The dire economic situation and its effects on national unemployment are weighing heavily on the minds of the current senior class, for whom the post-graduate years are fast approaching. As of September, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics placed unemployment at 9.6 percent, and a recent Gallup poll found that those aged 18-29 are fairing even worse, with 15.8 percent actively seeking and failing to find work. Clearly, these are tough times for all, but recent college graduates are particularly disadvantaged, with too many qualified applicants and too few entry-level positions.

It would be easy for students and recent graduates to feel frustrated and betrayed, as students often view a college education as a prudent investment toward a successful future. Despite our ambitions, this is not always the immediate reality. Most students in four-year institutions have invested enormous amounts of time, effort, and money into their educations to ensure that they would have the skills necessary to be competitive applicants in the job market. Our parents were able to anticipate a clear path from college to career. Though our paths are less clear, their ambiguity frees us from the idea that there is a clear divide between college and the “real world.”

Students who might have been expecting to immediately begin their careers in highly competitive fields directly after graduation will need to think creatively about other ways to gain experience while working toward their ultimate goal. The idea of a career has drastically changed during our lifetime, and students should no longer expect to spend their entire professional lives in one field. It’s easy to become pigeonholed in college, but the world encourages students to broaden their horizons and investigate other options that would utilize their skills sets in different ways. There are jobs out there and your skills will be needed, but the search will just require more effort than it would have in previous years.

Until your goals become clear, there should not be a stigma attached to spending some time after graduation to explore options. Young adults can volunteer, seek advanced degrees, or explore the country or the world. This is the time when we are discovering where our calling lies. This is a process that will never look the same for two different people. We realize that it may be unhelpful or even overly simplistic to tell students to work harder, to think more creatively, or to discover the undiscovered, but there is no advice that will replace your own ingenuity.