Grads put off getting jobs

Not that the surplus of law and business school applicants aren’t competent enough to be successful, but eventually the pseudo-attorneys and MBAs need to return to their original fields to keep an economic balance. Maybe a boycott isn’t such a bad idea. Only seek legal counsel and business services from the “true” attorneys and MBAs.

There are many students that attend college each year with hopes of acquiring their bachelor’s degree in fields such as computer science, business and engineering. Typically students in previous years have been able to score decent entry-level positions with such degrees. Though due to the current economic recession and dwindling job market such career options for graduating seniors are limited.

In response to such economic conditions, new graduates are using this as an excuse to pursue even higher education, though it may not have been their original intention to do so. They are pursuing graduate degrees that don’t necessarily require a bachelor’s degree in any certain field in order to be accepted – graduate programs that they feel they can just fall back on. So while law school and MBA applications are unusually high, medical school applications are actually decreasing.

Law school applications, according to the Law School Admission Council are up 17.9 percent in 2002-2003, the highest they have been in 20 years. Applications to graduate business programs are experiencing a similar trend. Columbia University’s business school applications, for example, are up 26 percent this year.

Conversely, medical school applications have dropped from 46,956 in 1996 to 34,859 in 2001.

It sounds like a safety net that is not so safe for the welfare of the American economy. There will be a smaller-than-normal number of graduates for employers to pool from within the next two to three years. It will be difficult for the economy to experience a boost when there are so few students actually pursuing the job market.

When more jobs do become available, many students will be completing graduate programs that they didn’t even want to attend in the first place.

Upon completing this graduate work there will be numerous individuals placed into positions practicing in fields that they aren’t necessarily interested in.

This is also an unfortunate situation for students that had originally planned to attend law or business school for their graduate work. These students are facing unnecessary competition in their chosen field. Though other students may be better qualified according to numbers, they may not be so in terms of dedication and sincerity, which is technically more important. Unfortunately, graduates evading the job market are taking positions from students that really want to be in those programs.

Our cyclical economy will improve eventually, as it always does, and maybe these lost souls will find their way home. Until then, the “true” attorneys and business people are facing one hell of a competition. May the best man win.

One comforting thought – at least it will be safe to go to the doctor.