Glide years, graduate school and going straight into the workforce are all options students have following graduation, but the real obstacle they face is getting there.
For many seniors, graduating isn’t just about finally receiving a degree, it’s about the start of a career. Seniors graduating in May and December have a difficult job market to face in North Carolina. Unemployment in the state reached 19.6 percent for people between the ages of 20 and 24 in 2011, according to the Bureau of Labor. This level of young adult unemployment is the highest since World War II, according to youth activism think tank Generation Opportunity.
Deciding which path to take after graduation is important to the development of a student’s future career, according to Woody Catoe, associate director of Student Career Services at the Career Development Center.
“Your career is never defined until the day you quit,” Catoe said.
The N.C. job market and its future
Michael Walden, a distinguished professor of economics, said despite high unemployment, the job market is improving in North Carolina. Walden said the unemployment rate is still high, but 85,000 to 90,000 jobs have been created recently.
“I’m projecting that the economy will continue to grow over the next two to three years,” Walden said.
Engineering, business, computer science and technical majors are currently the most likely to get jobs after graduation, Walden said. Arts and humanities majors are going to experience more trouble finding jobs in the current state’s economy, Walden said.
“A business major with a minor in statistics can pretty much write their own ticket for jobs right now,” Walden said.
North Carolina is shifting away from the manufacturing and agriculture sectors — gone are the days of big textiles and tobacco — and the state is moving more toward the construction, technology, tourism and financial sectors, according to Walden.
Start planning now
Catoe and Leslie Rand-Pickett, assistant director for the employer relations team at the Career Development Center, assist students in helping them decide which career path is right for them. The center helps students become more than “just a resume” to potential employees, Rand-Pickett said.
“Career’s don’t magically begin after graduation,” Catoe said. “We help students get in the door to build their career.”
Rand-Pickett said she wants to encourage students to take advantage of the career fairs because they are open to any major. Students need to “probe” companies at the career fairs to see if attending companies have any jobs in their field available, Catoe said. Job fairs, in essence, aren’t just open houses, but also opportunities for students to make a strong first impression.
Be mindful of the glide year
Rand-Pickett defines a gap year as the time off between high school and college a glide year, as is the year after college before attending graduate school. Catoe said a glide year is acceptable if the student can justify that time off to a potential employer.
On the other hand, Catoe also said not everyone needs to attend graduate school. Deciding to apply for graduate school should be an informed decision based on whether a student needs is for a future career, according to Rand-Pickett.
Catoe said the typical advice he gives to students about starting a successful career path is to take a semester or two to immerse oneself in college and then begin developing a plan.
“Students who have more clarity about their career path tend to be better students and can represent themselves better to employers,” Catoe said.
When applying for jobs and internships, Rand-Pickett and Catoe both said flexibility is the key quality that companies are looking for in new employees and interns.
Seniors make plans
Michael Ramos, a senior in political science, said he plans to go to law school following graduation in December. Ramos will be taking the LSAT in June.
If law school doesn’t work out for Ramos, he said he plans to join the military or law enforcement. Ramos said this option would be a good transition into the FBI.
Lorraine Torres, a senior studying sociology and anthropology, is graduating in May and said she plans to take a glide year before attending graduate school. During her glide year Torres said she hopes to work as a research analyst at the Research Triangle Institute.
Torres worked with Catoe at the Career Development Center to decide which path she wanted to take following graduation.
“I just want to build my own life for a while,” Torres said.
Stephen Dozier, a senior in bioarchaeology anthropology, plans to study abroad in Thailand this summer. Dozier said he hopes he can acquire a job from his trip abroad.
“It’s not necessarily what you know anymore, it’s who you know,” Dozier said. “I wish it wasn’t like that.”
A brighter future
Though unemployment remains high for young adults, Walden said the job market is growing, and he is hopeful for younger students.
“Students graduating in 2014 and 2015 will have a better time finding jobs,” Walden said.
But jobs don’t appear out of nowhere. Though fishing for jobs will be an easier task, students should use University resources to their advantage, according to Rand-Pickett.
