State of the World for College Students

As the world continues to digest what’s going on due to coronavirus, we wanted to share how college students/graduates are being affected. As the country braces for a recession, many are not thinking of how this recession impacts the graduating seniors, or college freshman, sophomore, or juniors. The world has become a much scarier place and we wanted to do our part to inform and help students. Let’s get started!

What we’ve learned…

Let’s talk numbers…
In 2019, roughly 2 million students graduated college. 66% of students did not have jobs lined up upon graduation — and that’s in one of the strongest economies. Of these students, after 7.4 months of unemployment, 49% end up in jobs that didn’t require a college degree — for example bartending, retail, customer service, or barista.

After spending thousands of dollars on college tuition and so much time studying to get a degree, that’s not what you were expecting or wanting to hear right? The numbers are scary, but this is our reality.

The next few years…
The job market is going to be pretty unforgiving over the next few years. As we head into a global recession, our analysis is that the digitally-enabled jobs or jobs within digitally-enabled companies are the ones that will survive and continue to thrive.

The recession will force many companies to rethink internships and entry-level jobs, making it far more competitive than ever to gain experience. As if companies weren’t already specific in who they are looking for in a potential candidate, they will be even more selective in the years ahead.

So how do you survive the inevitable recession?
Most people are generally unaware until it’s too late, but there’s been a massive skills gap developing between what companies need and what students are learning in college. Part of the problem stems from the fact that most students are not familiar with the vast majority of the in-demand jobs/roles companies need to fill. So they don’t select the right major, classes, and internships to build the experience employers need.

The one thing you can do to set yourself apart from the competition is build the skills you aren’t being taught in class. If you’re a Freshman, Sophomore, or Junior, you are not exempt from the worry. As we head into recession territory, it’s more important than ever to gain the knowledge and skills you’ll need to thrive within your career path.

How can PathMatch help?
Nancy Soni, CEO of PathMatch, wanted to provide guidance and support to students in or entering college. Over the past 9 months, PathMatch has built a career matching platform that matches students to high-paying, in-demand career paths based on their personalities, strengths, interests, location preferences, and 50+ other variables.

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