Why the current job market has been such a bad match for the college degree and recent grads

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1. When Jenny Flora Wells graduated from Ohio State University in 2021 with her master’s degree in social work, she applied for 400 jobs. From that crop, she landed three interviews.

   “I was told an MSW was a golden ticket and that I would be sure to find a job. I did everything by the book, had a 4.0 GPA, worked with career services, and quadrupled-checked my resume. I did everything by the book, and I still couldn’t land a job,” said Wells.

   Wells now helps other recent grads traumatized by their job search. She is a licensed social worker who practices in Los Angeles. While searching for a job, Wells landed an internship in OSU’s career services department, which helped her build a specialty in the niche field of counseling job seekers.

   “What we are seeing from these younger generations is that they are working harder than ever but have nothing to show for it because no one will give them a job,”  Wells said.

   Read more: [https://www.cnbc.com/2024/07/14/current-job-openings-labor-market-college-degree-recent-grads.html](https://www.cnbc.com/2024/07/14/current-job-openings-labor-market-college-degree-recent-grads.html)

2. Useless majors.

3. Because most of the job postings are fake.

   Even if its “real” theyre only looking for a golden unicorn that will work for min wage.

   Its like me putting an $50k offer on a decent 4/2 house with a pool in a decent neighborhood. Do you consider that a real offer?

4. >For jobs that don’t require a degree, openings are up slightly from last year, from 65.75% of postings in 2023 to 65.98% so far in 2024. However, according to Lightcast’s data, 8 of the top 10 job postings in March were ones that did not require a college degree.

   I can’t imagine why 17-year-olds are wondering if a college degree is worth it these days

5. Because the job market for white collar professional work is shifting , that’s not something anyone wants to say out loud.

   The reality is when you keep pumping out millions of new grads year after year (about 2 million graduates I 2022 source: https://educationdata.org/number-of-college-graduates) , there simply isn’t that many new jobs **in their respective fields** being produced . There may be a excess demand for plumbers or other blue collar work, but that doesn’t help someone who has a marketing degree.

   Add to that the labor market is no longer local for many jobs. Companies will gladly outsource entire jobs or even corporate departments to third party vendors rather than incur headcount expenses.

   Finally the entire hiring eco system is horribly broken…full of fake postings (by recruiters mostly) , outdated job listings that were long filled but never removed . In accurate no descriptions or requirements..etc..

   At the end of the day getting a paying job is more about your social network and social attitude than pure academic prowess.

6. This seems like a natural result of the current and still growing extreme inequality.

   Nepotism, and employers only hiring people with the least need to train (niche experience), are the two main forces at the top end of the job market.

   While the middle of the job market, where people initially acquire niche experience, is shrinking along with the middle class.

   And the bottom of the job market, services and maintenance based trades, are expanding to care for the conspicuous consumption of the wealthy. Basically human jewelry, that generally doesn’t lead to the niche experience employers at the top are looking for.

7. It might be that working for a wage doesn’t work anymore and that the only chance to make it is having your own company.