What Do Students Do After They Graduate?

Today, more students than ever are going to college. The Bachelor’s Degree is widely accepted as a necessity for career success. Never mind the fact that college campuses lack true diversity and that males are rapidly becoming the great minority in higher ed classrooms. Never mind the fact that a business degree has been outed as the major that students who want to goof off the most make a beeline for. Never mind the fact that college loan debt in this country has surpassed credit card debt. Maybe, just maybe, it’s time to explore some alternatives?

This new infographic reveals a side of college education that you may be all too familiar with; or, if it shocks you to learn of the darker side of this not-so-promising story, open your eyes to the reality that many graduates have been emptily promised careers and incomes that they’ll never achieve, despite their degrees.

Our research has found that a surprisingly large percentage of graduates are not achieving what they expect from their lives in terms of career, home life, income and debt. Bottom line, college grads’ expectations of guaranteed success are not always met, and college doesn’t always enrich and improve their lives to the extent that they had hoped. As many as 17,000,000 American graduates are working in roles which require a skill set lower than that achieved at Bachelor’s Degree level, including over 300,000 wait staff and 18,000 car park attendants. What’s more, up to 70% of students have no jobs lined up at all after they graduate.

The US Census Bureau has reported that college graduates may earn up to $1,000,000 in their lifetime, but the reality is that grads are more likely to average around $279,893 per year. For many, this doesn’t even begin to cover college loan debt or alleviate the stress of their intense academic experience. The average graduate is saddled with $23,200 before they’ve even found work, and this is compounded by other debts they build up during their student life. It’s believed that 84% of students have at least one credit card and that the average number of credit cards per student is 4.6. As if the pressure of loans and credit cards weren’t enough, up to 7.2% of students actually drop out during their studies due to mounting debt.

Graduates enter their early twenties without a steady job and as many 80% return to live at home with their parents. Having a great degree doesn’t make you any more employable if you’re not motivated to find work, and because there are so many people attending college these days, there simply aren’t enough high level jobs for everybody.

College can be extremely valuable, from a knowledge-building and social perspective, but there’s a less rosy reality than we’ve previously been led to believe about the benefits of higher education in the “real world” post-dorm rooms and classes in the quad. Now you know. Go out and find the knowledge and skills that are relevant to YOU.