By Halcyon Orvendal
As you near graduation and polish that resume, you face a brutal reality: the job market is not exactly rolling out the red carpet for you. Many of us thought that four years of college would unlock the “You’re Hired” doors in the employment industry, but the real world often sees it as one of several necessary qualifications. If you ever find yourself spiraling into anxieties about post-grad options, you are not alone. Even as a sophomore, nightmares of ending up unemployed — even after studying for 16 years — haunt me.
The increasingly crowded job market does little to ease this anxiety. According to Forbes, as of October 2024, the average monthly rise in new jobs has fallen by 28% compared to 2023, with an average of 118 candidates applying for each new job that is advertised. As a result of this booming rise in the number of people looking for jobs, entry-level jobs now require three to five years of experience or multiple internships to stand out as a first-time candidate. This was reflected in a 2021 LinkedIn analysis, where the organization found that 35% of the entry-level jobs posted on their forum required three or more years of experience.
These unrealistic expectations in the status quo raise an important question: Is a college degree enough to secure employment, or is it just an expensive piece of paper?
Most colleges still emphasize theoretical knowledge over practical application. Sure, hours in the library might make us experts in postcolonial literature or advanced calculus, but how often will we analyze sonnets or derivatives in a typical workplace? When we finally enter the job market, it becomes glaringly clear that we lack the skills employers value: negotiation, teamwork, problem-solving and adaptability. These gaps within the curriculum make college education feel outdated and out of touch with real world demands.
On the other hand, some see summer internships during college as a gateway to securing a job afterward. Yet, access to internships is not equitable. While internships can provide hands-on experience, getting one often feels like a battle. Many internships are unpaid or pay very little, especially in fields like the arts or social sciences, where “gaining experience” is often synonymous with “working for free.”
Ultimately, it all boils down to whether a student comes from a privileged background that allows them to take on these low-paying internships for the sake of a “prestigious” addition to their resume. Students from underprivileged backgrounds often forgo these resume building opportunities, because they need to dedicate their time to a job that earns them enough money to pay their bills.
Some students, in the face of a competitive job market and anxiety about future unemployment, endeavor to do it all — juggling part-time jobs, side gigs, unpaid internships and a full course load throughout the school year. But for many students, this is neither sustainable nor realistic. Students should not be asked to do more, and should not have to rely on poorly-compensated internships to make their degrees useful in the professional world.
In a nutshell, the main problem with the transition between education and employment lies in the lack of real-life skills in college courses. While experience gaps can be addressed through internships, equitable access remains a significant concern. We are entering an era where a degree alone is no longer enough to guarantee career success. With tuition costs rising, should we not expect an education that directly prepares us for the professional world? A recent report by Georgetown University Center on Education shows that by 2031, jobs requiring a college degree are expected to decline by 10%. A 2024 Linkedin study also portrays that nearly 72% of employers now prioritize candidates with hands-on experience. Colleges should equip us not just with a diploma but with tangible, marketable skills.
So, what is the solution? It is time for institutions to get creative, investing in a curriculum that bridges the gap between “student” and “professional.” This means connecting students to local organizations and mentors, providing hands-on opportunities for learning real-world skills, sharing stories and examples of how faculty and staff are currently navigating the professional field and helping students find paid experience in their field(s) of interest —both on and off campus. Incorporating these elements into classrooms will help students who can not afford to work underpaid internships and attend every career related event feel more confident as they approach graduation.
Until then, most of us will face the “real world” armed only with a degree, a mountain of debt and a vague hope that things will somehow work out one day. In theory, college should prepare us for the professional world, but we are still waiting for a system that aligns theory with practice.
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