Most College Graduates With A Bachelors Degree Have A Job Says BLS

According to a BLS jobs report in August, only 5% of college graduates holding a bachelor's degree is unemployed. Those with some college experience or with an associate's degree has an unemployed rate of 8%. The unemployment rate climbs with less education -- those without a high school diploma has an unemployment rate of over 14%. 


As someone who is apart of the 5%, I find this a bit false. I've seen people who have gotten jobs who don't have a college degree. As a matter of fact, I know someone who was recently hired at two jobs that doesn't have a high school diploma. I can't get a job at Wal-Mart, but a high school drop out currently has two jobs. It doesn't make sense. Most people I do know have a job -- whether they have a college degree or not. Of all my friends, I'm the only one who is out of college with a bachelor's degree and is unemployed. 


In about 6 weeks, it will be time to start paying back my student loans and I have no income. Hopefully I will be approved for a deferment or I'm screwed. 

Fewer Students Are Applying To Law School

A lawyer can be added to the list of jobs wasting away in this economy. 

Taken from Huffington Post

Post-graduate employment for lawyers has fallen 15 percent -- one of their lowest levels. Nationwide they are down 10 percent. Enrollment in such schools as UCLA and WashU have fallen by 14 percent. 

Nearly 85 percent of the graduating class from 2010 were able to a job of any sort within 9 months -- another low. Eleven percent of that is working either at temp jobs or part-time jobs. To make matters worse, the median salary for a lawyer has dropped 9K. 

MY OPINION: Oh how the mighty have fallen. 

I myself have heard stories of experienced lawyers having trouble finding a job after their firm went under. Some are having trouble just to get a job at McDonald's.  I guess leaving with 100K in debt with slim to none opportunities for a job will do that to people. Unless there are connections i.e. a place where Mom and Dad works, chances are our newly graduated lawyers will join liberal arts graduates into looking for a job that does not have anything to do with their degree. 

The Top 10 Best Paying Undergraduate College Majors of 2011-2012

From Huffington Post

You've worked hard in your major, now how will your major pay you back? According to salary data site PayScale, engineers of many different stripes are poised to earn the most money over the course of their careers. At mid-career, the average petroleum engineer earns a whopping $155,000 per year (perhaps more if he or she went to Princeton). Below, check out which other majors pay off over time.


1. Petroleum Engineering
Starting Median Pay: $97,900
Mid-Career Median Pay: $155,000


2. Chemical Engineering
Starting Median Pay: $64,500
Mid-Career Median Pay: $109,000


3. Electrical Engineering
Starting Median Pay: $61,300
Mid-Career Median Pay: $103,000


4. Materials Science & Engineering
Starting Median Pay: $60,400
Mid-Career Median Pay: $103,000


5. Aerospace Engineering
Starting Median Pay: $60,700
Mid-Career Median Pay: $102,000


6. Computer Engineering
Starting Median Pay: $61,800
Mid-Career Median Pay: $101,000


7: Physics 
Starting Median Pay: $49,800
Mid-Career Median Pay: $101,000


8. Applied Mathematics
Starting Median Pay: $52,600
Mid-Career Median Pay: $98,600


9. Computer Science
Starting Median Pay: $56,000
Mid-Career Median Pay: $97,900


10. Nuclear Engineering
Starting Median Pay: $65,100
Mid-Career Median Pay: $97,800




MY OPINION: If you noticed, most of these jobs are either in science, math or tech, or as they say STEM. Unfortunately, I have a problem with this list. It doesn't say how in demand they are. Unbeknownst to some, there are people with these majors that are unemployed. As a matter of fact, the FAA is about to shutdown 4k jobs and threaten 90k jobs because the republicans in Congress blocked its funding. Those jobs include community planners, administrative assistants, engineers, scientists, research analysts, computer specialists, program managers, and environmental protection specialist.  


The jobs above may be high paying, but are they in demand? That's one thing a  future college student has to look in to before jumping into a major for the money.  


Here is PayScale's full list.