College Entrepreneurs Find Alternative Ways to Succeed

Graduation is approaching in less than a year. Some will leave CU in December 2011 while some still have another semester until spring graduation. It seems as though current college students are wondering about their future in this economy. How are some of these students dealing with their concerns? Creating their own jobs.

College students are becoming more innovative everyday, and not just to fulfill a desire of inventing something new. Students often feel like innovation is imperative to their survival in the job world.

Daily Camera writer Whitney Bryen, says college entrepreneurs are “part of a bigger group of Americans reaching for self-employment in tough economic times.”

The Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity states that 20- to 34-year-olds increased their entrepreneurial activity about 10 percent from 2009 to 2010. While this may seem exciting for those who have natural entrepreneurial skills, some without the business savvy mindset experience more stress about looming graduation.

Susanne Choe, a senior at CU, is worried about landing a job and supporting herself after college. She explains that a couple of her friends started small businesses while in school, which turned into successful companies.

Choe says that although it is exciting to see students flourishing in the business world, she finds others' success intimidating and somewhat discouraging.

"I feel like that’s becoming the norm, to start ahead of time,” she says.

According to Choe, many students do not know exactly how to get that head start.

One way to for students to get their feet wet is to meet with a counselor at the Career Services Office located in the Center for Community building on the CU campus. Appointments can be made online and students can choose multiple topics to discuss with a counselor. Experts in Career Services are available for resume help, networking information and career exploration.

Some students stay in school as long as possible and get their master’s degrees in order to beat the last decade's rising unemployment. However, CU has been tracking its students after they earn their bachelor’s degrees, and studies show there’s an increase in numbers who enter the work force right away, versus those who stay in school.

Daily Camera writer, Brittany Anas, states: “The percentage of graduating seniors who said they planned to attend graduate school decreased slightly from 21 percent in 2009 to 19 percent in 2011.”

Although the job market might be improving, some students say they still dread moving back home with Mom and Dad, especially when they believe they are overqualified for certain job positions. Some decide to take their own path to create something revolutionary, while others seem to ride out their anxiety to see where graduation leads them.