As graduation day approaches, graduating seniors might want to begin thinking about their careers. Some students already have concrete plans made, while others are searching for ideas.
Noah Hall, a civil engineering major at the UofM, said he plans to use his degree to become a structural engineer.
“I don’t have anything super specific, which is one of the reasons I love civil engineering because it essentially makes you a Swiss Army knife for engineering,†Hall said. “I want to do something structurally related, and I don’t know if there are any companies locally that are structural engineers specifically.â€
Hall said he is anxious to graduate and begin his career.
“I am a little nervous about being an engineer because of high pressure situations because if you mess up as an engineer people can get hurt or die and then you go to jail,†Hall said. “So that is kind of intimidating but also I remind my self that’s why I’m in school. It’s a little unnerving being out there in the work force because you’re on you’re own at that point.â€
Some students are able to find a job after graduation, but some take the time to continue their education in graduate school.
In a 2018 graduation report from The University of Tennessee Knoxville, there were 4,772 graduating undergraduate students with 3,793 known outcomes. A little more than 50% of the graduates are now employed full-time. Almost 25% were admitted into graduate school. Just under 10% of the graduates are unemployed.
Andrew Clarke, a finance major at the University of Memphis, said he as already accepted a job for after when he graduates.
“I’ve already accepted a job with Ameriprise Financial Group,†Clarke said. “So essentially I’ll be writing plans, managing accounts, working with clients and advisers to make sure that those plans are incremented correctly and I will be selling insurance and things like that, but that is a side of the main part of the job.â€
Clarke said he is ready to graduate and begin his career.
“I’m just ready to get out of here,†Clarke said. “I’m not nervous at all, I’ve been working with them for a year and a half as an intern. So I’m not really nervous about taking on more money for doing the same job.â€
Clarke said one of the main things students should pay attention to are their “unimportant†classes throughout college.
“The unimportant classes that you are taking now are going to be built upon,†Clarke said. “So pay attention now or you’re going to get lost in the upper division classes that you think are going to be a walk in the park, and they are definitely not.â€
Dalton Garret, a marketing major at the UofM, said he plans to use his marketing degree to get hired at one of the major comapnies in Memphis.
“I’m trying to either work at one of the big prominent Memphis industries international paper, St. Jude, ALSAC, Auto Zone or FedEx,†Garret said. “The dream would be marketing at ALSAC and help them with social media efforts, technological efforts and marketing. If the technological side does not work out, I’m more interested in event marketing, which is preparing events and all that stuff.â€
