After college graduation, some students will begin their jobs, others will pursue another degree, but a growing number will head back where they started – home.
According to a poll by Twentysomething, Inc., 85 percent of college graduates will move home. That’s up from 67 percent in 2006.
Brian Cutchin, a North Carolina State University senior set to graduate Saturday, is one of those so-called “boomerangs.”
“I didn't think it would be this tough, I thought getting a degree from NC State would be good, but I guess with the economy downturn that happened, things changed,” he said.
NC State’s Career Center Director Carol Shroeder said she’s familiar with the term “boomerang.”
"I feel so sorry for their parents. It's very difficult. Obviously it's a good way to save money. It's a good way to get support,” she said.
Shroeder said she’s received reports that employers are increasing their hiring, but she said it’s to early to say for sure. While she said the number of jobs posted online is up, those positions may not be exactly what students want.
"Some students say, 'Well, if I take a job well beneath my educational capabilities then I'm doomed forever.’ No, I think the hiring market will be much more understanding of why you had to take a job that was not a particularly good job,” she said.
Cutchin, a business administration major with a concentration in supply chains, said he will go on a mission trip this summer, then continue searching for work.
"It's a little tiring because I've done it for about the past year so I'm just hoping to catch a break that I'll find a job somewhere,” he said.
Cutchin said his parents in Wake Forest are supportive.
"They don't mind it. I'm sure they would like for me to be out of the house, but there's an open room, so they're pretty welcoming,” he said.
Shroeder has this piece of advice for “boomerangs:”
"Do not get comfortable in your parents basement,” he said.
According to O. Ray Angle, director of University Career Services at UNC Chapel Hill, about an eighth of seniors completed a job survey.
Of those, 57 percent have a job lined up, 36 percent are going to graduate school, 3 percent are unemployed and one percent are employed part-time.
While the number of students with work is higher than the national statistics from Twentysomething, Inc., Angle said most of the students who respond to the survey already know what they’re doing.
He said most universities get more accurate information about six months after graduation.
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