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Friday, May 11, 2012

College Students Struggle Post-Graduation

A new report by the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University shows the employment and financial struggles faced by recent college grads. Researchers conducted a nationwide survey of over 400 students from the graduating classes of 2006 to 2011, which yielded some interesting results:
  • About one in three held jobs that were not very closely or not at all related to their academic coursework
  • The median starting salary for 2009 to 2011 grads was $3,000 less than those that graduated between 2006 and 2007
  • One-third believe that their college education did not prepare them well enough to land a job
In hindsight, two out of three graduates surveyed would have done things differently. A majority said they would have put more thought into choosing a major, and wish they had worked or done an internship.


About 40 percent of respondents said they would have selected a different major. Most would have chosen a professional career, like nursing or education.


However, many were not well-prepared to make this decision in the first place. One in four recent graduates didn't consider anything when selecting a college major.


Read the full study for more details on the post-graduation experiences of recent college students.

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