Question for DU college grads, 2010-2014
Based on my own kids - a small and highly unrepresentative sample - I have the sense that the job market for recent college grads is, at best, iffy. Full-time jobs paying a decent wage are hard to find. Many college grads are working as unpaid or low-paid interns, with parents picking up the financial slack. Some are working for start-ups that may or may not go anywhere. Not many grads are working in career-oriented positions, and even if they are there's still a sense of uncertainty, i.e., they could lose their jobs in a flash. BTW, the cohort here is Ivy League and top tier schools, liberal arts and engineering.
I suppose I could do this as a poll, but I'm kind of interested in a narrative assessment. The questions can be answered by grads themselves or their parents.
Are you in a full-time job job?
For how long?
Is it career oriented or just a job to pay the bills?
How much are you paid? This is kind of personal, so maybe a range would be good.
Student loans a factor in your life?
How about your friends?
And, overall, what's your sense of the job market, future, etc. Look, I know what our sense of the future is here at DU. I wouldn't call myself an optimist. I'm not sure you can divorce commentary on this issue from the overall political/economic scene, but try.
I realize that your comments are not going to be any more representative than my own kids, but I guess I'm wondering whether what they're saying is consistent with what you guys are experiencing.