Headwind awaits grads

The economy: tanked.

Unemployment: skyrocketing.

The job market: dismal.

Congratulations, graduates!

Three thousand graduates took part in winter commencement Tuesday at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. The event at the Thomas & Mack Center shepherded the students into the real world of abysmal news and government bailouts.

Whoopee!

"I'm kinda playing it chill right now," said Michelle Woorman, 21, who has a fancy new bachelor's degree in meeting and events management but no job and no prospects for one.

So she's going to go home, hang out with her parents in Washington, D.C., maybe travel a little on her own. Maybe next year the whole job thing will work out.

Maybe it will.

Eileen McGarry, the executive director of career services at UNLV, said college graduates always have a leg up on everyone else.

Employers want them. They need them. Even now.

She pointed out that the unemployment rate for college grads is less than half what it is for everyone else. And while employers aren't hiring everyone they meet, they are still hiring.

Occasionally. For some jobs.

She said this crop of graduates might have to lower their expectations, maybe take lower level jobs just to get a foot in the door.

"When things turn around," McGarry said, "they're the first to be promoted."

So they hope.

Lino Mejia Jr., 25, is looking for just that -- a promotion. He's a mechanical engineer working for UPS Inc. He got his degree in that field Tuesday, hoping it'll help him move up in the company.

More responsibility, more money, etc.

"It's definitely a boost," he said of his new degree.

Teresa Sullivan, 23, graduated too. She's got a degree in hotel administration now. But she isn't looking for work. She's going to graduate school.

"I'm not looking at going into my career yet, so I'm not as worried as some of my fellow grads," she said.

McGarry said there's always an increase in students looking to stay in school by getting a higher degree during down times. This is no different.

They sometimes also just stick with whatever job they had in college until something better comes along.

That's what Kristin Tonozzi is doing.

"Actually, it's pretty tough right now, in this city especially," said Tonozzi, 23, who got her business marketing degree.

She said she's working in retail and will probably have to stick with it for a while.

"Not what I really want to do for my career," she said. "I'm just kind of laying low for a while until things get better."

Yeah. Better. Lots of graduates are hoping for better.

Christine Deem, 22, is lucky. She graduated Tuesday, but she's not done with college. She earned her political science degree, but she's got a year of work left on her other degree, in biology.

By next year, when she graduates again, this will all have blown over.

Right?

"I think it will," she said.

Contact reporter Richard Lake at rlake@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0307.