With the economy still in recession, a lack of corporate jobs is causing many students to make changes to their post-graduation plans. Some students are moving back home to wait out the financial crisis. Others who previously might have gone straight into their careers are now going to graduate school or working in public service.
According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), job prospects for this year's graduating class are substantially lower than what they were for the five previous graduating classes. NACE also noted that the only industry showing an increase in hiring is government, while manufacturing and professional services remain flat.
Teach for America, an organization that places recent college graduates as teachers at schools in low-income communities, has seen a sharp increase in applications, partially due to the recession. According to Trevor Stutz, the national communications manager for Teach for America, the organization received 35,000 applicants, a 42 percent increase over last year. Last year, Teach for America selected only 3,600 new teachers from its applicant pool.
Tufts is no different from the rest of the nation in this trend. Around 100 seniors applied to Teach for America, a large increase over the 60 that applied last year.
Stutz, however, believes that the economy is not the only reason for the rise in applications.
"While the economy played a role in reducing competition for top applicants, we believe this year's increase can also be attributed to a growing interest among young people to engage in public service, the reputation we have developed among young people for achieving results with underserved students and the innovative approach to recruiting that the organization brings to more than 400 college campuses," Stutz said in an e-mail to the Daily.
A program based at Tufts with a similar ethos to Teach for America has also seen a rise in applicants this year.
The College Advising Corps, a Tufts-based organization that places college graduates in Massachusetts high schools as college advisors, has seen an increase in applications that may be a result of a lack of corporate jobs. According to Andrew Cahill, the program coordinator, the corps had seen as many applicants, about 20, by this April as they had by June of last year.
Cahill noted that he has seen applicants with "more diversity in education and work backgrounds than in years past," and believes that many of the candidates that have applied may have been looking at advanced degrees or higher-paying jobs last year.
"Working with a public service program like the College Advising Corps can be a powerful and rewarding experience," Cahill said in an e-mail. "If nothing else, I'm excited to see even more excellent college graduates recognize our program as viable means for personal and professional growth."
After graduating, senior Jennifer McNally will be working with another urban education program, the Boston Teacher Residency. The organization places participants as co-teachers in a Boston public school with a host teacher for one year. Participants also take courses at the same time. After the preparatory year, participants commit to teach in Boston area public schools for three years.
McNally chose the Boston Teacher Residency over Teach for America because she felt Teach for America's training program, which lasts five weeks, was too short to prepare her for teaching in a classroom. Teach for America also has a two-year commitment, as opposed to the Boston Teacher Residency's four-year commitment.
McNally has been interested in urban teaching for some time, and she is concerned that students with no long-term interest in teaching may just see Teach for America and similar programs as a way to ride out the bad economy.
"I'm weary of people going into urban teaching because they don't want to enter the real world," McNally said.
Career Services Director Jean Papalia noted that Tufts students often spend time doing service after graduation.
"For students who were contemplating service opportunities, the tight job market may accelerate their plans," Papalia said in an e-mail to the Daily. "That said, it's unlikely that individuals without a deep commitment to public service would choose this option simply to escape a challenging job search."
She added that Tufts has been recognized by organizations like the Peace Corps for its students' commitment to public service.
Some may attempt to stave off a recession by going to graduate school, rather than entering the job market. "There is a national trend during any downturn of the economy for graduate school applications to increase," Papalia said.
The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy has seen a 10 percent rise in application numbers this year from last year, according to Fletcher Admissions Director Laurie Hurley.
Papalia, however, warned that students should not look at graduate school as a way to avoid looking for a job. "As tempting as it might be to apply to graduate school in order to postpone a job search, we coach students to consider their personal and professional goals before applying to graduate school," Papalia said. "Graduate school is too serious an undertaking in terms of time and money to pursue just to escape a challenging job search."
Still, not all graduate schools are seeing a rise in applicants during the recession. According to Rebecca Russo, admissions director at Tufts' Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, applicant numbers to veterinary schools nationwide have been stable. The Cummings School also saw a stable number of applicants this admissions cycle as they had in years past.
Russo believes that this is the case because veterinary school applicants are usually undergraduates that have been on a veterinary track for several years. "Students applying to veterinary school are not going to say, ‘Ugh, I can't get a job, I'll go to vet school,'" Russo said.
Papalia noted that graduating seniors have a robust network to help them with their careers after graduating. "We are … available to help students after they graduate as they continue to make career decisions as alumni of Tufts," Papalia said.
