This late spring and summer 1.6 million students marched triumphantly across a stage and were awarded a diploma representing countless hours of research and studying, years of steadfast dedication, and the ingestion of hundreds of gallons of caffeinated beverages. Being awarded a college degree is often seen as an important milestone and a critical gateway to an improved life. Yet, in recent times this piece of wisdom has been called into questioned. The global economic downturn led many to wonder whether a college degree has tangible benefits during a downturn. In fact, one Wall Street Journal article dubbed the Class of 2009 as “cursed.” As I noted in a post this past January, despite a still “rollercoaster-ing” labor market, from the standpoint of economic projections and labor trends, 2011 is looking to be the best year since the dawn of the downturn, both for out-of-work job-seekers and new graduates.
In fact, a recent Bloomberg BusinessWeek article written by Oliver Stanley, Douglas McMillan, and Cecile Vannucci, notes that, “The class of 2011 is enjoying the best job market for new graduates since the financial crisis of 2008.” What’s changed? The trio notes the uptick in hiring can be traced to gains in three continuously emerging fields: technology, finance, and energy. “Emerging areas such as social media, mobile applications, and e-commerce are fueling rapid hiring at big companies such as Google and Apple, as well as venture-capital-backed startups.” However, the explosion of activity in Silicon Valley, even if real, does seem resonant of the ‘dot-com’ boom. In this vein, Baba Shiv of Stanford’s Graduate Business School suggests that, “For students, it’s the perfect time to take chances…Do it now. In five years, it will be over.”
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