Florida A&M University will be sending another graduating class into the working world in less than six weeks, and for many graduating seniors, the shaky economy is a cause for major concern.
The national unemployment rate is 7.6 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Experts said the job market is most likely get worse by May, which can be heartbreaking those ending their undergraduate studies.
Tamara Angcos, 21, a senior business administration student, has already secured a job post graduation as a financial analyst at Raytheon in El Segundo, Calif. However, she is still concerned about the failing job market.
“I have accepted my offer and completed all of my paper work,” Angcos said. “Yet, it still concerns me that my job can be taken away from me in an instant even though I have taken the measures to secure it.”
As the job markets get tougher, some future graduates are straying away from their original plan and branching out in other areas that are a good idea according to Delores Dean, director of FAMU’s career center.
“Students should be pursing all options and means to obtain employment,” Dean said.
“There are jobs out there but it may be in another area that you might not want.”
Seniors like Garrett Henry said it’s better to wait until the market stabilizes before starting the career you really want.
“I’m going to take a lower paying job [and wait to start] a career until the market stabilizes,” said Henry, a senior business administration student from New York, Ny.
FAMU seniors who plan to attend graduate school are not as concerned about the current job market.
“As a soon-to-be college graduate, I am not really concerned with the failing job market because I am attending graduate school,” said John Lattimer, 22, a senior accounting student from Lakeland. “If I was not going to grad school, I would probably be concerned with the scarcity of available jobs.”
Lattimer did find getting into graduate school more difficult than originally expected because of the in-depth and time-consuming applications.
According to the career center there are some majors better than others to graduate from in this tough economic time.
“The health field [and] criminal justice majors are seeing an increase in hiring,” Dean said. “Also, all majors who want to work with the government and later there may be an increase in hiring after the recession.”
Some tips for seniors and other students looking for a job in the near future.
• Take advantage of your professors and professional advisors they really have the connections to get you in the door of where you need to be.
• Take advantage of the resources at school like the career center.
• Do internships. Everybody in the place you are trying to get a job in will come in with the same degree as you but employers cannot argue with experience.
• Be open to different career fields.