Unrealistic Job Expectations Disappoint Graduates

By Sarah Kaplan

Hoya Staff Writer

Published: Thursday, May 16, 2013

Updated: Thursday, May 16, 2013 20:05

Newly minted college graduates across the country will be in for a surprise when they enter the job market this year.

According to a spring 2013 survey conducted by consulting company Accenture, students graduating

from college in recent years have increasingly unrealistic expectations that they will find well-paid

jobs in their chosen career fields.

The survey, which polled 1,005 members of the Classes of 2011 and 2012, found that 41 percent of

graduates feel underemployed, working in a job that does not match or require their college degree.

In addition, more than 30 percent of recent graduates have been unable to find full-time jobs, and

nearly a quarter of that group has not held a job since graduation.

According to the study, the job market is failing to meet students’ expectations both in terms of what

positions are available and how much they pay.

Although two-thirds of graduates expected to get full-time jobs in their field of study, only 53 percent

are currently working in their expected field. Meanwhile, 32 percent of those surveyed are earning

less than $25,000 per year, more than twice the number that had expected to be earning that amount.

Furthermore, the situation is worsening. While 39 percent of students graduating in 2011 and 2012

had secured jobs before graduation, that number was only 16 percent for the Class of 2013 when the

poll was conducted in April.

The outlook is slightly better for Georgetown graduates.

According to the Cawley Career Center’s Class of 2012 Senior Survey Report, 4 percent of last

year’s graduates were still seeking employment six months after graduation, far fewer than the 30

percent average reflected in Accenture’s national study.

Although the career center’s survey does not report the number of graduates earning less than

$25,000 per year, the average starting salary for a Georgetown graduate is $52,137. By comparison,

a 2012 survey conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers found that starting

salaries for that year’s class of graduates averaged about $44,000.

According to Michael Schaub, executive director of the career center, Georgetown graduates’

experiences in the job market are more in line with their expectations. Schaub attributed this to

professional internships prior to graduation as well as meetings with career center counselors

and advisors.

“Internships give students a taste of work life after college,” Schaub wrote in an email.

“We also encourage students to engage in informational Moreover, the university provides career

center advising to alumni up to three years after graduation.

The Accenture report attributed nationwide poor employment statistics to a lack of understanding

between employers and colleges and called on employers to provide better career training for

recent graduates.

“A solution is sorely needed to bridge the disconnect between employers that are concerned about

college graduates being unprepared for available jobs and the graduates who feel overqualified

for them,” David Smith, senior managing director for Accenture

Talent & Management, told the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Schaub agreed with the Accenture report’s call for better on-the-job training for recent graduates.

“Seeking additional training is part of professional work life,” Schaub wrote in an email.

The best advise that I could give you ... is to pick a field that you think that you'll enjoy that fits you ... but don't pick a field that won't last in leaving you ... as a early ... blast from the past ... then learn and excel in it ... to the best of your ability ... so that your next interview will be more impressive than the interview ahead of you .... Don't waste your time and money on foolishness ... Think wisely ... because it’s the best opportunity towards your pursuit of happiness ... Look at it this way ... You'll always have your degree to fall back on ... Your first job will be in sales ...and that would be to sell yourself.

I'm not saying to do what I did, but the field and company that I chose to pursue was to be a "DSR" Distributor Food Representative for Dierks Foods, Fruit and Produce as they were the lagest and well astablisht in my area ... I knew who the owner was "Ron Dierks" and I brazenly went over to his house unbeknownst to my arrival and brazenly told him that I was going to work for him on that following Monday ... Nine years later ... I was written up in the National ID Magazine as salesman of the Month ... The highest honor a Food rep can earn and to be recognized by ... in the industry ... as every Food Distributer in the United States still gets it … As the Gold Metal of success ... And I did it with a ninth grade edjucation!

My attitude was to be the best from the rest ... If you want to see the write-up in a plaque hanging on the wall in my office ... you'll be able to see it among lots of other in the above achievement section of my website ... And as you read further on ... you'll be able to read about it as part of my job history.

Ttrue Story

Don L. Johnson