I recently came across several articles published in journals and magazines that all stated that fewer college graduates are working in field related to their college majors; instead, more students are working retail jobs or other jobs that only require them to have high school diplomas. Naturally, these stats may have you wondering why having a college degree so important if you will have the same job that you could get as a high school graduate. I'm with you there: Personally, my current job is completely unrelated to my college major and what I want to establish my career in so this position allows me to see the situation from two different perspectives.

I continue to work at my job because it is allowing me to save up money that will be used to help further my education – I want to attend graduate school and law school in the future, which will burn a huge hole in my pocket! Like many other graduates, I just wanted any job that would allow me to save for the future. I do not plan on keeping this job forever but it is nice to have so that I am not always stressed out over money as I prepare for grad school. On the other hand, there are some students who accept jobs unrelated to their fields because they need the money in order to survive. Having a college degree may make them overqualified for some jobs while they are still underqualified for other jobs because they only have a bachelor’s or associate degree. Accepting an unrelated job is the college graduate’s crutch to rely on until they can find a job that relates to what they want to do.

After reading those articles on the employment statistics of college graduates, I can honestly say that I am not surprised with the findings. The economy is not perfect and sometimes you have to take what you can get so that you can either save up to further your education or until you find your dream job. What do you think and what would you do?

Jessica Seals is recent graduate of the University of Memphis, where she majored in political science and minored in English. She was the secretary of the Pre-Law Society, the philanthropy chair of the Phi Kappa Phi Student Council and a member of Professional Assertive United Sisters of Excellence (PAUSE), Golden Key Honor Society, Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society, Sigma Alpha Lambda Honor Society and Black Scholars Unlimited. Jessica will be back at Memphis this fall to begin working toward her master’s degree in political science this fall; she ultimately hopes to attend law school.

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