George Leef’s frequent warnings notwithstanding, you might be a bit surprised to read the following in TIME:
A recent study from Rutgers University analyzing data from 2006 to 2010 found that more than 30% of recession-era college grads didn’t land a job within six months of finishing school. And those who did find one were being paid less. The scramble for postcollege work has graduates racking their brains for ideas on how to get a good gig.
“They’re a much more sober group,” says Allen Green, dean of student life at Sarah Lawrence College, where visits to the career-services office are up 35% this year. His college’s focus on liberal arts has left many students willing to take anything that pays the bills, and often less than that. Postcollege internships have become the short-term fix, but they require sacrifices from budding adults. A recent poll conducted by consulting firm Twentysomething Inc. found that a startling 85% of graduates are taking shelter under Mom and Dad’s roof.
If more of those grads had read what George has written, perhaps we would not encounter the next two sentences in the TIME article: “Despite the meager payoffs of their degrees, many graduates think the solution is more education–and more debt. Sixty-two percent of college grads in the Rutgers study believed they needed more education to be successful.”
