Letter: Job vs. Career

I graduated in May, still live in Richmond and couldn't help but notice the article in last week's paper about the employment "success" of my class. Personally, I have yet to find a job despite an exhaustive search and graduating with honors.

I think now is a time to be realistic. Things are bad. The economy is still terrible, and although the Career Development Center reports an employment rate on par with 2007 and 2008 graduates, it says nothing about the types of jobs recent graduates have accepted.

My classmates who have been lucky enough to find jobs are mostly working in restaurants for minimum wage. There is absolutely nothing wrong with work of this nature, but I feel it is irresponsible of the CDC to claim certain employment rates without specificity.

This is not to say the CDC is at fault. It is an invaluable resource. I simply feel it is important for the students graduating this year to realize just how hard things may be. There is a marked difference between a job and a career.

Caitlyn Paley

Richmond, Va., Sept. 10, 2009

The writer is a graduate of the Westhampton College Class of 2009.