Whereas last year many fellow students longed for the financial independence monthly deposits on a checking account bring about, this year’s June captures different sentiment. Suddenly, grey university walls look more appealing than they did before, and safely shelter students from the gloomy economic crisis outside.

While greed first set the stage for the global meltdown financial markets have experienced, thick brick walls later prevented students from timely knowing what was going on. Things were not just proceeding not quite as well as they used to do, in fact graduate employment prospects had hardly ever been worse.

Little did we realize at the time how our hard earned university degrees were losing bits of their value day after day. Daily trips to the library did not add any longer to the crispness of our diploma, as its edges would be torn anyway.  Approaching graduation festivities, however, employment competition is more intense than ever. Those students that have been prepared to run the extra mile throughout their academic and extracurricular careers finish better off.  Timely job applications remain imperative to obtain first choice positions.  

Beyond the drama many students still find what they were looking for, or discover alternative paths  to fulfillment. Moreover, social sector and public policy positions have gained in importance. International career kickoffs might become increasingly attractive, if home employment markets fail to absorb the current talent supply. Unexpected immigration effects are already being witnessed in Europe, as The Wall Street Journal recently reported on a growing number of well-educated French people of immigrant backgrounds that are returning to their parents’ homelands.

In the eyes of many this generation has been offered an enormous amount of opportunities. It is no longer unusual to have spent a semester studying abroad, and a wide selection of international programs has increasingly become accessible to large groups of students. For the first time in years this generation finds itself confronted with any kind of employment hardship, as even business and engineering graduates have difficulties finding a job. It will be interesting to see how their metal will be tested.
Crises also yield the prospects of opportunity. As future generations are currently granted the possibility to learn from the mistakes of earlier ones, graduate employees could help rewrite former economic rules. After all, basic economic theory still remains fresh in our memories.