How Can Students Prepare for Economic Uncertainty?

While we sometimes hate to face it, the current economy of our world affects every person living in it. For students, this means that economic hardships can affect their ability to pay school tuition fees or for books and computers while in school. This also means that students may struggle to pay back student loans or find well-paying jobs after graduation.

However, every country in the world has undergone an economic recession at some point or another, and many people, especially students, have shared their experiences for us to learn from. For example, the 2021 film Nomadland streaming on Hulu portrays a woman’s journey after losing everything during a recession and conveys a few things that we can learn from her in the process.

Tips for Students to Follow in Economic Uncertainty

Look for Internships

Before and after graduation, students can often add some experience to their degrees by getting an internship, even if this internship does not directly correlate to the subject of their degrees. While most internships are not paid, some rare ones do pay students, and both paid and non-paid internships are bound to give you valuable experience and social connections that you can use to put on your resume or land your future dream job.

Find a “Stepping Stone” Job

Also before and after graduation, students can look for entry-level jobs in an industry related to their degree subject. For example, business and math students who want to eventually climb the corporate ladder can start at a local bank. With an entry-level job, students and new graduates can gain real-life experience that not only looks good on a resume (similar to an internship) but also pays in the process.

Entry-level jobs can often be taken as stepping stones to higher-paying jobs too. With an entry-level position, you can work for promotions or be lucky enough to have a boss that is willing to help you climb toward the job you really want.

Utilize School Career Counseling

Many fresh graduates don’t realize that their schools offer career counseling to them for free after graduation. With career counseling, you can not only find job openings that may appeal to you, but you can learn about all of the different positions that may become available in your favorite industry down the road. A career counselor can also help you learn about your strengths and qualifications for different jobs or help you create a well-rounded resume.

Consider Freelancing or Non-Traditional Work

Multiple recessions in the world have resulted in an ever-changing job landscape, and not everyone with a degree works at a corporate office as they might have in the past. Today, lots of graduates work as freelancers that are self-employed and offer their talents to multiple different clients. Other graduates work for non-profit organizations or hold government jobs, so be sure to look past the traditional big-name corporations when you start your post-graduate job searches.

Some industries are now recruiting job candidates that have mixed or unique degree titles too. For example, an employer in the healthcare industry might hire a graduate that majored in both technology and Spanish because this candidate could work as either a healthcare technician or translator.

What Not to Do In an Economic Crisis

Don’t Focus on One Specific Industry

A lot of new graduates expect to immediately find a well-paying job in an industry relating to their degrees; however, this is rarely the case, especially in times of economic crises. One thing you can do soon after graduation to help yourself expands your focus to multiple industries, even if those industries seem irrelevant to your degree subject. Remember that all jobs come with experience and connections, and even a job in retail management now can lead to a head chef position at a five-star restaurant later.

Don’t Undersell Your Skills

Another thing fresh graduates are known to do is undersell themselves on their resumes because they lack job experience. However, job experience is only one small section on a resume, and proof of valuable skills matters to a potential employer just as much as experience. For example, students who worked for not-for-profit organizations as part of a class project while in school can add this to a resume in place of past job experience.

A lot of times, new graduates also leave out certain experiences on their resumes because they feel those experiences are irrelevant to the jobs they are applying for. No matter the job you are applying for though, all experience is relevant because it shows that you aren’t someone who just sits on the side while others work. Even experience in volunteering for an animal shelter counts as experience for someone applying to a financial analysis job because it shows that the candidate is willing to work in all types of environments.

Extra Tips for Those Studying Abroad

While studying abroad, either part of an undergraduate or graduate program, during an economic recession, you may find that costs in other countries are higher than at home. You may also encounter low foreign exchange rates and little to no opportunities for part-time work. However, you can combat these hardships by learning how to earn and save money abroad.

Get a Work-from-Home Job

You can still perform a job from your home country while abroad if the job allows you to work from your laptop or other devices. This eliminates the need to find part-time work in a foreign country and gives you more spending money while you are still in school.

Use Your Student ID for Discounts

Students that study abroad can often get discounts on food, travel, and accommodations in their host countries by using a student ID that is endorsed by UNESCO. Be sure to obtain a valid student ID from your university before traveling abroad and always keep your ID on your person to show at airports, hotels, and restaurants.

Map Out Local Bus Routes

While it may seem obvious, not all students that study abroad realize that public bus and train systems are cheaper to use than taxi and cab services. Before you travel abroad, find out what area you will be living and studying in, then do some research on the local public transportation systems. Plan out the daily routes you will be taking to and from classes and your accommodations, then set aside a budget that will allow you to take public transit every day that you will be studying there.

Use a Local SIM Card on Your Phone

While studying abroad, you can save money on phone calls by getting a local SIM card for your phone or a new phone with a SIM card already installed in it. With a local SIM card that is connected to the area you will be staying in, you can save money spent on calls that would otherwise be tagged as international.

Apply for Scholarships

Perhaps the best way to save money while studying abroad is by obtaining a school scholarship that will cover the costs of your tuition, books, accommodations, and other living expenses. Many online sites work as search engines for scholarships, and you can find plenty of scholarships that are gifted to study-abroad students only.

Summary

While economic recessions affect everyone, students included, there are some ways to still make and save money when times are tough. If you are a current student, try to work and earn money from jobs and scholarships to minimize your future loan debt. If you are a recent graduate, expand your horizons and consider taking jobs that are outside the subject area of your degree.