By Jessie Hethcoat
Amie Dahnke didn't spend five years pursuing an English and Communication Studies double major from a reputable private university to sell furniture at Pottery Barn. Nonetheless, she, like many other 2009 graduates, has had to find a solution to the current economic crisis and virtual unavailability of entry-level careers. For Dahnke, this sales position is her only current reliable source of income. The class of 2009 faces the most competitive job market in years.
According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, companies plan to hire 20 percent fewer college graduates this year than average. This unfavorable economic situation does have an end in sight, and recent college grads are struggling to find careers in a time of bleak job availability.
Max Kalchthaler, the assistant director of UP's Office of Career Services, explains that the job market is now different from what it used to be.
"It used to be that 20 years ago, students had jobs at graduation," Kalchthaler said. "It doesn't work that way anymore."
Kalchthaler acknowledges that the job market is in a dry spell, and many companies are not even hiring. He also explains, however, that it is the student's responsibility to start searching for work early to avoid unemployment after graduation.
"The average job search takes six to nine months, for any person," Kalchthaler said. "This means that if you're a senior, you need to start now. Students that wait until graduation to job search will have a much harder time"
Some UP graduates are working full-time careers, but many have opted to take alternative avenues to avoid the job market for another year.
Lacey Bitter is one of those graduates. She is now working for free, and living off what she describes as a very modest living stipend from Americorps. Americorps is one of the agencies that graduates can apply to for a year of service after graduation. Bitter is working in Kansas City, Missouri for the Youth Volunteer Core.
"I chose the position in Kansas City because I knew it was a line of work that I was passionate about," Bitter said.
Bitter explains that Americorps workers can chose their service and city. Bitter chose her position in Kansas City based on the agency. Americorps offers a year of service followed by a service reward of approximately $5,000 that graduates can use either for student loan payment or graduate school financing.
Bitter, who looked for work in Portland, saw the Northwest's job market as particularly barren and something that she wanted to avoid.
"I think the Portland job market deserves to be spoken negatively about," Bitter said. "Even though I love the Northwest, there are much more jobs here in Kansas City."
Government figures support Bitter's perception. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Oregon's seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for September was 11.5 percent. Missouri's was 9.5 percent, slightly lower than the national unemployment rate of 9.8 percent.
Like many of her friends, Bitter has found work in the meantime, but, she explains, very few have found careers.
"Of all of my friends, I can think of two people who have real, professional jobs. Most of them have taken the route of a year of service," Bitter said.
Jeff Trousdale, a 2009 graduate, was interested in journalism jobs. After finding little that interested him, he decided to take a year off. Working at AT&T Wireless at the retail position he held during college, Trousdale is applying to law schools and plans to start in September.
Trousdale's year off was intentional. He explains that he found law to be a better avenue for using his skill set and an opportunity to help people. As for the unemployment problem now, he believes that all recent graduates are experiencing a part of it.
"It really depends on your degree," Trousdale said. "There are lots of communications and business majors out there and because of that I think they're having a hard time."
Doug Franz, another 2009 graduate, majored in finance and economics. He has been job hunting since before graduation. Franz looks for work on Internet databases three to four days a week, and he still cannot find entry-level work.
"I haven't been hopeful to find a job," Franz said. "The few people I networked with aren't hiring for entry-level positions right now, and I haven't found many companies that are."
Franz has decided to give himself until November to find work. If he cannot find work at that point, he explains, he will look into graduate school or volunteer work. He is currently in Seattle and living off of money he earned while in college.
The University's caller outreach program, which contacts alumni for donations, has also contacted Franz. Frustrated at the fact that the University is contacting recent graduates during the economic crisis, Franz explains he is not the only one who dislikes this.
"A lot of people I graduated with are frustrated that the university is calling us and asking for money," Franz said. "That's the only time I've been contacted by the university since I graduated."
Amie Dahnke, who had freelance writing jobs throughout college, still has not been able to find a full-time writing position. She has been able to secure a new freelance writing job with local community newspapers, but her retail sales position at Pottery Barn is the most consistent work she has found thus far.
"Even my hours at Pottery Barn are touch-and-go," Dahnke said. "It's still the most consistent job I have."
Always on the job hunt, Dahnke is frustrated by the lack of availability of jobs in the Northwest. Dahnke, as a recent college grad, sees that there are people with many years of experience in the same situation.
"I just don't have what all these laid off people have," Dahnke said.
Dahnke has searched outside of Portland as well. She is working with her connections to try to and find full-time work. Dahnke realizes that she will probably have to stray outside journalism, the career track that she got on at UP.
"It's not what I expected," Dahnke said. "When you enter college, you expect to come out of it with a degree and a job. But the job I want isn't here."
Rachel Prusynski, on the other hand, is virtually unaffected by the crisis. Having always planned to attend graduate school, Prusynski is right on course to receive her doctorate of physical therapy at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington.
"I'm definitely glad that I'm not looking for a job," Prusynski said.
Though she had already planned to attend graduate school, Prusynski explains that she sees the way that the job market has affected her friends.
"I think about half of my friends are not living in the country at the moment," Prusynski said. "A lot of people decided to go abroad for service."
She sees the positive affect that the economy has had on the recent graduates as well.
"For a lot of people, it forced them to be creative," Prusynski said. "Like for those who are volunteering, they're helping out the world. I think that's an extremely positive aspect of it."
Even though many UP graduates and graduates of other colleges have not yet found careers, Kalchthaler believes the situation will be better soon.
"As soon as the stock market pulls itself back together, the baby boomers are going to retire," Kalchthaler said. "That means that five to ten years out, there will be 200,000 open positions."
He explains that students need to avoid what he describes as the natural tendency to avoid the job search. Kalchthaler believes that the sooner they begin this hunt, the better. This includes networking, which many graduates have found immensely beneficial.
"It's going to be hard work, but it's not all gloom and doom," Kalchthaler said.
