| April 28th, 2016

Soon to be College Graduates Fear Unemployment

By: journeymagazine

Words By: Jamani Elston

Freshman year feels like it was just yesterday: from moving into your dorm room and attending your first ‘Set Friday’, it was not too long ago. For four years you have stressed over finals, and stayed up all night studying, because you knew the degree at the end would be worth it when you landed a great career. Now graduation is here you still haven’t found a job and you begin to fear what the future may hold.

While the unemployment rate of college graduates is decreasing, many newly college graduates are not landing careers in their major right after graduating. According to the Washington Post, 4 out of 5 students graduate without a job. Dailycaller.com reports that only 14 percent of college graduates in the class of 2015 had a career lined up for them when they graduated.

Jasmine White, a senior criminal justice student from West Palm Beach, Fla., will be graduating this spring in a similar situation, without a job in her field. She believes that one of the reason that it is difficult to find employment in your field is because job hunting is cutthroat.

“I honestly believe it’s hard because it’s so competitive and there is still a lot of people who have been in their careers well over 25 to 30 or more years,” White said.

Students may also cite the university’s lack of preparation was the cause of their unemployment. In a study done by Accupunture PLC, 64% of recent grads feel that their university prepared them well enough to venture out to the workforce.

Dennis Pugh, a senior Mechanical Engineering student from St. Petersburg, Fla., believes that FAMU has provided him with enough resources to find a career in his field after college.

“I’m constantly emailed different career opportunities. It’s up to me to use all of the resources given to me,” Pugh said.

Kamaria Townsend, a senior social work student from Orlando, Fla., believes some majors receive more opportunities than others.

“Unless they’re like SBI or Pharmacy, I feel like other majors aren’t really advertised like that. I had to look on my own,” Townsend said.

Tiara Brown, a senior criminal justice student from Tallahassee, Fla., has been working with legal services since 2012 and plans to stay with them after graduating. Brown does not believe it is harder for non-STEM majors to land a job right after college.

“If you network and play your cards right, everything will fall in place,” Brown said.

 Washington Post reported that through conversations with career service professionals and Human Resources executives, indicate that on-campus recruiting is targeted and focused on STEM majors and liberal arts majors that are in the top 10 percent of their class.

Florida A&M University Spring 2016 Commencement will take place on Saturday, April 30 at 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. at Al Lawson Jr. Multipurpose Center and Teaching Gymnasium.