My close friend graduated in May, and from talking to her, I found out that some of her friends found jobs easily and immediately, and others, almost 2 months after graduating, are applying to endless job postings online and have gotten nowhere. I decided to interview some May 2010 PSU graduates and see where they stand in their job searches.
Major: English
Megan was an English major at PSU and completed her student teaching in a small town high school in Central PA. She graduated with an excellent GPA of 3.73. She applied to Teach for America, a highly competitive teaching program, and did not get in. Since many school districts are facing budget cuts related to the lack of new stimulus money, she is having a very difficult finding a job. “I want to stay in PA to be near my family, but the only districts hiring seem to be in growing areas, like Washington DC and Charlotte, NC,” she said. Megan decided to travel and will be teaching English in Korea this fall.
Major: IST (Information Sciences and Technology)
IST major Brian didn’t have a problem finding a job, something he says didn’t happen by accident. “I was very active in the college, a member of many clubs and the treasurer of one, and I went to every career fair IST offered and networked with recruiters. I also had 2 internships.” Brian said that some of his less-active fellow IST majors had a slightly more difficult finding jobs, and across the board, starting salaries have taken a dip this year compared to May 2009 graduates. Brian will be working as a consultant for Booz Allen Hamilton in Northern Virginia.
Major: Health and Human Development
Kristin majored in HHD at Penn State and loved every minute of it. “It was such a perfect major for me, I fell in love with it freshman year. I didn’t really even think about getting a job until second semester of my senior year,” she said. Kristin decided to forgo the job search mainly due to the “poor economy and lack of jobs I heard about” and she will be heading to Colorado for grad school. “Without my family’s support, it would never be possible for me to continue my educational journey,” she admitted.
Major: Business
Paul, a former business major at PSU, graduated in May with a GPA of nearly 4.0. “I worked hard for that,” he stated. “Perhaps too hard. I didn’t go to the career fair, I have just been applying online, and I have only gotten 2 interviews out of the probably 80 jobs I’ve applied for.” Paul isn’t sure if companies just aren’t hiring or if his lack of ‘real world’ experience is hurting him, but he continues to job hunt.
I hope this was helpful! If you are still seeking employment, whether it be part-time while you are in school or if you are looking for a full time job after graduating, check out the resources I have posted here in earlier posts – there are lots of them.
