With a slowing economy, along with an influx of former federal workers looking for new jobs and a tightening labor market, job prospects for 2025 graduates aren’t looking too bright.
As college students across the country prepare to take their final exams, the reality of life after school may be different from what they expected.
According to a ZipRecruiter survey, about 82% of students in the class of 2025 anticipate having a full-time job within three months after graduation, while 77% of recent graduates can actually make that claim.
That indicates an increasing gap between those who can land a job quickly versus those taking six months or more to find a full-time gig.
Nursing or health science majors should be able to find employment a bit easier, as these two sectors led employment gains in the last month.
But jobs for computer science majors and software engineers have slowed considerably —unless you have AI skills.
Political science majors are also seeing their job prospects shrink. Thanks to DOGE-led cuts, the federal government is contracting, eliminating early career fellowships and other opportunities for thousands across the country.
For those government jobs still available at the state and local level, recent grads are likely competing with those 60,000 or so who’ve recently been dismissed from federal jobs.
Converting to full-time employment
To make matters worse, according to a survey from the National Association of Colleges and Employers, internships aren’t converting to full-time employment as frequently as before.
Still, a majority of this year’s graduates are optimistic. About 83% said they were confident in their job prospects after commencement, says a Monster report.
If you’re a student considering your college major or perhaps wondering if college is the right path for you, please do your research before making up your mind.
In the old days, it was a matter of scouring the classified ads. Now it’s all about constantly pouring over job sites like Indeed, Monster, and CareerBuilder, where competition is fierce, and things change quickly.
Whatever major or career path you’re considering, pay close attention to the kinds of job openings that are listed.
If you’re thinking about fields like sociology, art history, religion, literature or journalism, you may find very few postings.
A common fallback position I hear is, “I want to be a teacher,” which is an irable vocation and usually one with lots of openings each year. However, most of those positions may be in specialized fields such as math, physics, and science.
Two things are at play here.
Even in high school, but especially college-level, teaching general courses like psychology or sociology usually require a master’s or doctorate-level degree.
Do you plan to continue your studies for another two to eight years? Consider not only the years, but the high cost of that level of education.
A valuable skill that’s needed
Now let’s consider journalism, a valuable skill that’s needed in business and virtually every other field for effective written and verbal communication.
Are you willing to start somewhere in a small Midwestern town, earning minimal money, to develop your writing skills and style?
Are you willing to slowly move up the journalism ladder to pursue your ion?
If the answer is yes, then go for it. I applaud your perseverance.
I just want your eyes to be wide open about the reality of earning a long-term living in that field, especially with AI on the horizon.
Behavioral health – psychology, psychiatry and therapy – is an emerging field these days, with an increased demand for candidates who are degreed, certified and licensed.
The field has enormous potential for people with training that have the demeanor to deal with challenging situations and clients. But it’s not a field to leap into just because of current demand.
It’s demanding and draining, and the pay rates are far below what they should be. Most importantly, the burn-out rate is very high.
Whatever field of study you choose, don’t forget to look before you leap.
Blair is co-founder of Manpower Staffing and can be reached at [email protected].
