We’re well into a new semester and our CBCampus ambassadors are back. Some are returning faces and others are new–all of whom you’ll hear from in the coming weeks.
Unless you’ve somehow avoided the news for the last few months, you know the economy’s in a sticky situation. The recession we’re in is taking its toll on the job market, and for college students that can be a scary prospect. We asked them to share their thoughts about the current situation and how it affects their plans. Here’s what Andrew has to say about it.
As a 4 year graduating senior at Arizona State University, I can’t tell you how many times I have been asked the question “So, what are you going to do after school?” I have grown accustom to responding with vague yet confident answers for everyone to draw their own conclusions to. Between the previous question and a relentless bombardment of media headlines (such as “Recent grads face the harsh economic reality“), it is growing increasingly difficult to sound confident as my graduation date draws near.
My plan going into school was simple: Graduate in 4 years, then return to my hometown in southern California. I quickly realized that it would be nearly impossible to find a job where I wanted to live. In order to survive in this economy, I certainly couldn’t be picky. I began to research places in the United States with the lowest unemployment rates and found that my best odds were in Fargo, North Dakota and Casper, Wyoming…
With the job market being so grim, it is no longer about being picky as to where I want to work but whether I can even get work in my field of study. One option that has crossed my mind is to stay in school and ride out the storm while working towards my MBA.
One of my best friends is doing just that. He recently graduated from the Fireman Academy here in Arizona and is a certified firefighter, but as he graduated he learned that the departments here wouldn’t be hiring for another 12-18 months. Now he is unsure whether to pursue his fire science degree or go back to school to become a paramedic. Either way, he wants to broaden his field of education in hopes of a job from any department.
Currently, I’m trying to establish new contacts in a variety of different fields. I’m playing the odds and doing as much networking as I can while I can still depend on my parents to put food on the table. I thought I knew what field of work I would get into but I’m now trying to be as diverse as possible with my education, networking, and job experience. I’m still very optimistic that my success with prior internships and jobs will eventually lead to me landing that job.
I think people are thinking the worst on the economy. Yes its down but did you read the report sales are up by 1% and the small business that I work for our business is slowly picking up.