Economic Troubles Reduce Pay for Recent Graduates

It’s common knowledge that the recession has hurt job prospects for college graduates. But a new study has found that when graduates do find work, their jobs often have little to do with their college studies, or don’t require degrees at all.

A report by Rutgers University, “Unfulfilled Expectations: Recent College Graduates Struggle in a Troubled Economy,” says that 53 percent of college graduates from 2006 to 2010 have full-time jobs, while 21 percent are in graduate school, 12 percent are working part time, and 9 percent are unemployed.

Of 517 respondents to a Rutgers survey, 90 percent of 2006-7 graduates said they had held at least one job since graduating. Around 80 percent of 2008-9 graduates said the same. But only 56 percent of 2010 graduates said they’d had at least one job since graduation.

Among those who did find work, 44 percent said their jobs were very closely related to their academic work, but 30 percent said their jobs were not very closely related or were not related at all to what they had studied in college.

For 27 percent, the first job was “just a job to get you by.” And 40 percent said their first jobs didn’t require a college degree.

Respondents who graduated into the down economy faced more challenges landing jobs and were paid less than those who graduated earlier. Graduates entering in job market in 2006-7 earned a median salary of $30,000, compared with $27,000 for those who entered the market in 2009-10.

Respondents who completed internships during college earned about 20 percent more than those who didn’t.

The report also noted a gender disparity in starting salaries: Men earned a median salary of $33,150, compared with $28,000 for women.

Recent graduates were also pessimistic about their earning potential: 56 percent predicted they would earn less than the previous generation. Only 17 percent thought they would earn more.