You needn’t be an algebra whiz to figure that the once structured formula for students fresh out of college no longer has an easy multiple-choice answer.
Take it from recent Wayne State graduate Tonya Reese who has gotten laid off from her job at Dentemax, a dental insurance agency.
Reese, 43, is an interdisciplinary studies graduate who came back to finish one more course to fulfill her requirements. She specifically chose to pursue a degree in Health Care Administration because she thought it was a “well-rounded degree” and was accompanied with job security.
“I have been job hunting for a long time just to get an interview,” Reese said.
She is temporarily staying in Michigan but is still seeking out-of-state job opportunities.
The health career may still be stable for some students, like Alyssa Yousif, a biology major who is graduating in May.
She has gotten accepted into Michigan State University Medical School. And although her plans have been paved, Yousif said the prospective practice of socializing medicine might serve as a threat for future doctors.
“Each doctor would be getting paid the same and it would take a lot longer to pay back the thousands of dollars of student loans,” Yousif said.
If the security of the health field is in question, it’s frightening to envision other career prospects. The number of job openings in the U.S. dropped below 3 million in January, which has been the lowest number since 2000, according to the Labor Department.
Perhaps the best solution is just to stay in school and wait for the economy to clear. But some students, like Robert Belliar, who has been at WSU for 11 years, may simply just get sick of school after a while.
Belliar plans to graduate with a PhD in chemical engineering within the next 6 months. He said he has two options: become a professor and continue his research in Plastic Characterization or go to Post-op graduate school for another four years.
Although with option two, instead of “Taco Bell employee pay,” he’d be making “high authority McDonald’s” pay for his university research, Belliar said he has had his fair share of school.
He also added that he plans to leave Michigan because of the unbearable weather conditions. “I’m pro-global warming,” Bellaiar said. “I hate cold weather and would love to live in Arizona or Texas.”
Rain or shine, some students are devoted to prevail in Detroit. Jared Bryan, a 23-year-old Public Relations major, plans to graduate in August and is determined to have his own firm in the next 12 years.
He plans to stay in Michigan and he’s an active member of Detroit Young Professionals, which is a non-profit organization committed to cultivating Detroit’s emerging generation of leaders.
He said he’s always searching for ways to help improve the economic and environmental conditions in Detroit.
“I’m trying to figure out what I can do and what we can do to facilitate the social life in Detroit like other cities are doing,” Bryan said.
Nowadays, you can’t wait for employers to find you in the competitive market. Employers seeking students on college campuses plan to hire about 22 percent fewer students from this year’s graduating class as compared to last year’s, according to a recent report from the National Association of Colleges and Employers.
So, how exactly does a student equip themselves for the employers locking their doors of opportunity? Belliar noted that some of the essential skills or assets one needs to successfully set themselves apart are work experience, public speaking and practice with presentation.
“You can be the smartest person in the world but the person with the most work experience and who can effectively express their ideas eye to eye will get the job,” Belliar said.
Although it may very well be true that a job with a side of the “Do you want fries with that?” tune may now seem to cash out more than a career that requires a college degree … It’s safe to argue that you simply can’t put a price tag on the value of education.
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