Despite this, Millennials face greater hurdles entering the marketplace. For starters, employers hold higher expectations for new graduates, observes Jarrett who uses the greater technical requirements for marketers as an example. “Today, entry-level marketing jobs require statistical analysis using Google Analytics, Marketo, HubSpot, and other specific, sophisticated digital tools. The bar is simply higher than it has ever been.” He adds that employers are spending less time and money on training entry level employees, assuming that Millennials, who average 18 month tenures, will quickly jump ship.
Hiring practices have also hampered the ability of all generations to land jobs. “It’s more difficult to find jobs that provide a solid career path and meaningful compensation than it was in the past,” Alison Doyle, About.com’s job search expert, tells PayScale. “Employers, including those who typically hired large numbers of recent college graduates in the past, have streamlined their workforces and shifted to a ‘hiring based on immediate needs’ model.” She urges students to sharpen their skills, build their networks and pursue real world experience to stand out in a competitive job market.
STEM JOBS TOP LEAST UNDEREMPLOYED
If criminal justice, business, and liberal arts majors feel underpaid and underutilized, which majors are transitioning best to the workforce? Try graduates with STEM backgrounds, particularly engineers. In fact, engineers hold the top four spots (and six of the top eight) among the least underemployed, with Civil and Environmental Engineering ranking #1 with only a 22.9% dissatisfaction rate.
The biggest surprise? Try law majors, who ranked #5 with only 25.3% of law professionals labeling themselves as underemployed. Despite a forbidding 57% full-time employment rate and an average law school debt of over $140,000, law grads were actually two-and-a-half times happier than business majors.
To see PayScale’s statistics on the specific majors and job functions, check out the tables on the accompanying pages.
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