Career Services on the second floor of the Nebraska Union has an abundant amount of information about graduate school, studying abroad and the Peace Corps. All options are available to graduates after they move the tassel. Photo: Jenn Hatcher, NewsNetNebraska
The sluggish economy and tepid jobs market are forcing rising numbers of college students into graduate school, boosting admissions at UNL’s post-baccalaureate programs. University officials say the enrollments, up 2 percent this year, have steadily climbed since 2007 when the recession began.
Choosing the classroom over the workplace can be a savvy move, some experts say. As the economy loosens up, workers with advanced training in such areas as business, healthcare and education will be in demand, says Dr. Eric Thompson, a professor of Economics at UNL.
“Assuming you have the resources, there’s a logic to it,” said Thompson. He added that the main costs are the opportunities lost by staying out of work. While every recession offers surprises on the other side, he said, plenty of entry-level jobs should be available once growth resumes. Researchers at the University of Washington, who studied enrollment trends, found that people commonly opt for more schooling in recessionary times.
Rebecca Faber, the assistant director at Career Services, looks over and critiques a resume. She helps students with resumes, cover letters and even does practice interviews.
Photo: Jenn Hatcher, NewsNetNebraska
Michael Mason-D’Croz, a 2009 UNL journalism graduate, faced a tough job market in the hard-hit broadcasting world, for instance. He saw limited options and cutthroat competition. Top that off with low wages and poor benefits and he chose to pursue a post-baccalaureate teacher certification program and a master’s degree in secondary education.
“Teaching is a steady profession,” said Mason-D’Croz, 23. “There is always a need for good people.”
It wasn’t his first choice, he admits. Mason-D’Croz, who saw himself as a sports or entertainment reporter, says he misses life in front of the cameras. “If hypothetically, there were a job,” he said. “I would feel the pull to go back to it.”
The jobs market continues to look bleak, though the deterioration has slowed. Since 2007, the national unemployment rate has doubled to 9.8 percent, leaving 15.1 million Americans without jobs. Some 307,000 jobs disappeared each month, on average, between May and September of this year, government figures show. This is an improvement from the monthly average of 645,000 from November 2008 to April 2009.
Such gloomy figures have made plenty of students nervous. Matt Macari, a 21-year-old statistics major and senior at Truman State University, recently visited UNL while exploring post-graduation options. “I don’t want to go the standard teaching or actuarial route that so many of my peers are going,” Macari said. “With the job market the way it is, those are the only options.”
Macari thinks that going to graduate school would give him extra time to explore other options until the end of the economic crisis.
“I think that (a higher degree) would give me a competitive edge against those who had similar degrees or experience levels to beat that,” Macari said.
Sina Attaie, senior secondary education major looks through the classified ads circling jobs that would interest her. Attaie has always planned on going to graduate school and looks at it as a bigger and better opportunity.
Photo: Jenn Hatcher, NewsNetNebraska
But going to graduate school may not always guarantee a great job.
“You really have to consider the student situation.” Dr. Rebecca Faber, assistant director of Career Services said. “When a student has debt, you have to be very careful.”
Faber also said that graduate school should not be a way to put off thinking about career choices. “Graduate school should be the place where you know what you want to study and know what you want to do,” she said. “There are times [when] more education does not equal more money.”
Still, the hard times may provide just the right incentive for students who were already thinking about collecting an advanced degree, economist Thompson said.
Sina Attaie, a senior secondary education major at UNL, is a good example. She was thinking about grad school before the downturn in the economy, but the recession pushed her to start applying.
“You really need to have a good foothold in the job that you have.” Attaie said. “Having a higher education will help that.”
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