Last month, when I asked recent university graduates about their job hunting, I received some very heart-wrenching responses. Unanswered applications. Expectations have dropped. For some, there was a feeling that college was a waste of time and money.
John York wrote that he is pursuing a master's degree in mathematics at New York University. “I have submitted nearly 400 applications so far. I have received responses from fewer than 40 people, all of which were rejections,” he wrote. “You basically can't get a job because entry-level positions don't exist anywhere.” He holds a patent, passed the Chartered Financial Analyst first-level exam, and is already working on his one financial I have obtained the Series 3 license. Nevertheless, he writes: “It's so quiet, it feels like I'm shouting into the void every time I fill out an application.”
Mauricio Naranjo, who is looking for a job as a graphic designer, said: “Over the past year, I have submitted over 400 applications, but I always receive responses that appear to be AI-generated and, unfortunately, are not.'' “I have decided to move on to work in the field,” he wrote. Candidates who better fit their expectations. This is an accurate representation every time. Few people respond, and most people don't respond at all. ”
“It's exhausting. It's totally demoralizing,” wrote Beth Donnelly, a linguistics major and German minor who graduated this month and teaches English as a second language. “Since early August, I have been looking for a full-time, part-time, or internship position after graduation. “I started setting my 'desired salary' at $35,000. I hope people think, “Oh, I don't have to pay this person a high wage, and that will give me an edge in the hiring process.''
We also received some positive responses. Lucinda Warnke, who started her career in journalism as a general assignment reporter, writes: I am confident in my career trajectory and my ability to build a stable and fulfilling career. The job you get right out of school comes with a livable wage and benefits, so you can build savings in case you get laid off or have a tough financial emergency. I feel like I made a good investment in my education because I attended an affordable school and studied subjects that balanced my interests and professional needs. ”
However, most of the answers were harsh. This is especially true given that, as I wrote in the April 29 newsletter, half of college graduates are underemployed a year after graduation, meaning they are employed in jobs that do not require their degree. Not surprising.
There is clearly something wrong when young graduates cannot find work and at the same time complain that employers cannot find qualified workers. As of March, the number of unemployed people was still lower than the number of job openings, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The unemployment rate in April remained below average at 3.9%.
The answers I got are not a representative sample of all college graduates. Unhappy people may have been more likely to write. (I had to exclude some of the angriest and most disappointed people because I didn't want to give names.) Separately, my unofficial impression is that the people who wrote They are: Happy or sad – they were more likely than the general student population to attend a top school and graduate with no student loans.
Many students wrote that the jobs they sought or were able to secure did not utilize what they learned in the classroom. “I plan to use the skills I learned in my data science minor, but not any of the skills from my major (international relations),” wrote Layne Orsi, Class of 2024. Another student wrote, “Much of the educational content could have been condensed into his 20 page PDF and I would probably have been at the same knowledge level.” If she had to do it all over again, Jackelyn Alcala says, “I wouldn't go to a fancy four-year school. I’m going to see if you can take me.”
Some students said that classroom learning is only part of the value of college. “University gives her four years to develop. I now have the maturity to handle a full-time job, which I didn't have as much before university,” said Caroline Liz. is writing. She graduated in December with a degree in media studies and communications and a minor in art history and took a job in public relations.
Several people said that internships are very important. “I wish I had interned at a company outside of school instead of doing research or being a lab assistant,” said Roger Vitek, who is scheduled to graduate in June with a degree in product design and is still looking for a job. wrote.
Economists have found that what you study in college is at least as important as where you study. As I wrote in my April 29 article, demand for computers is relatively strong in science, engineering, mathematics, and business fields that use mathematics heavily, such as finance and accounting.
However, after listening to the people who wrote in, I found out that this is not necessarily the case. Robert Vermeulen, a computer science major, wrote, “Out of about 155 applications that I have never looked at, zero have gotten interviews.'' Morgan Steckler is looking for a job in software engineering or IT management that pays at least $70,000 a year, but he writes that there are currently no opportunities. As he continues to apply, he says he's also considering a job as a bartender. On the positive side, there are people like Warnke who have gone on to work as reporters, which is not a fast-growing profession.
As I read the students' reactions, I realized once again that this year is a relatively good year for finding a job. Many of the Class of 24 graduates do not feel that way. Julia Bruks, who is graduating with a degree in history and art history, said she thought she hit her best mark this morning when she was asked to write a cover letter for a retail position. ” he wrote.
Donnelly, a woman who said she felt depressed while looking for a job, wrote: This is clearly not true and very few older people seem to understand this. She further added, “I have no backup plan other than working in the service industry.”
Other: Short-term rentals are capped, not prohibited.
New York City's Local Law 18, passed with support from the hotel industry, tightens rules for renting rooms for less than 30 days. Supporters argue that renting out rooms to tourists will raise rents for New Yorkers. However, an article published in the Harvard Business Review by three academics (one of whom used to work for Airbnb) found that Airbnb's cause is the total rent increase over the past decade or so. The increase is said to be only about 1%. Hosts, guests, and the businesses that serve them benefit. To prevent a particular area from becoming overrun with tourists, the authors recommend placing a cap on the number of nights a place can be rented out per year.
quote of the day
“Man's hedonistic concept is a lightning-fast calculator of pleasure and pain, vibrating like a homogeneous sphere of the desire for happiness under the impulses of stimulation, which move him around. but leaves him unharmed. He has no precedent or sequel.”
— Thorstein Veblen, “Why isn’t economics an evolutionary science?” (1898)
