For many students, but especially the senior class, who face graduating during one of the worst economic climates in recent memory, the job market can be a frightening and dismal prospect. While the official rate in unemployment stands at 9.1 percent, an Associated Press article on Sept 5. reported that the 8.8 million underemployed workers — many of whom are working part-time but want full-time work — as well as the reported 2.6 million who have "given up" looking for jobs could bring the actual numbers of Americans seeking jobs up to 16.2 percent. If these numbers weren't enough to strike fear into the hearts of soon-to-be graduates, the one stroll through last week's Career Fair would certainly do the trick for anyone whose major was not related to engineering or finance.
Despite the fact that the majority of Tufts undergraduates do not have majors relating to finance, business or engineering, the organizations attending the fair were disproportionately drawn from these fields. This is not to say that a student majoring in political science or psychology can't be interested in or want employment in these fields, but the fact remains that the options available for those students hoping to pursue careers elsewhere seemed meager at best.
Especially given the university's emphasis on global citizenship, civic engagement and social consciousness, not to mention the fact that international relations and political science rank among Tufts' most popular majors, the Career Fair did not seem to reflect the demographic of students' interests.
A number of organizations present at the Career Fair were happy to discuss positions they could offer in terms of volunteering or unpaid internships, but when it came to paid positions, opportunities seemed to be less available.
This might be helpful for students not staring at the gaping void of graduation within the next calendar year, but for those faced with entering a challenging job market, it is insufficient. While it is certainly true that organizations across all disciplines have come to expect that "intern" is synonymous with "unpaid," thanks to the thousands of students scrambling to accrue whatever work experience they can, many students simply can't afford to work what is essentially a full-time job for no money after they've graduated from the safety of Tufts.
For those students who can't pay their dues in the form of free service, it leaves significantly fewer options. The assumption that students can or should be able to afford to work for free after they have taken on loans or after their families have shelled out hundreds of thousands of dollars on what is supposed to be a world-class education is just ignorant.
We at the Daily understand that the economy is not exactly a friendly place for anyone at present, businesses included, and we also understand that the market for different majors and skills varies widely.
That being said, Tufts needs to do a better job of making the Career Fair an event that promotes and assists its students in finding careers that are more consistent with the demographics of the school and the interests of the student body.
We suggest starting by finding organizations to attend the next fair who are interested in paying students what they're worth.
