By Dorian Young//
Seniors graduating with degrees in health care this spring will find an overall promising job outlook, while others will find a more challenging environment.
According to Lisa Littlefield, the dean of the Center for Career Development and Experiential Education, since the beginning of lockdown last March there has been an upward surge in some job markets and a downward surge in others.
According to Littlefield, this year’s graduating seniors will see more job opportunities in the coming year. Littlefield said this is because “the marketplace where businesses have been tentative about hiring individuals are now seeing the leading edge of that cautious approach to employing becoming more robust.”
The BLS reported in April of 2020 that there were five people per job opening in the U.S. Now, more than a year later, that number has dropped to 1.4 people per job opening, according to the BLS.
The jobs that have seen the most significant negative impacts because of COVID-19 are those that are conducted by and limited to face-to-face interactions, Littlefield said. This means managerial, retail, and entertainment jobs, among others.
Health care and related industries, such as biotechnology, have seen a positive impact on their respective job market sectors, Littlefield said. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the employment of healthcare occupations will most likely see a 15% increase by 2029.
“This projected growth is mainly due to an aging population, leading to greater demand for healthcare services,” the bureau stated. Not only is the population aging, but older and elderly individuals are known to be at a higher risk of being infected with COVID-19.
This, as well as vaccine development, are two reasons as to why healthcare and related industries have seen an increase in job demand and employment over the past year, whereas other job market sectors have not.
Unfortunately, another sector of the job market that has suffered immensely due to COVID-19 is nonprofit organizations. Bre Harwood, the Career Development Program manager, stated nonprofits were affected very early on during the pandemic and struggled to stay open and help their communities.
She said the Career Center held some virtual internships and job fairs for students interested in working for nonprofit organizations.
Now nonprofits are reopening and “beginning to return to normal operations,” Harwood said. Therefore, nonprofits are offering more virtual opportunities for students, as some have shifted to operating completely virtually, according to Harwood
While opportunities are improving, students are not exactly keen on entering the workforce upon graduation. A larger number of graduating seniors are applying to graduate school instead of directly entering the workforce, according to Littlefield.
“Whenever the economy has a downturn, we see more people considering the option of graduate school and the [enrollment] numbers usually uptick,” Littlefield said. She added that students are more interested in the four-plus-one programs at Hood and other college graduate programs than job searching.
According to April Boulton, the dean of the Hood Graduate School, there has been a 30% to 50% increase in enrollment, depending on the graduate program. Boulton reiterated what Littlefield said about the pandemic’s result in job loss, instability for families, and rising unemployment increasing interest in the graduate school.
Boulton pointed out that individuals are returning to graduate school “to pursue computing, cyber, [or] information technology degrees that permit [remote work options].” She claimed this aspect of increasing graduate school enrollment has to do with “a significant portion of the American population [hoping] to continue with virtual [or] online working options.”
According to Boulton, it is projected that there will be “continued interest and growth in graduate school enrollments in the coming years well after the pandemic subsides.”
Littlefield said that several new five-year programs have recently been added to the graduate school, and there is especial interest in the medical programs. Earning a master’s degree “helps students’ career wise in the long run [by] opening doors in upper-level positions, as well as asking for a higher salary,” Littlefield said.
Littlefield also stated that the graduate programs at Hood have become much more flexible, so barriers for participating in graduate school have decreased. “Certificate programs are another way to prolong education without making the full commitment of going to graduate school,” Littlefield said.
A number of seniors said the pandemic only slightly altered their plans after graduation.
Lyssa Blaine, a senior majoring in psychology, said, “The original master’s program at the graduate school that I wanted to apply to has been suspended temporarily because of COVID-19, as the enrollment numbers dropped.”
Blaine added, “So, I had to really invest in looking for schools that have the degree I want, while still giving the same level of hands-on experience during this uncertain time. It has also been hard because internships have been challenging to find while COVID-19 is around, as many [colleges] had to pause their internship programs to lower exposure levels.”
Luckily, Blaine was able to find a graduate school with her respective program that she will be attending in the fall, which is The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. “Even in this challenging time we must keep our heads up and look towards the future that we want,” she said.
Brooks Anderson, a senior majoring in political science, stated that his post-graduation plans haven’t seen any changes. Anderson said his post-graduation ambitions “have to wait until 2023 regardless of COVID-19, so I am lucky in that regard.”
Caroline Jeranek, a senior majoring in history with a concentration in public history, stated: “Originally I was planning on taking some time off before going to graduate school, but I have been more open to online programs because of COVID-19. So, I am now planning to start an online master’s this fall.”
Margaret George, a senior majoring in art and archaeology with a concentration in education K through 12, stated that COVID-19 has not affected her post-graduation plans. George’s plans are to teach digital photography and art at Oakdale High School in Frederick, Maryland.
George said, “I am incredibly excited to move to Frederick [from Delaware] and continue my life here after college.”
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