Thousands of college graduates from our area are about to enter the job market during what some are calling the bleakest economic downturn since the Great Depression of the 1930s.
Among them are 5,000 University of Washington students who received their diplomas Saturday at a commencement ceremony at CenturyLink Field.
But that college degree is no guarantee of a job.
And although the parents of college graduates are proud today, some may be consoling their kids tomorrow.
“It’s definitely not
…
Thousands of college graduates from our area are about to enter the job market during what some are calling the bleakest economic downturn since the Great Depression of the 1930s.
Among them are 5,000 University of Washington students who received their diplomas Saturday at a commencement ceremony at CenturyLink Field.
But that college degree is no guarantee of a job.
And although the parents of college graduates are proud today, some may be consoling their kids tomorrow.
“It’s definitely not a straight shot. I can see why people would be a little worried,” says Jeanine Jensen, mother of a UW college graduate. “I have concerns for everybody’s children. It’s not going to be easy, I don’t think.”
The nation’s slow economic recovery is sputtering, but a recent survey may provide a ray of hope.
The National Association of Colleges and Employers found businesses plan to hire 10 percent more graduates than they did last year.
UW grad Jenny Sang is one of those with a job lined up. Her internship with a management consulting firm led to an offer.
“I’m going to spend the summer traveling and then start a full-time job with them. So I guess I lucked out in this economy,” she says.
But what about grads who will leave the commencement ceremony with degrees in what many consider “low prospect” fields, such as anthropology, women’s studies and creative writing?
Kelsi Jensen is one of those and the statistics show she should have a harder time finding employment. But she says she she knows following her heart is the key to future happiness.
“I feel that my life will have a strong foundation if I do what I care about, and the money will come one way or another,” says Jensen.
For Max McDonald, it needs to come sooner.
“Especially since I’m getting married … I’ve got to have a job,” says McDonald, a history major. “I’m going to pursue firefighting, hopefully.”
The students with whom KOMO News spoke on Saturday seemed genuinely optimistic, regardless of their major.
Many of them showed up at Dick’s Restaurant in Queen Anne after the ceremony to grab a free burger offered to anyone who showed up in a cap and gown.
Perhaps the fact that so many showed up for the free burger deal shows they’re not desperate. They just know a good deal when they see one.