About to graduate from the University of Michigan Ross school and still jobless

[Anonymous]

It’s economy and timing. Ross is an excellent program so is any other direct admit bschool. With an va resident deciding between Ross, haas and ucla and mcintire. Cannot go wrong with any choice. Just hang in there you will get a career opportunity

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is an unfortunate situation for the OP’s son. It also highlights the advantage of attending a smaller school like Bucknell or Colgate with a strong Greek system and a tight alumni base that isn’t built solely around sports. Your career network has way more tentacles at those schools. The OP mentioned that career services was no help, but what about fraternity connections or reaching out to alums eager to hire him simply because he's a Wolverine? My guess is OP didn’t mention those options because they weren’t available. There’s a reason very few kids in business or finance majors at Bucknell or Colgate graduate jobless, and it isn’t just because of the academic reputation. Attending one of those schools, joining a top-tier fraternity, building a relationship with career services early, and tapping into the alumni network is basically a cheat code for stacking cheese right out of college.

Colgate doesn’t have a business or finance major. It’s a liberal arts school.

Not relevant. Huge placement on Wall Street.

[Anonymous]

I know this is happening to a lot of kids. Friend at UVA had his investment banking job rescinded (budget cuts) and is still looking, another at Ross hasn't secured a spot yet either. The market is pretty terrible - 1/3 of Ivy MBAs take 3-6 months to find jobs right now. I wouldn't say the degree wasn't worth it but the kid is a bit unlucky thus far. If good schools were only about landing the first job, that wouldn't be worth very much anyway; its about the education, presumably.

I think your kid will have to hustle and network and apply to 150 jobs and probably cast a much wider net than DMV. It's a game of numbers at this point, unfortunately there are a lot of people looking. Get active on LinkedIn and in alumni groups and be relentless. It will happen. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve heard a lot of these stories. It’s hard to justify a private college in a struggling economy. The job market is so uncertain.

unemployment has been at record lows for 5 years now

We didn't import a bunch of workers during that time, did we?

[Anonymous]

I'm a bit confused. Is he only looking for jobs in the DMV or did you mention where you live to explain the 300k OOS cost? Or both?

[Anonymous]

My DS graduated from Ross school in December 2024, and had been looking for jobs nationwide in Jun 2024. He received two job offers that was rescinded due to budget cut and company layoffs. The job market is really terrible regardless where you attend school. My SIL is leveraging her position as a government SES level to get DS a job through one of the government contractors that she manages.

[Anonymous]

^^ since Jun 2024.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My sis in law graduated from Ross a few years ago with an accounting degree and had tons of job offers.

because a few years ago is exactly like the moment we’re in now!

Or this kid doesn't have the grades.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is an unfortunate situation for the OP’s son. It also highlights the advantage of attending a smaller school like Bucknell or Colgate with a strong Greek system and a tight alumni base that isn’t built solely around sports. Your career network has way more tentacles at those schools. The OP mentioned that career services was no help, but what about fraternity connections or reaching out to alums eager to hire him simply because he's a Wolverine? My guess is OP didn’t mention those options because they weren’t available. There’s a reason very few kids in business or finance majors at Bucknell or Colgate graduate jobless, and it isn’t just because of the academic reputation. Attending one of those schools, joining a top-tier fraternity, building a relationship with career services early, and tapping into the alumni network is basically a cheat code for stacking cheese right out of college.

Colgate is $93k/ year. We turned it down for that reason. Dc was a recruited athlete- and had the stats- but the money offered (1free year essentially) would’ve still meant $270k for undergraduate. Yeah no.

[Anonymous]

Did he have internships?

[Anonymous]

Look outside the DC area. Like anywhere. Could be an opportunity to spend 2 years in a new area, like Idaho or Montana, or TX. Before returning to this place to live out the rest of his life in the DC rat race.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:FYI: DS will graduate from University of Michigan Ross school next week and is still jobless for a 300K education because we live in the DMV. Has been looking for jobs since September 2024. The career office has not produced any leads. In hindsight, DS could have gone to UVA and saved 150K in the process. It is really depressing.

Ok, and? Its a tuff market and it takes time to look for a job. He hasn't graduated yet, which is probably part of the problem. Saying you spent $300K doesn't matter. You/he choose the school. Parents here push for name schools and UVA is a great school as are many others. You could afford it, so what's the issue. He needs to take any job and keep looking. He isn't going to get his dream job right out of school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Give him time. You can evaluate in a couple of years if his degree is useless. In these crazy times, jobs are not easy to get. Celebrate his graduation. Give him a month to relax and chill. And then have him buckle down on the job search. He will be fine. Have empathy. These are difficult times for young people

Agreed. And blaming the school is not setting a good example.

I assume most of his friends from Michigan, as well as friends from "lesser" schools have jobs (or got into grad school), so he is stressed. Which is very understandable. The world is turned sideways right now. Lots of kids locked in jobs last fall or earlier. Now companies are uncertain about their hiring needs. But there are plenty of jobs out there. Just need to be smart about it. Often the best first jobs are one-offs at smaller places rather than being analyst #471 at JP Morgan or entry-level brand manager #87 at P&G.

Michigan MBA here. I agree with the PP I've quoted. Almost everyone in my entire class had jobs by graduation. The year following was about 80% due to a tech crash. It was agonizing for those who were emptyhanded. I've seen several more years like this since...when corporate employers turn the faucet off, it goes quick.

I was glad I missed the downturn because I had graduated from a different Rust Belt flagship during a big recession. It took me about a year to get on my feet...and ironically I had to move away from home to the DMV to land. The DMV has never been a top market for MBAs...so perhaps your kid needs to consider moving elsewhere in the US...I don't know what's healthy right now but doubt DMV is it. Maybe look at stats for Chicago? Where are his classmates finding opportunities?

I went to a Ross Career Center talk in spring 2024 to get general info on the market to help a friend whose husband had just gotten laid off. The job market for prestige/known/on campus MBA jobs was bad then. The forecast was that companies were holding their breath until the election. Also that interest rates were slowing down the cheap money that had been sloshing into the tech job market. One of the presenters was a MBB HR lady from the outplacement department. They were getting rid of 1,000s of underutilized MBA consultants last year.

Frankly, most corporate people thought Kamala Harris would win. Because that would have been the more stable outcome for companies, the stock market, etc. So a lot of projects are frozen while companies figure out the best way to avoid wasting billions seesawing back and forth due to shifting policies. If you're not living this existential angst at work, you are fortunate. I'm really sad to see what is happening to the federal government due to DOGE.

FYI, many of the top MBA programs were reporting problems with 2024 graduate placement last fall. Including all the top names.

I agree with the poster above who is talking about a contact pipeline. That is a best practice. It does take 100s of contacts when the job market is rough. Don't let your kid sit at home filling out apps without a job, either. Tell your kid to get a volunteer or low paying office job RIGHT AWAY that gives flexibility for networking lunches, attending public events, etc. and have him do apps in the evening. Sitting around the house applying is depressing and leaves a big resume hole.

Now is the time to contact more alums and maybe move past Ross alums to other types of Michigan grads. I've only gotten a few calls over the years but I've taken all of them and most times the candidate wants something unreasonable to happen (job out of season, pay level above what's reasonable, visa support, etc.). But I'm happy to discuss why they want what they want and some alternate possible routes to that path. I don't expect a person to understand everything about my industry or role from the outside.

I understand this is tough for a parent to watch, but there's no way out but through in this economy. Have your kid think back to their strategy for ECs. Can they start a business? Was there a charity that they enjoyed volunteering for? Spend less time freaking about the sunk cost of tuition and more on the smartest path forward.

Congrats and courage to your grad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is an unfortunate situation for the OP’s son. It also highlights the advantage of attending a smaller school like Bucknell or Colgate with a strong Greek system and a tight alumni base that isn’t built solely around sports. Your career network has way more tentacles at those schools. The OP mentioned that career services was no help, but what about fraternity connections or reaching out to alums eager to hire him simply because he's a Wolverine? My guess is OP didn’t mention those options because they weren’t available. There’s a reason very few kids in business or finance majors at Bucknell or Colgate graduate jobless, and it isn’t just because of the academic reputation. Attending one of those schools, joining a top-tier fraternity, building a relationship with career services early, and tapping into the alumni network is basically a cheat code for stacking cheese right out of college.

I'm generally ambivalent towards fraternities. But reading these sorts of posts really turns me off. Yuck.

I live in Fairfield County. I can literally picture the folks in Darien and New Canaan executing this exact strategy.

[Anonymous]

I got 2 different jobs due to my alumni connections at Michigan. Go Blue!