Alexander Robinson
Associate Editor
With 16 days until May 7th, graduating seniors anxiously await the day, when they will be proudly able to announce that they are alumnus of Jackson State University. They are excited and ready to embark on true adulthood, leaving one stage of their lives behind, while rushing towards the next. Unfortunately, some seniors will find themselves displaced after graduation.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate stands at 9.2%. In April of 2008 the unemployment rate was 4.8%, signifying nearly a 100% increase in the unemployment rate.
Seniors attempting to enter the workforce will find a more competitive job market; gone are the days when a bachelor’s degree guaranteed you a well paying job. Employers are now giving those jobs to people who have gone on to receive master’s degrees and certifications, such as the CPA for accountants.
Students who wish to continue their education are also finding it more difficult to be accepted into respectable programs. In addition to requiring higher GPAs for their acceptees, graduate schools want various letters of recommendation and essays defining the students purpose as well as why they want to attend the grad school at which they are applying.
This is the easy part. The most difficult part of being accepted in grad schools are the admissions test, tests like the LSAT for law schools, GMAT for business programs, MCAT for medical schools, and GRE for all graduate programs.
The greater competition in both the workforce and graduate schools are a direct result of the struggling U.S. economy, and as the government is making drastic cuts in spending and corporations are moving jobs overseas to places like India and China, the situation is sure to become worse before it becames better.
Students must be aware of the changing economic landscape and make the neccessary commitments in order to prepare themselves.
As the world becomes more technology dependent, computer science majors will have more and more opportunities for higher paying jobs. Students who are able to communicate in more languages than just English will also be in demand, not only in the U.S., on a global scale where business transactions are being carried out in many languages.
Students wishing to continue on to graduate school, must prepare early, studying for the standardized tests for their majors while using all of the resources that Jackson State provides as well as the unlimited resources of the Internet.
I would like to congratulate all graduating seniors on their many accomplishments at JSU, and wish them all the best in their future endeavors. While you celebrate your undergraduate successes, remember that a bachelor’s degree does not guarantee success, it is only the first step in the long rough road ahead.
Commentary expresses the views of the writer. If you comments you can contact Alexander Robinson at theflash@jsums.edu.
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