Yikes! I’m gonna graduate
Grads fear career choices
by Melissa Sanchez, reporter

    Like many college graduates across the nation, the most common fear TCC graduates face this semester is not finding a career.

   Many TCC graduates plan on going directly into the workforce after graduation, and some of them believe there is a tough road ahead.

   Norman Dodson, NE Campus IT major, said, “I just hope that after graduation I won’t still be waiting tables.”

   Many students share his concern.

   “My biggest fear of graduating is that when the real world is there, I will be unprepared for my job or unhappy with what I have chosen,” Katherine Hart, SE Campus business major, said.

   A few TCC graduates are worried more about finances.

   “My fear would have to be not making enough money to do the things I want to do,” Kyle Kilby, NE Campus business major, said.

   Research suggests that fear of not finding a job is why more students have chosen to go on to graduate school.

   Statistics from 60 graduate schools of business have reported that the number of applicants are up 21 percent over the last few years.

   Perhaps, some TCC students will consider graduate school when they finish their four-year degrees because they are not ready for their school days to end.

   Heidi Ross, South Campus international business major, fears “not being in school anymore … having nothing to do.”

   Amy Leslie, South Campus liberal arts major, expressed a similar fear.

   “I don’t get to go to school any more. I mean, I’m a professional student,” she said.

   Some educators say that the job market is becoming more prestigious and scaring college graduates into graduate school.

   In a study conducted by Gradschools.com, about one-third of the 10,000 members of the 2002 class surveyed expressed a fear of joblessness after graduation.

   “I’m worried my degree won’t help me get a job,” Amanda Leduc, South Campus humanities major, said.

   Other research indicates students may simply have a higher interest in graduate school this year.

   Many TCC students, however, are choosing to go on to four-year schools. Students voiced different fears surrounding a university setting.

   “My biggest fear, when I get my bachelor’s degree is not getting accepted to Southwestern Medical School,” Tiffany Sapp, a NW Campus pre-med major, said.

   Many students are worried about credits not transferring or things not going smoothly once they leave TCC.

   Nakia David, a NE Campus bilingual education major, feels nervous about transferring to UTA in the fall.

   “I’m worried about not being able to adjust to a big university,” she said.

   Transferring to UNT gives Craig Moss, SE Campus business major, the same trepidations.

   “My concern is classroom size. The small classes here enable students to develop relationships with their professors. I appreciate the amount of student/professor interaction made possible with smaller rooms. I worry that in the large classes at UNT, I may be just another face in the crowd,” she said.

   Although some students are agonizing over university settings, some students had more individual concerns. Some students interviewed, voiced a concern about how old they will be when they graduate.

   Some were afraid they might be overlooked for jobs or they might fall behind their peers because they are older than the average college graduate.

   “My biggest fear when I get my doctorate,” Mike Burns, a NW Campus pre-med major, said, “is whether or not I’ll be 30 years old. I don’t want to be old when I graduate.”

   Monroe Marburger, SE student, and other May graduates are confident enough about their TCC education they have no fears.

   “I am receiving my A.A.S. degree at the end of this semester. I completed this degree for myself. I have no reason to fear what comes next because I am already where I want to be,” he said.

   Whether they are going on to another school or into the workforce, however, most TCC graduates do have fears ranging from a competitive workforce to getting lost in a gigantic university.

   “Graduation fears are abundant but normal,” Nick Tucker, a NE Campus business major, said. “The most important thing, I think, is that no matter what lies ahead, I can say I graduated.”