The irony isn't lost on Hiram College graduate Seth Ostheimer. Just when he's best qualified to enter the world of work, the job market is the toughest it has been in decades.
SETH OSTHEIMER: "You have this imagination that if you work so hard in school, you get great grades, you know that good things are just going to happen to you. And you get out there and it's just terrible."
Ostheimer graduated summa cum laude with bachelor's in biochemistry from Hiram last year, and will start a PhD program at Penn State in May. But continuing his education is a fall-back position. He figured getting a good job at a university or commercial lab wouldn't be a problem with his degree and good grades. But, the best job he was able to find after nearly a year of looking was at the small private college as a PART-TIME lab instructor.
OSTHEIMER: "I remember last summer going out to find a job. I was paying rent I just watched my bank account drop as I did nothing then finally I landed this job."
Annie Miller is finishing her junior year at Hiram as an economics major. Even though job counselors there and elsewhere are urging students to start searching for employment before their senior year, she’s not looking.
ANNIE MILLER: "When I came here, it was much more clear, you came to college you got a job. There was a much better outlook than it is now. You go to college and there's no guarantee whatsoever of a job."
KATHRYN CRAIG: "Obviously, we've had better years."
That’s Kathryn Craig, Director of the Hiram College Career Center. She says some students still don’t quite grasp the shape they’re in.
CRAIG: "I think I'm more anxious maybe than some of my students because I look around and see all the layoffs and company closings and so forth. I'm encouraging them all to have lots of backup plans, to try everything. Often a student might not take an internship right out of college. They would hope to keep looking for a full time job. But I'm encouraging them and I know colleagues at other career center are also to take an internship. I don't think students can afford to wait this year."
The outlook is no better at larger public universities. Derek Fuerstein has been preparing for a career in politics since high school. A look at the economy in 2007 convinced him to stay at the University of Akron for his masters in Political Science. But while Fuerstein studied, many of the entry level jobs in local government were been slashed to balance municipal budgets.
FUERSTEIN: "I graduated at the worst possible time."
According to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services 60 thousand business and professional jobs - positions these new grads were counting on applying for - have vanished since last year.
In research released by NACE - the National Association of Colleges and Employers, employers nationally said they expect to hire 22 percent fewer college grads this year. Two out of three companies surveyed said they would be reducing or eliminating recruitment visits on campus.
Fuerstein says he has seen a substantial drop in the quality of jobs offered at his college job fair. And he's tried the online search engines too, including his school's web site. He says the lack of follow-up is maddening.
FUERSTEIN:"It's frustrating that I can't talk to anyone and tell them why I might be a good fit. A lot of them are just saying no phone calls. Just submit it and review it."
University career centers are struggling to improve their offerings on-line and at the job fairs. For example, some have barred employers who offer no salaries and pay on a sales commission basis alone.
Youngstown State University Career Services director Gary Boley says students want more job fairs, but there's really no point in adding more.
GARY BOLEY: "The number of employers that are coming to job fairs is going down, so there's actually a negative impression created if you come to a career fair and you're not offering any job. But we're also appreciating that there's also some other vehicles that we can create. Maybe you have a small group of alums who are employed in certain industries. You create an opportunity for students to gain access to them."
Back at Akron U, Derek Fuerstein is getting ready for his second graduation ceremony. He really wants to stay in Ohio and has his eye on an IRS job - though he hasn't even gotten an interview yet.
FUERSTEIN: "My dad's just got to the point where he tells me, 'Just move out of state.' "
For now, Fuerstein is staying put. Well, not exactly. After getting his diploma, he'll be bunking with mom and dad while continuing his search.
Kymberli Hagelberg, 90.3.