Recent Grad Can't Find Job, Sues College

As I read this CNN story about a recent college graduate who has filed a lawsuit against her college because she's been unable to find employment in the three months since receiving her diploma, I found it hard to cheer for either side.

One of the great fallacies of the business of higher education is that students can finish their education in four years and land a good position in their field of study immediately after picking up their sheepskin. An unscientific survey conducted by me provided data to suggest that less than 20% of college grads that I work with were able to slide right into a career that aligned with their college major, and more than 50% were not working in their collegiate field even after ten years. Admittedly, my sample size was small and probably biased, but in this difficult economy, employers just aren't hiring as many grads as they used to.

MonsterTRAK reported that in 2009, employers planning to hire college grads fell 5 percentage points, from 59 to 54 percent. That's not a steep drop compared to the previous year, where it was 17 percent - 76 percent in 2007 to 59 percent in 2008. Still, the stat itself is troubling for college seniors when roughly half of employers have no plans to hire new grads.

That's not something that university admissions brochures point out, and as tuitions continue to rise and government funding of grants and loans drops, many students and their families will be faced with an economic reality - does it make sense to pay $70-120K to attend an institution that doesn't prepare you any better for your career than one that charges half as much?

On the other end of the spectrum, the student in question had a 2.7 GPA and is looking for work in the worst economic climate in 70 years. Not finding an IT job within 90 days of graduating pales in comparison to the fine IT folks I know who lost jobs in the last year due to cutbacks, not due to performance. Many have years of proven expertise in engineering, operations, development, and architecture, and they are caught up in a numbers game. If you were an employer who suddenly found budget for five headcount, would you hire a recent college graduate, or someone with a robust CV and a track record of success?

I empathize with the recent grad, and wish that colleges did a better job of teaching students that life is different post-graduation. No one is there to hand you an offer letter and the keys to a company car when you walk off the stage with diploma in hand. In the real world, you have to go out and make things happen through perseverance, drive, and a bit of luck, understanding that it's competitive, with the smartest, hardest-working people usually finding success, while the unmotivated, sit-back-and-wait folks usually taste disappointment.

Unless you're in a Dilbert cartoon.