scratching
“In college I was looking forward to becoming an adult, and now I’m here and it’s awful.” Seventeen alumni of 2023 show up and tell us how they feel about joining the workforce.
Julia Rothman And
Julia is a painter. Shayna is a writer and film director.
There’s good news for recent college graduates: The job market is strong, unemployment is low, and according to the poll According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, companies expect to hire nearly 4 percent more graduates from the Class of 2023 than they did from the previous class.
The bad news? For most of them, their four years of college have been tainted by a global pandemic, and they must now transition from student life to the world of work. It is never easy. We interviewed 17 alumni from different disciplines and parts of the country about how they feel when they enter the workforce.
Lily Flowers, University of Denver:
“I feel the pressure of the world right now. It seems like everything has to make sense because everything feels urgent. There’s a lot of focus on, ‘Am I doing something for the world?'”
Hannah Bradford, Fordham University:
“I’m applying for editorial assistant jobs. I’d like to be a writer working for a magazine. ChatGPT scares me – it came into the college world at the end of my time in college. I had friends who used it to write papers. It makes it really hard to imagine what a journalism career will look like in 10 years.” Years “.
Chris Lawrence, Emory University:
“I’m with Teach for America. We’re getting ready to join Title 1 schools to fight the opportunity gap and change the trajectory of kids in those schools. I went to a Title 1 school; it was very low income. My teachers did everything they could to make sure we had what we needed. Of course, It will be exhausting. But it will be rewarding.”
Roberto Bellman, Appalachian State University:
“Getting a college degree was really important to me. I wanted to add to the number of Latinos graduating from college. Not only did I do it for myself, I did it for my community. I’m first-generation too.”
Sean Oh, Rutgers University:
“With all the news we had seen in the banking sector, me and many of my friends were nervous about getting jobs. We were worried we might see a repeat of 2008. I received a full-time offer after an internship at a company last summer. I bought some work clothes because I didn’t I could wear my Rutgers jerseys to the office.”
Weston Del Signore, University of Southern California:
“I work sporadically with a local artist as an assistant, and then I also work with Postmates and Uber Eats to make ends meet. In terms of the art thing, a lot of it has to do with people you know.”
Rocio Perez Gonzalez, University of Texas:
“I have an internship. I hope it turns into a job, but they just laid off some people. I can’t go home and stay with my family because I don’t have great communication with them. I’ll have to find a job and then find housing. In college I was looking forward to being He’s become an adult, and now I’m here and it’s awful. But I can tell. A year ago, I was in a completely different situation than I am now. A year from now, everything will be different.”
Vanessa Khong, Northern Kentucky University:
“I’m currently looking into UGC – user generated content creation. You create content for brands and put it on their social media pages. A brand will send you their product and you will create an open video or a test and experiment video. A lot of UGCs are starting to Make $150 for a 30-second video.
Alyssa Gutierrez, University of Albany, State University of New York:
I accepted a job where I work with immigrants seeking asylum. Before I got this job, I was living in a bubble. I didn’t know there was an influx of immigrants. I jumped in my uncle. When you are in school for social work, you are taught the basics. But there are many aspects to social work that you just have to learn as you go.”
Sarah Wexler, Temple University:
“I’m trying to get a full-time job, which has been a whirlwind. I’ve applied to over 50 jobs. In college, I did a fair number of training exercises so that wouldn’t happen, but it still happens.”
Anjan Mani, Cornell University:
“I have a job working in finance. I did an internship and then received a full-time offer at the end of it. Most start dates are in July, August, or September. But in this economic climate, many of my friends’ companies have decided to start full-time offers later. I One of the few people from my group of friends who started in the summer.”
Terrick McDull, Oberlin College:
“When I was a student, it was the beginning of the pandemic and everything was shut down. The last thing anyone needs is a jazz singer in their local restaurant. There is a stereotype of the starving artist. But I refuse to believe it.”
Alessandra Venema, Skidmore College:
“I work for the Federal Department of Transportation. In college, you constantly have interesting conversations and feel inspired. When you first enter the work force, you feel energized and ready to make a change. I hope to continue to be in places where that can continue.”
Greta Garchagin, Hamilton College:
“I’m doing a six-month apprenticeship at a restaurant-slash-education center. Food contributes a lot to climate change. I think small farming could be a solution. I grew up with this looming fear and being told, ‘Your generation is going to fix the world’ “It puts a lot of pressure on us.”