Efficiency vs. Equality

A Degree Alone “Doesn’t Cut It”

For the classes of 2010 and 2011, this means taking a practical approach to the job market. Instead of focusing on their grade-point average and waiting for offers to roll in, they have treat the job hunt as a major component of their education.

“The degree alone doesn’t cut it,” says Matthew Berndt, director of communications career services at the University of Texas at Austin. “That’s a message that’s coming home to students much more clearly now.” Many of these students were freshmen at the height of the economic boom in 2006, and never thought they’d have to fight for jobs.

“I felt like I was a good student at school with an in-demand skill set,” says Laura Kaufman, 22, an international relations major who has been unemployed since graduating from Michigan State University in spring 2010. “When you go into the actual job market, you’re really thrown to the ground.”