College Grads: You Need To Consider Coworking
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Benita (19), trystan (21), and liam (24) hanging out in the radius lounge
There is a stark truth for Generation Z, or the New Silent Generation: college degrees don’t equate to good jobs. It’s a reality Millennials have already reckoned with (and continue to do so).
There are a lot of economic factors at play here but one we’re concerned with is that researchers at Brookings found that children are no longer earning higher incomes than their parents. “While nine out of 10 children born in 1940 had higher earnings at age 30 than their parents at the same age, for those born in 1980, the number dropped to one in two.”
However, there may be a way to rewrite the narrative of college grads working as baristas, retail clerks, or telemarketers. With hard work as our papyrus, entrepreneurship as our quill, and coworking as our inkwell, we can position ourselves for a better economic future.
Underscoring Underemployment
If you’re unfamiliar with the term, “underemployment” refers to people working jobs for which they’re overqualified. Think of a finance grad flipping burgers, a political scientist serving tables, or a microbiologist mudding drywall. Mind you, there is nothing inherently wrong with any of these careers;
the problem is, the average college graduate is in hock for $28,500. That being so, if you’re going to sink tens of thousands of dollars into your education, there should be a way to dig yourself out of debt upon graduation.
This phenomenon of underemployment is pervasive. Pew Research Center found that, as of December 2021, 41 percent of college graduates ages 22 to 27 were underemployed, and 34 percent of all college graduates are underemployed.
Although the statistics are bleak, there is something vital to learn from Burning Glass’s findings. A college graduate’s first job is a strong dictator for a profitable or unprofitable career path. To make sure the latter does not happen, college grads can nip underemployment in the bud by interning, working in, and starting a business in a coworking space.
Accruing Meaningful Experience
We know that accruing meaningful and relevant work experience before and immediately after graduating diminishes the inertia of underemployment. Further, internships and on-the-job experience can provide students with an opportunity to build skills that turn them into job-ready candidates.
Relevant skills help college grads stand out in a sky-high pile of resumes, and may even earn them a premium salary. For instance, one in five graduates are business majors. Unfortunately, about one in two business majors are underemployed. Furthermore, most of their first occupations aren’t related to their major. Overwhelmingly, those with business degrees end up working as desk clerks, food preppers, retail workers, and customer service reps.
Bottom line: employers want more than a degree; they want experience. For instance, if we stay within the context of a degree in business, organizations seek out candidates with hard and soft skills such as social media management, market strategy, and graphic design. However, obtaining such a variety of related hard and soft skills rarely happens in a collegiate setting.
Coworking 101
For those outside of the entrepreneurial or remote work ecosystem, the idea of coworking can be somewhat nebulous. If that’s the case for you, then here’s the gist: coworking is about sharing space while we work and supporting one another so that we don’t need to do everything alone. Accordingly, a coworking space is a communal office that often houses startup teams, remote workers, and even seasoned business owners and associates.
In contrast to a traditional office, almost everyone in a coworking space primarily is working on their own projects/businesses. However, because there are shared values, high skill levels, and broad industry knowledge, there is a significant amount of organic collaboration that occurs. Moreover, many of these businesses are owned by, employ, and give internships to hungry talent looking for an opportunity.
Opportunities for Internships
If you’re looking for experience, the businesses in coworking spaces are often looking for eager interns who are looking to work hard. From social media management to data analytics, the skills one can develop are nearly endless.
Unlike a traditional internship, students get an immersive experience that allows them to see the inner workings, challenges, and typical pace of startups and small businesses. Additionally, interns learn—through a multitude of collaborative efforts—the trials of tangentially-related industries. For example, at Radius CoWork, we have copywriters, developers, programs, videographers, and data analysts all sharing work experiences and learning from each others’ successes and failures.
Interning at a coworking space is also an excellent method of narrowing down what you want to do, especially as many students haven’t a clue. In fact, AllaboutCareers.com and Concrete noted that 44% of students don’t know what they want to do after graduation.
Interning at a startup is a great way to test drive your passions, skills, and strengths. If you’re interested in learning more about businesses looking for help, click here to contact us today.
Opportunities for Employment
If you think you have to leave your hometown to find employment, pause, take a deep breath, and listen up. With a coworking space, you have the ability to work for the same “big-city” employers without dealing with the “big-city” bu||$h!t. If you don’t believe us, take a tour and meet some of the remote workers who are telecommuting every day.
While Radius has been experiencing the trend for the last few years, research shows that in the next decade, nearly four in ten workers will work remotely full time. But if telecommuting isn’t your style, contact us to see if there is a business in need of a hardworking, hungry grad.
Opportunities to Start New
In the case of a fresh graduate who is hoping to start his or her own venture, coworking can be like gasoline for good ideas. At Radius, you not only get unlimited coffee, wifi, and deskspace, but you also tap into our network of seasoned professionals. Whether you need accounting and legal advice or design and marketing guidance, you’ll often find your answer within minutes of asking the question.
Plus, coworking limits the potential of failure by minimizing startup expenses. You don’t need to furnish an office, and your network infrastructure is already built. All you need to do is bring yourself, a computer, and your chutzpah.
Finally, having experience in running a business makes you a more attractive candidate for future jobs; after all, starting a business is hard work, and decision makers know that in order to do so, your skills must be versatile.
Write a New Beginning
For current and graduating students, using a coworking space to start your own business can be a great way to differentiate yourself from the stack of carbon copy resumes every employer receives. Furthermore, by providing a stable and well-caffeinated environment, coworking can accommodate your desire to work with larger firms, all while staying in your hometown. If you’re interested in learning more about the ins and outs of coworking, why it’s a smart move for graduating students, or how to become a member of Radius Cowork, click here to contact us today.