From Pittsburgh to professional life: Where are college graduates now?

What’s it like to be a college graduate these days? It depends on who you ask.

Recent graduates have navigated a life-changing pandemic. Some entered the workforce during a time of high inflation . Many took on student loans and saw an ambitious debt-relief plan blocked by the U.S. Supreme Court . Some don’t want a typical office job. Others say artificial intelligence is changing the job market and climate change has altered their plans.

All these factors are shaping recent graduates’ career paths and attitudes about the job market. Still, young workers with bachelor’s degrees have a consistently lower unemployment rate than those without, and older degree-holders see even lower rates. Workers with bachelor’s degrees also tend to earn more over the course of their careers .

PublicSource spoke with 12 alumni of Pittsburgh’s colleges and universities to learn how they’re navigating their entrance into the workforce or their first years within it. Finding the right job –– or any job –– has been stressful for some, but several have found work that brings them passion or satisfaction.

Most students attended the University of Pittsburgh, which enrolls more students than any other local school. Below are their stories, edited for brevity and clarity:

Sierra Lomax, Pitt ‘20, media and professional communications

I grew up in foster care. Anyone that’s been in foster care, they know the ins and outs and all the dysfunction that sometimes comes with it. Writing poetry was a way for me to release my emotions and get out what I wanted to say.

Once I got to the Community College of Allegheny County, they had a talent show, and I read one of my poems for the first time. I ended up winning second place. That was a big deal to me. I was like, “OK, I’m really good at writing; I actually could do this.” So, I transferred to Pitt for my last two years of college.

My adviser told me about the media and professional communications program. It was the best major I could have picked. I took a broadcasting class, and it changed the trajectory of what I wanted to do. Understanding what news is and formulating stories, I just had never imagined it could be a career.

It took me a full year after graduation, though, to find a job. The pandemic was still going on, and a lot of the jobs were [marked] entry-level but wanted three or four years of experience. But everything I was taught at Pitt set a really good foundation for the career I wanted and the work I’m doing now.

I’m a communications specialist for a health care network. I handle any media requests we get, and I also take initiative and work on stories I like. I’m really big on mental health, Black maternal health and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. I like my job a lot. It makes me feel like I have a purpose, especially when I talk to community members.

Hannah Goldstein, Pitt ‘23, political science and urban studies

I didn’t have a full-time job at graduation, and that really sucked. That was kind of my goal. I was like, “I’m going to have a job so I’m not one of those people that’s like, ‘Oh, yeah, I don’t know what I’m doing. I’m moving back home and living in my parents’ basement.’” Currently, I am living in my parents’ basement, but I’m moving out.

I know a lot of people will apply to hundreds of jobs, and I just knew I mentally couldn’t do that. I also knew I couldn’t sit at a desk from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. all day because, at the end of college, I just got distracted so, so easily.

I feel like I’m in a really good place. I got a part-time job with the place I’m working at now, and then I got into their fellowship program, which ends in July. We do civic education programs for middle and high schoolers from all over the country, and we inform, inspire and empower young people about democracy. I love my job. I’m hoping to stay with the company.

Benjamin Commodore, Pitt ‘19 and ‘22, master of health administration

I work for a hospital system, and I’m really satisfied. I’m very well-compensated. I’m still enjoying that remote-work life. My career trajectory is still up in the air, but I think I have more control over the types of job opportunities I could have, and I’ve pivoted to a niche that will pay dividends.

My Pitt education was a great return on investment, and as an out-of-state student, I paid a premium. I think the biggest key is getting those internships and that professional network to be as wide-reaching as possible.

And, being able to be flexible and try new things is really important. I know a lot of former classmates who graduated with engineering degrees and are now consultants, or graduated with a finance degree and now work in human resources. I think the college degree is just a starting point.

Lucia Giordano, Pitt ‘20, linguistics

I graduated in December of 2020, so that was really the peak of the pandemic. It ended up being a few months later that I, finally, was offered a position at an academic publishing organization. It’s the same place where I work now, and I’ve been in the same role for more than three years. It pays me enough for my current expenses, but it’s not really fulfilling.

All of the plans I could have made before the pandemic were sort of derailed. The job market completely changed. It kind of felt like the pandemic robbed me, and pretty much everybody in my specific age range, of any sort of opportunity upon graduation. It was like being released on the other side of this world-changing event with no way of going back.

Even apart from the pandemic, so much is changing. A lot of the pathways that were out there for linguistics majors even a few years ago aren’t there anymore because of the rise of artificial intelligence. I feel like, in a lot of ways, I probably would be in the same place I am now. But it’s really hard to know.

It’s increasingly hard, in this day and age, to find truly meaningful work. So, you have to find that meaning somewhere else. I think I’m still looking. But, I think, choosing to focus instead on my hobbies, and my friends and my family, as things I get a sense of accomplishment or satisfaction from, is healthier in the end.

Andrew K., Pitt ‘24, political science

The cost of attendance has really put a damper on any grad school plans I had, especially law school. I still applied –– I was waitlisted –– but even if I get in, I’m not sure that I’d go. I mean, the sticker price is not happening, and scholarships are competitive.

I’ve applied to a lot of jobs in local government and the Commonwealth, but it’s very difficult. They don’t really get back to you. It’s not like all hope is lost –– I have a couple interviews lined up. It’s not for anything that pays amazingly well, which is to be expected when you’re coming out of school, especially in the humanities, but it’s tough facing a lot of debt.

It might have been useful to get a sit-down from somebody who had gone through what I’ve gone through now, and for them to be like, “Look, you just need to temper your expectations a little bit. There’s no guarantee that you’re going to do what you want to do, or get into what you dream of, straight off the bat.”

(Andrew asked for his last name to be withheld because he’s job-seeking.)

Sarah Berg, Pitt ‘23, neuroscience

Finding a job was really, really easy. I feel so grateful for how it went. I have a lot of friends who weren’t able to secure employment easily and just had to bounce around between odd jobs. But for me, during my senior year, I talked to the boss at my lab, and the two of us discussed me staying on as the lab technician. That was really what I wanted to do.

I’m still working with her today. I mainly wanted to take this job to make sure that I really did like research before applying to grad school. I definitely confirmed that. I love my co-workers and my boss. I like research as a whole –– It can be frustrating sometimes, it can be very slow, but it’s very satisfying when you actually make progress in it.

Kay Weaving, Pitt ‘24, psychology and business

I feel confident going into the next chapter. I start my full-time job in human resources in August. I’d be interested to hopefully get more insight in the future on how to manage independently supporting myself with a full-time career.

Joshua Schneider, Pitt ‘20, emergency medicine

My postgraduate plans changed from emergency medicine to, first, public health policy, and then pre-law. It was a mix of things. I didn’t feel that I would be able to address all of the issues I saw my patients experiencing as a clinician –– I wanted to be able to influence policy and felt that working as an attorney would be a good way to do that.

Ultimately, I decided climate change is what I wanted to focus on. I felt it was so existential that, if we didn’t focus on that, then everything else would be negatively impacted, too. I’ll graduate from law school next May. In every interview I did for my internships, I talked about my experience as a paramedic –– so, to some extent, the opportunities I got at Pitt.

I worry about the threat of climate change and how that will impact my future. We’re seeing the effects of that every single day. But in terms of my own ability to get a job and contribute to a solution to those problems, I feel confident with all the experiences I have from my education.

Hunter Graham, Pitt ‘23, environmental studies

I work for a cutlery company. Basically, I shape pocket knife handles. My parents worked at the parent company for about 35 years, so I like to joke that it was a little bit like nepotism. I interned with the health and safety coordinator, so they already knew me there a little bit.

I was looking for an environmental health and safety position with a company. My current job is less of a management position –– I’m just kind of doing my own thing, sharpening knives. At the same time, it’s useful working in a factory and seeing what would make up a health and safety position, like how much other workers stretch, or where the company might need to strengthen its safety rules.

It seems that most jobs involving the environmental field are usually senior-level. I wish there was an easier ramp to actually get into my profession, but I’m trying to find the best parts about the job I have that I can actually integrate into the career I want. I’m trying to have a little bit of patience.

Abby Batkhan, Pitt ‘23, Carlow University ‘25, speech-language pathology

I don’t feel horrible about entering the workforce soon. At least, I was told that job security is good in this field, but it might not be as good in Pittsburgh because it is kind of oversaturated with speech-language pathologists. So, I might have to move or do a different specialty for a little bit. But I feel like I have a good support network at Carlow.

I do wish I had more career preparation. I just had a seminar in one of my classes about resume building and interviewing, and I feel like that should have happened a lot earlier on. I know a lot of my peers who aren’t going to grad school really felt intimidated, and not that well-prepared, to go into the workforce.

Vidya Surti, Pitt ‘24, anthropology

I don’t think I would have accomplished the same things if I didn’t go to Pitt, and if I didn’t have a lot of support from the greater community. It’s easy to take being in a city for granted, and going out of Oakland for opportunities was definitely one of the best decisions I’ve made.

I’m pretty involved in leadership work with nonprofits and government advisory boards. I serve on the City-County Task Force on Disabilities. I’m the youngest appointee. For me, it’s the communication aspect, and the ability to shape policy and accessibility practices in the region and hold government bodies accountable.

I’m deciding whether to get a master’s degree or go into the workforce. I’ve had very good luck with applying to manager roles, actually. It’s a very lucky place to be in, although the decision is very hard.

(Surti has accepted a job as a lab manager since the interview and is considering deferring her enrollment in a master’s program.)

Rhianna Davis, Point Park ‘20, business management

If we’re putting my career trajectory on a ranking scale, I would give it an eight out of 10. Is it perfect? No, but I would say that I am happy. I really have found a love for nonprofit marketing.

I got real experience at Point Park in what I was interested in doing post-college. I was already applying for jobs before the pandemic happened, and I was fortunate enough that I was doing a co-op with the alumni office. One of the employees connected me with an alum who worked at an advertising agency in Pittsburgh. I was at that agency for almost two years.

When I wasn’t sure if I was even going to get a job, let alone a job in my field, there were a lot of stressful days. I love the saying, “Whatever is for you will come to you.” I feel like that’s hard to hear when you’re in the thick of it, and my parents were telling me that a lot. But it really is true. So, I guess, being patient with yourself is really important.

Emma Folts c overs higher education at PublicSource, in partnership with Open Campus. She can be reached at emma@publicsource.org .

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