The Job Market Stalled, So Recent Grads Went Back to School.
After graduating during a pandemic, students turn to graduate school instead of entering a broken job market.
Kaitlyn Carroll didn’t plan on going to grad school. When the pandemic hit last March, the economics major decided to pivot.
“Around April, I was like, You know what, the economy is gonna be so bad for a minute and like, the job market is gonna be like trash. So I might as well just get that extra degree because it was on my mind, but I wasn’t really gonna, like, do it,” said Carroll.
Carroll isn’t alone. Across the country, college students are pursuing graduate education in replacement of a post-grad job. Because of cancelled internships and postponed study abroads, students feel stranded. Grad school will delay some from entering the job market during an economic bust.
According to a study by National Student Clearinghouse in fall of 2020, graduate enrollment has increased 3.9 percent from fall 2019. For students who are considering an extra degree, grad school seems like the best option to finish the program they’re eyeing and avoid an unsteady job market.
Delaying your entry into the job market has economic advantages as well. According to a report by the National Bureau of Economic Research, on average, college students that graduate in a recession receive lower lifetime earnings than those that graduate during a boom. Even if the students aren’t entering a field that has been paralyzed by the shutdown or their field hasn’t directly been impacted by lockdowns, they could face lower earnings down the road.
Samantha Meyer directs experiential programs for the Grady College of Journalism. Since the pandemic hit, she’s watched her role change. She and Whitney Denney, Grady College’s career consultant, put on a series of workshops to help graduating seniors navigate job searches during a global health crisis.
I spoke with Meyer to understand how the Career Center shifted since last March.
“We wanted to provide that space for them. Because unfortunately, we did see, you know, in the spring, you know, going into summer, internships were canceled. Interviews were cancelled,” said Meyer.
Programming continued, Meyer explained, but in an online format. She was hopeful that employers returned to this year’s virtual Career Fair, even if there were less than last spring.
Placement data, which is gathered by UGA’s Career Center, tells a story of continued opportunities and success.
According to the UGA Career Center’s “Outcome Initiative”, 91 percent of students from the class of 2020 are employed or enrolled in graduate programs at the time of the survey. Of the respondents, 87 percent of students were enrolled or employed in programs that aligned with their career interests.
“I think we’ll see a lot more seniors aiming for that full time role, even if it’s not a perfect fit or the perfect entry level role they’re looking for, whereas they might have taken that post grad paid internship that’s really close to what they want to do,” said Meyer.
Labor economist Dr. Ian Schmutte said that job recovery varies in different industries and within demographics.
“There are some groups that suffered disproportionately in those early phases of the pandemic. In particular, women, people of color, especially Hispanic workers had particularly large employment losses, even kind of given the sorts of jobs that they were employed in,” said Schmutte.
Schmutte explained how differences in education impact job recovery. Although students are entering uncertain times, the industries that require bachelor’s qualifications are likely to be less impacted than industries that don’t require a college degree.
For students, security is the priority right now. Whether that means enrolling in a graduate program or landing at a job you may not have expected, COVID-19 has changed their plans.
