For class of 2020 graduates, ‘it’s just not what the plan was’
ECONOMIC CRISIS: Lives left in limbo as job market dries up
Job offers revoked. Internships canceled. The next chapter of life on hold.
The class of 2020 started college eight semesters ago during the fall of 2016. Donald Trump was elected president that semester, and political tensions on campus were high.
Four years later, the class of 2020 is again seeing their college experience defined by another watershed event: A global pandemic that has killed tens of thousands in the United States, infected more than 1 million people and widened the political divide.
“Part of me feels selfish for being upset,” said Alec White, a graduate of media studies at the
University of Houston. “The other part of me realizes, ‘You’ve been looking forward to this for four years.’ But public safety is more important.”
White, who planned to work as an actor this summer before productions were canceled, is one of millions of graduates who have had post-college plans turned upside down by the pandemic. The new graduates are being forced to reevaluate everything from moves across the country to career decisions.
Just a year ago, the class of 2019 graduated into one of the tightest labor markets in history and found themselves in high demand as employers fought for workers. Now, the rapid economic downturn caused by the coronavirus and mandated business closures to stop it have resulted in what is perhaps the worst job market for high school and college graduates since the Great Depression.
Even the financial crisis that started in 2007 was not nearly as deep, sudden and quick. More than 36 million Americans have applied for unemployment benefits in a little under two months. The unemployment rate soared to a post-World War II high of 14.7 percent — a record that would be 5 percentage points higher if those who are furloughed were counted.
In Houston and across Texas, a historic oil bust has made conditions even tougher for local graduates. Bankruptcies, layoffs and spending cuts are not only battering the oil industry but also the sectors that support it, from manufacturing to professional services to restaurants.
“They may not get their first best job in this labor market,” said Pia Orrenius, a labor economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.
“People who start in a recession have persistently slightly lower wages than people who start in a boom. They’re going to have to be more aggressive later in their career to make up for starting in this economy.”
Back to the drawing board
As the economic crisis has unfolded, university career centers had to rapidly adapt to help students navigate situations that would have been unthinkable just a few months ago. What should they do if their job offer is revoked? What about delayed? What if their employer is not responding?
Monica Thompson, executive director of University Career Services at the University of Houston, said job postings on the university’s vetted job search site have dropped by around 45 percent from December to the end of April.
The situation is taking not just a financial toll on students but also an emotional one, she said.
“It’s not always just that they graduated and need a job,” Thompson said. “You have anxiety and some grief that goes with their job loss, or maybe their parent’s job loss. We’re in crisis mode advising students.”
For some students, the pandemic has upended plans made months ago. Daniel Pham, a Rice University computer and cognitive sciences senior, was offered a tech job in Seattle for a cybersecurity company last fall. He accepted, relieving him of the stress of looking for a job during his senior year.
Until April. That’s when the company told him that they couldn’t honor the offer due to the economic impact of the pandemic. Pham said the company helped him connect to computer science recruiters but resuming a job search has not been easy.
“I’ve had my days,” he said, trying to remain positive. “Eventually I’ll get a job, maybe not right now, but the market will open back up. I have my parents support. I know things are going to be OK for me, and a lot of people don’t know that.”
Even Ph.D. mathematicians are having trouble in this job market. Hyunkyu Jun, who received his doctorate from Rice on Saturday, said he was applying for software engineering jobs at companies such as Airbnb, Uber and TripAdvisor, only to see them slash spending and lay off workers. He went back to the drawing board.
“My favorite (field) is software engineering,” he said, “but I feel like in this pandemic, I can’t really stick to that.”
In limbo
Other students, who didn’t have job offers lined up but expected to