Job Market Worrisome for Graduating Publishing Student

As I start this last term of my graduate program I am stressed. Not only do I have a lot to compete in a short amount of time but at the end of it all I wonder if there will be any jobs out there for me. When I started this program I did so with the intention of earning my masters and getting out of the restaurant industry. Now, my worst fear is that I will become another waiter with a graduate degree. I suppose I should count myself lucky if I even end up having a restaurant job.

It seems that everyday news of the economy gets worse and worse. According to the U.S Labor Department 2.6 million jobs were lost in 2008--the worst job loss since 1945. The unemployment rate now sits at 7.2%, and you can be sure that is more than likely lower than the actual number.

I have actually considered postponing my graduation and taking a few extra classes in the Spring just to recieve additional student loans to live on. But, I know that isn't really a good plan. In December, while interviewing for an internship that I am doing this term, the head of the marketing and sales department asked, "Have you heard about the layoffs in the industry? So, what do you think you want to do with you publishing degree?" Ouch. The New York Observer reports that more layoffs are expected in the next three weeks at Crown, Knopf and the flagship Random House Publishing Group.

So, as I quickly approach a new chapter in my life I wonder what I will be doing with my degree. At this point, my hope is that I will be able to use my degree to get a job doing something, anything. I wonder how I can use the knowledge and skills that I have gained during my course of study to make a living. The publishing industry is most certainly going through some growing pains, so perhaps now is the time to be entering the industry. With an open-mind and a lot of creativity and innovation perhaps me and others just beginning their careers in publishing will have the chance to reinvent the industry.

Addendum: Ironically, as I finished writing this very lament filled post, a friend of mine called to say that the company that he has been in the plans to start for about two-and-a-half years is getting closer to taking off. This is good news for me because I have been promised a job a a newsletter coordinator and eventual editor of an online kids magazine and series of children's books associated with the company. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed.