Written by: Erin Martin, Staff Writer 
In America, it is no secret that getting into the job market is not as easy as it once was. Even more, college graduates are having difficulty finding their dream job for the major they’ve studied right after they graduate.

The current national employment rate in the United States is 5.5 percent, which is the lowest it has been for about seven years. District of Columbia has the highest rate of 7.7 percent, with Mississippi, Nevada and South Carolina following.

While Georgia’s lowering unemployment rate is now 6.3 percent, lower than the average, it still stands as a concern for many graduates this May.

Students are working entry level positions and being paid salaries starting as low as 25,000 a year. Mathematics, information technology, with a starting salary of 44, 000 and a mid- career salary of $88, 000 a year. Business and chemistry majors still dominate as some of the highest paying careers as well. This year, Forbes listed Art History, Culinary Arts and Social Work as majors with some of the lowest paying and unstable jobs.

Some students at VSU who are graduating have mixed feelings about finding a good job right out of college, but graduating senior Justin Hansford is already hopeful about his future and career.

“I feel really positive about working after college,” Hansford, senior psychology major and minor in African American studies, said. “I have a lot of interviews lined up for me; it’s just the pay that seems to be a problem. Of course it’ all entry level salary, which is ideal for college students now, just not ideal for later in life.”

Attila Cseh, department head and professor of economics, believes that college graduates today earn more than college graduates did several years ago.

“I know that gradates are doing much better than high school graduates,” Cseh said. “If we compare college graduates today versus the graduates in the 1970’s, our students have a greater earning potential.”

Another economics professor, Cynthia Tori, says that there are more job opportunities today, but the market is more competitive.

“The labor market today is a lot more dynamic than it was 5 years ago,” Tori said.