In this rough economy, is it best to go out and continue to job-hunt, or should students postpone their entry into the working world by bolstering their studies?
Some undergraduates say they are hungry for that first entry-level job:
"I'm ready to do it, I'm ready to work and have a real career and become part of the adult life."
But in this economy, they have to work a little harder than in previous years to get offered a position:
"There's virtually nothing out there!"
And the economy is causing some to contemplate graduate school just for the sake of putting off the job hunt a couple of more years:
"It's starting to grow on me a little bit as I hear about fewer jobs and fewer jobs and fewer jobs."
But Corinne Snell (right), executive director of Temple University's center for professional development, says don't put off work:
"The work experience is so valuable that a student who goes immediately on to a graduate degree with no work experience in between, that could be problematic."
(Student:) "If you go straight to grad school without any experience and then you graduate, people have an upper hand on you because they've already had internships, they already had some experience, whereas you just went straight to school without having any experience."
(Snell:) "From my days of recruiting, some of the companies where we were hiring MBAs, if (applicants) did not have 3-5 years of work experience under their belt in addition to that MBA degree, we did not even bring them in for an interview."
Snell admits that some fields require an advanced degree in order to work:
"Maybe it's science, psychology, sociology -- that might make sense to go on immediately for a graduate degree. But in business, we recommend that hardcore experience."
But for everyone else, even in this economy, she says it's better to work where you can -- even if it's part time. And that's hard for some students to hear:
(Student:) "You can't lose your spirit, because then you'll disappear while everyone else is working hard. And I don't want to disappear."
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But Corinne Snell (right), executive director of Temple University's center for professional development, says don't put off work:
