Recent Graduates: Job Market Not Improving

When Anthony Coletti earned his bachelor's degree in meteorology, the Lynbrook native had high hopes of landing a job in the field.

Unfortunately for the Rutgers grad and thousands like him, a stormy job market has left him settling for far less. In Coletti's case, it meant accepting a part-time job as a computer tech at Staples.

"They want more than a bachelor's degree now, because it just seems like a bachelor's degree has gone to the level of a high school degree  – a lot of people have one," Coletti said. "Now they want graduate degrees and above."

So, Coletti plans to head back to school, where he plans to earn the needed graduate degree from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst.

"I am going back to school to get a graduate degree, which will hopefully give me more steps to move up the ladder and to give me more options in this tough economy," he said.

Michelle Cona, a Freeport resident and 2009 graduate of Springfield College, earned a bachelor's degree in rehabilitation and disability studies. She, like Coletti, has had little luck finding a job in her field.

"Any of the jobs that are available either have nothing to do with what you studied in school or are jobs that do not require a degree," Cona said. "I feel as though recent graduates are being put on the back burner because of their lack of experience, whereas people who have held many jobs and multiple positions get chosen over us."

Cona said that she will also return to school in the hopes of expanding her chances.

"I am planning on going back to school to earn a degree in nursing because that is a field where positions are readily available," she said.

There are a few lucky graduates who have landed work, including Christen Mecabe of Merrick.

Mecabe graduated from Fairfield University and was able to secure a position in her field out of college - more than 18 months after she graduated in 2009. She only recently became a literary assistant in Manhattan.

"I settled for less [salary] than I desired because I liked interning for the company and I was happy to find a job in the field I wanted to work in," Mecabe said.