Stocks are in free fall and the housing market is in shambles as the country is fighting through a serious recession. The impact is being felt here at UNH as well, as recent alumni are having trouble finding new jobs and holding them down for an extended period of time. Gregg Sanborn, the executive director of the Alumni Association, said he thinks the economic struggles will continue to create problems for recent graduates and affect anyone else closely tied to college students. "I think it is likely going to affect all of us in some way," said Sanborn. "Whether it is students, faculty, staff, alumni, or parents, we're all really at a loss on what to do at this point and yet we continue to see the stock market go down, the housing market hasn't leveled out yet, and who knows what's going to happen with the lending issue." The bleak outlook is shared by UNH Economics Professor Richard England. He said some research has been done in this area by the National Bureau of Economic Research. England said the research has shown students who graduate in the middle of a recession have a hard time finding jobs and if they do, they start at a lower salary and it takes them almost a decade to catch up to where they would have been if they had graduated during the peak of business activity. "For those who are graduating this year, I think the prospects are a little grim," said England. "It's obvious that graduating during a serious recession is not a good time to graduate." Ryan Martin is a UNH alumnus who graduated last May with a business degree. He was able to find a job at Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. in Boston soon after graduating, but said many of his friends "are still unemployed because a ton of major companies are stagnant with hiring or are laying off people." Multiple programs have been implemented by the Alumni Association to combat these difficult times, including a career mentor program that's been in place for four years and has grown from 20 students in 2004 to 75 this year. "It is a program for undergraduate students and they connect with alums in the fall and they work together throughout the course of the academic year," said Sanborn of the mentor program. "It provides an opportunity for undergraduate students, in working with those alums, to make contacts with other people if they're looking for employment during their senior year." The Alumni Association also has a career network system in place that is jointly managed with the University Advising and Career Center (UACC) that allows for undergraduate students to contact other UNH alumni from various places around the country who would be willing to assist them in finding a job. "It's had quite a bit of success," said Sanborn, who said the career network system is used on a regular basis. "Our hope, over time if we can find the money to do it, is to continue to increase that particular program." Sanborn also suspects the UNH Foundation is watching what the economy is doing closely because, as he said, "it will have some impact on people's ability to give philanthropically to the university." Both the UACC and the Alumni Association are available to help graduating seniors find jobs or ways to contact people who can help. The Advising and Career Center is located in Hood House and the Alumni Association is based out of the Elliott Alumni Center, located near the Woodside Apartments on Edgewood Road.
Economic crisis affecting jobs for UNH graduates, alumni
During the recession, recent graduates have a harder time finding jobs, good salaries
Published: Friday, October 10, 2008
Updated: Sunday, September 6, 2009 10:09
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