Seniors in Lehigh’s College and Arts and Sciences are currently preparing to graduate, and the avenues they are taking following their commencement vary.
Some have expressed concerns regarding the current job market, and the paths they are pursuing post-graduation are indicative of economic uncertainty. Despite this, many are confident the skills they have acquired from Lehigh will lead them to success and overcoming post-grad challenges.
Kelly Austin, a professor of sociology and global studies, is the associate dean for Undergraduate Programs in the College of Arts and Sciences.
She said about half of the students within the college go directly into the job market, and the other half go to graduate school.
However, she said there has been a shift where more students are going into the job market recently. She said more students within the class of 2025 are taking a gap year after college, which is reflective of what this generation of students has had to go through.
“I think more students are taking some time to take a step back for a minute before diving into graduate school or their really serious career path,” Austin said. “I think given the moment that we’re in, it makes sense why more students are doing that, and I think that it can be a good thing to do.”
Austin said in times of rapid change and uncertainty, having a broad skill set is important to not pigeonhole oneself, which Lehigh promotes.
She said she also tries to reassure students and encourage them to pursue something they will enjoy.
“Do not worry so much sometimes about the instrumental or technical details,” Austin said. “Just have some faith and some trust that it’ll work out.”
Aliya Dworkin, ‘25, a student in the College of Arts and Sciences, said she is pursuing what she loves after her graduation. She will be attending the Yale School of Public Health next year for a master’s degree in healthcare management.
She said she always knew she wanted to pursue public health, but she was uncertain as to whether she wanted to enter the industry immediately after graduation or attend graduate school first.
Dworkin said her internship experience at the Office of Strategy Management at Yale New Haven Health Systems last summer introduced her to the world of consulting and solidified her decision to attend graduate school.
She also said her personal connections with professors in Lehigh’s College of Health prepared her in her next step to Yale.
Dworkin said President Donald Trump’s recently proposed federal funding cuts to public health programs, including the National Institute of Health, have been a concern for her as she determined her post-grad path.
She said something that drew her to attend Yale was the university’s commitment to its values and research, while not prematurely giving in to orders from the Trump Administration.
“I found comfort in that — that they were dedicated to sticking it out and fighting the good fight, in my opinion, and not wavering in their dedication to public health, which not every school can say,” Dworkin said.
Despite this commitment from certain universities, Karen Pooley, a political science professor, said there is still great uncertainty in the current job market.
Still, Pooley said classes that graduated during the Great Recession and the COVID pandemic experienced even more unpredictability.
“This seems much better than those sort of worst case scenarios, but they’re also graduating into just a lot of economic uncertainty,” Pooley said. “I don’t know if the typical rules of the game are going to play out the way they always do.”
She said she encourages graduates to rely on their fellow classmates during this uncertainty. She also said Lehigh graduates are well-equipped to handle what an entry-level position tends to bring.
Pooley said she was not employed when she first graduated from college, but she stuck with her job search that led her to a position she was happy with shortly after. She encourages the senior class to do the same as they graduate.
“Stick with it,” she said. “Search for good work and opportunities and places that you want to get to know. If it feels like a good fit for you, go for it.”
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