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‘I feel helpless’: college graduates can’t find entry-level roles in shrinking market amid rise of AI (www.theguardian.com)

submitted 1 week ago by Powderhorn@beehaw.org to c/usnews@beehaw.org

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American college graduates are facing the worst entry-level job market since the pandemic, with the underemployment rate reaching 42.5% – its highest level since 2020.

Several young graduates told the Guardian about their struggles navigating a job market shaped by tightening opportunities, the rise of AI and shifting employer expectations.

Gillian Frost, a 22-year-old student at Smith College in Massachusetts, has been searching for work since last September. Majoring in quantitative economics with a minor in government and set to graduate in May, she described a grueling and often discouraging process.

“Every weekend, I dedicate over two hours to job applications. As of today, I’ve applied to over 90 jobs. I’ve been ghosted by nearly 25% of them and rejected automatically from around 55%,” she said.

Despite securing some interviews, Frost said the lack of communication from employers had been particularly frustrating.

She said: “I’ve gotten around 10 interviews but many of them don’t even bother to tell you you’re not a good fit … I feel helpless. No one seems to know how best to prepare due to the unique conflux of events occurring. How do you prepare for a tight labor market coinciding with the emergence of AI and direct US involvement in war? Most generations have dealt with maybe one of these but our generation is the first to deal with all three.”

They may not be finding jobs, but at least they're saddled with debt, which is nakedly now the whole point.

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[–] Megaman_EXE@beehaw.org 2 points 1 week ago

I'm looking for work right now, and it's a shit show. This process feels identical to what I faced a decade ago. Just now, it has AI flavoring with less jobs in the pool due to all the tech layoffs. You now get to compete with 10x as many people.

I've been debating if I want to go back to school or not. It's not nearly as bad as it is in America. But there's still the risk of going, having to pay off loans and not actually being able to get a job in your given field.