College students across the country are facing a tight job market as graduation season begins, with many sending hundreds of applications and receiving few responses.
"Terrifying honestly," said Dafne Ruiz, a graduating student at UNLV, when asked to describe the current job market.
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"I just hear a lot of bad stories about applying to 300, 400 jobs and hearing back from one or two," Ruiz said.
The struggle is real for many students at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, who are preparing to enter the workforce.
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"Daily, we send maybe over 200 resumes to companies and businesses. It's hard to even hear back for an interview," said Vivian Ding, a math major at UNLV.
Ding ultimately accepted a position in China after struggling to find employment in the United States.
"That is basically the job I got. I tried to stay in America looking for jobs. This year has been really rough," Ding said.
According to a recent report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, 41% of recent graduates are unemployed.
The college student job search assistance platform "Handshake" reports job postings have declined 15% over the last year, while the number of applications per job has increased by 30%.
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"It's hard to even hear back for an interview, it is really, really hard," Ding said.
The challenging job market appears to be influencing educational choices. A recent report from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center shows that for a third consecutive year, vocational public two-year schools experienced enrollment growth, increasing by 11.7% this year.
"So we've been seeing the price of school increase since I would say the early 2000s, and it keeps on increasing," said Elaine Rubin, communications director at Edvisors, which provides expert advice and planning assistance for students after high school.
Rubin suggests that university costs may be influencing these trends.
"There's a lot of focus really right now on what's affordable. So going to a 4-year degree, there's a cost associated with that. Obviously it varies quite a bit," Rubin said.
Some students have found success through specialized programs that provide hands-on experience. Stefanie Romero, who is graduating from UNLV, has already secured a position as an ultrasound technician.
"Right after graduation I started working at a hospital," Romero said.
She credits her success to a program that connected her with practical experience during her studies.
"My program links us up with a hospital, and we start working there for a year, and then they hire us right after," Romero said.
According to data from the Federal Reserve Bank, the majors facing the highest unemployment rates are anthropology, physics and computer engineering.
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