Job outlook grim for grads

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate for people with a bachelor's degree was 4.6 percent in August of 2011.

While that is low in comparison to the national average, suggesting gaining a bachelor's degree is still a better option than not, and while it is a slight drop from the five percent mark from a year ago, it's a far cry from the pre-recession 2007 figures when it was under two percent.

Financing four years of higher education will have its impact on any person, regardless of whether the degree is from a prestigious Ivy League school or from a more affordable state school.

With a median student loan debt of $20,000 amongst recent college graduates, the weakening job security that comes with a bachelor's degree has made the post-graduation struggle even more strenuous.

"I would say that it is tough out in the real world, and just because a person has a degree, it does not guarantee the individual automatic success," Shamus Carr, 23, a 2011 graduate of Slippery Rock University, said. "You have to keep working at your skills and have the ability to market yourself in order to succeed."

Carr is finding that he must still work hard post-graduation in hopes of finding a job related to his degree in political science.

"Currently, I'm working on getting involved in the county executive race for Allegheny County, and also, I am taking multiple civil service tests and applying for various state jobs," Carr said of his employment search.

What Carr is experiencing post-graduation is what many of his peers are also going through. In a study released by the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University last May, only 56 percent of graduates of the class of 2010 held a job at the time of the survey.

The survey also shows that the post-recession starting salaries dropped to $27,000 compared to $30,000 before the recession hit.

And among those individuals that did find work in the survey, only 44 percent reported their first job as having a very close relationship to their academic field of study, while 30 percent reported their job's relationship was not very close or not at all related to their academic degree.

Likewise, just as many graduates reported their first job as simply "just a job to get you by," and 27 percent of them stuck with that job as a career.

While the outlook for graduating seniors is currently bleaker than in the past, there is some good news for new workers entering the job market.

According to a study by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, a nonprofit organization based in Bethlehem, Pa. focusing on college career services, employers will hire 19 percent more college graduates this year than last.

It marks the first double-digit jump from a previous year since 2007. The difference between 2009 and 2010 was minimal.

Brianna Dinofrio, 22, a 2011 graduate of Slippery Rock University, was one of the recent grads who was able to enter the workforce right away.

"I started my first job in the field of mental health on the Monday right after graduation," Dinofrio said. "I found out about the company through the SRU summer internship fair, and it was honestly very easy to get."

While easy to get it, the job wasn't one that required the bachelor's degree in psychology that Dinofrio had worked hard for.

"It was a direct care position, but it wasn't one that required a bachelor's degree," Dinofrio said. "Still, I got valuable experience with individuals who can't care for themselves due to physical and mental disabilities."

Even though her first job wasn't directly a result of her academic study, she feels it, paired with her degree, was what allowed her to enter her career field where she is now employed.

"I think that I was able to get my current position due to the experience I acquired there," Dinofrio, who now works as a Milieu Therapist at the Western Psychiatric Institute & Clinic of UPMC in Pittsburgh, said.

The struggle for Slippery Rock University graduates entering the workforce varies from case to case.

In part two of this three-part series, The Rocket will examine how Slippery Rock University graduates have faired in recent years.