For unemployed graduates, opportunity can be found in new places

With 10.9 million jobs created since President Barack Obama took office, this year’s Commencement would seemingly be expected to be filled with more sunshine than dark clouds for current seniors. However, the high level of millennial unemployment still accounts for approximately half of the national unemployment population. The yoke of enormous tuition debts and the proliferation of college degree holders only serves to intensify the already heated competition among white collar job seekers and makes it harder for college graduates to find careers that match their fields of study. This logic seems backwards: how does one justify a degree in a field when one cannot acquire a job in that field?

While the struggles of unemployed young Americans may seem particularly grim, the government and the nation as a whole suffer from a similar struggle: the unemployment of young people between the ages of 18 to 34 will eventually cause the government to lose $8.9 billion a year, a figure calculated based on the surging expenditures on unemployment insurance and welfare schemes and the federal income taxes forgone. This economic fiasco must stimulate the nation as a whole to prioritize solving youth unemployment issues and come up with greater incentives and more programs to create even more jobs for the young graduates.

Perhaps it is time to look in some places that one wouldn’t expect to work.

The horizon of opportunities is widening at a faster rate than college graduates would think, and not just in the United States. More young people should be willing to consider taking up job offers abroad. For instance, many Asian countries rank among the fastest-growing industries in the world, and college graduates may benefit from the opportunities these economies afford. The cost of living may also be lower abroad than it is in the U.S. The dire unemployment problem in the States casts light on more open doors to satisfy and reconcile both the realistic goals and the idealistic dreams of young people outside U.S. borders.

However, young Americans should not forgo opportunities at home.

As college grads compete for jobs, perhaps they should turn their attention to the multifaceted career paths of working in cities besides Boston, New York or D.C. Educated students can play a key role in driving development in smaller cities, serving as an important part of the economic growth of businesses in emerging markets. As economist Edward Glaeser pointed out in his research, there is a distinct correlation between the increase in the prosperity of a city and the increase in the density of its educated workforce. As a result, less developed, smaller cities will end up clamoring for college graduates; they are constantly trying to attract these youngsters to help boost their economic status. It is increasingly appealing for college graduates to settle down in cities like Denver, San Diego, Nashville, Salt Lake City, New Orleans and Pittsburg, where they have opportunities to significantly influence their communities.

Your dream job may not be as far off as you think it is, but you may be looking for it in the wrong places.