Cool chart from the NY Federal Reserve (from January 2016) which will allow your students to see how recent college grads (by major) are faring in the job market. Here is a snapshot of the data table (also available in spreadsheet format too):

Questions for your students:

• Which majors have the lowest unemployment rate? the highest?
• What does underemployment mean? Would it worry you to see that the major you are interested in has a high underemployment rate?
• Looking at the 2-3 majors that interest you, what do you notice about the difference between the starting and mid-career salaries? Does that surprise you?
• Looking at the 2-3 majors that interest you, what do you notice about the percentage of people in the field with graduate degrees?
• Did the process of analyzing this chart have an impact on how you are thinking about your college major? What impact did it have?

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Check out the NGPF Career Lesson: How Do I Get My First Job?

About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.