced to pay the prevailing wage to all employees.

[cdsilv]

2. My daughter graduated w/a BS in Communication Disorders...

...and as such found work quickly as a speech path assistant in a local school district. The school district agreed to help her get her Master's in Speech Pathology, so she's definitely employed for now and at least through 2011. Her specialty is in high demand.

However, her fiance' graduated last summer w/a business degree and has yet to find work - there are jobs for some graduates, but nowhere near enough.

[Warpy]

3. When they started school, that business degree was the ticket to wealth

or at least to a solid middle management income. Now they'll be lucky to manage a clothing store.

Unfortunately, it's impossible for kids starting a four year degree process to know what specialties will be in demand at the end of it, if any.

Alas, even that speech pathology degree might prove to be a liability in the long run if Republicans ever get back into power and destroy what's left of a school system that tries to help all our children.

[Elmore Furth]

4. WSJ: College Grads' Outlook Grim

"Okay, campers, rise and shine, and don't forget your booties 'cause it's cooooold out there today."
Groundhog Day (1993)

Despite signs of life in the job market, the outlook for newly minted college graduates remains grim and many are trying new strategies for landing positions.

But there are some bright spots: The unemployment rate for people ages 20 to 24 with a bachelor's degree was 7.2% in March, down from 7.6% a year earlier and below the 21.9% jobless rate for those in the same age group with high-school degrees only.

Preliminary data from a spring poll of employers by the National Association of Colleges and Employers show college-graduate hiring could rise 3% to 5% this year after falling 22% last year ... business and technical majors are likely to see the most demand, particularly as Wall Street resumes hiring.

Certain regions of the nation are expected to do better than others. At the University of Texas at Austin, the communications school attracted 77 employers at its spring career fair, up from 51 last year. Meanwhile, Facebook Inc., which is opening an office in Austin, has been collecting student resumes to help fill 60 jobs.The country's south central and northwest regions are expected to increase hiring more than other areas.But with such a competitive market, the biggest worry for hiring experts is that students will give up on their job search without ever starting. In some cases that means heading straight to graduate school, an investment that is only likely to pay off if students know what they want to study and why that will better position them to land a job in the future. Graduate-school enrollment rose 6% last year and will likely continue to rise this year.


College Grads' Outlook Grim

[AnneD]

5. We are very excited......

kiddo got a paying gig at Capital Records this summer as an intern. They wanted to hire her full time but were understanding of her want to finish her degree. She wants to use it as a springboard for other opportunities. It looks as if the music department is going to kick in more for her tuition too. Thank you Herb Albert for your generous donations.

So much anymore is know who, luck, or sheer talent or a combination.

[loqqy]

6. who you know

seems like that is how it's always been, maybe just more emphasized now.

[grasswire]

7. unpaid internships are illegal in most circumstances

NY Times:

If you’re a for-profit employer or you want to pursue an internship with a for-profit employer, there aren’t going to be many circumstances where you can have an internship and not be paid and still be in compliance with the law,” said Nancy J. Leppink, the acting director of the department’s wage and hour division.

Ms. Leppink said many employers failed to pay even though their internships did not comply with the six federal legal criteria that must be satisfied for internships to be unpaid. Among those criteria are that the internship should be similar to the training given in a vocational school or academic institution, that the intern does not displace regular paid workers and that the employer “derives no immediate advantage” from the intern’s activities — in other words, it’s largely a benevolent contribution to the intern.