Tech, Unexpected: The ‘Recession-proof’ Career for Today's Graduates

In the beginning of my senior year of college, I was fairly confident that I would attend law school within a year or two of graduation. Oddly enough, I did not have much interest in becoming a lawyer, rather I felt like that was the logical next step after finishing a Political Science degree. Many of my peers were applying to graduate programs or law school, all with varying degrees of enthusiasm for their respective fields.

I think there’s a big misconception - one that I fell victim to my senior year - that your major will severely limit your career prospects, but that is simply not the case. A few months before graduation, Kubrick reached out to me via Handshake, inviting me to apply to be part of Kubrick's first Data Product cohort to be trained in the brand-new New York office. I figured, ‘Why not apply?’ - and I got the job. While many of my friends were preparing for their first year of law school, I moved across the country to start my career in data.

I think upcoming 2023 graduates feel the pressure to pursue postgraduate education even more acutely than my graduating class of 2022. According to Goldman Sachs’ 2022 global internship survey, 86% of college interns believe that there is a looming recession[1]. Thus, 2023 graduates, both at Goldman and in my personal circles, have described themselves as stressed, worried, and anxious about their career prospects after graduation. Each time the United States experiences a recession, without fail, the volume of graduate school applicants increases; many young adults would rather delay their career for a few years in hopes of a more favorable job market but face mounting student debt instead.

Luckily for 2023 graduates, the near future is not nearly as bleak as it may seem. In fact, the technology sector is set to continue growing rapidly, with increased adoption of data, AI, and cloud technologies becoming part of businesses’ key survival strategy. According to McKinsey, the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of digital technology by seven years[2], and the World Economic Forum has predicted that 97 million jobs will be created around the world in data and next-generation technology by 2025[3]. Most importantly, the WE Forum highlighted that the most in-demand skills for today’s workforce are a “mix of hard and soft skills”, including analytical thinking and innovation, creativity, and critical thinking – all of which are cultivated in a breadth of academic disciplines, from engineering to philosophy, and anything in between.

Facing a talent shortage to fill these roles, modern tech companies are looking for diverse talent to bring a fresh perspective to today’s business challenges. I’ve found a role with a tech consultancy which did not require any coding experience, but instead championed candidates who align with their values and culture and show the potential to learn the technical skills once they join the team. Because, as I discovered in my Kubrick training, anyone can learn how to code if they have the right attitude.

And for graduates seeking to avoid the cost-of-living crisis in traditional tech centers, data from Microsoft has revealed a notable decline in roles available in San Francisco and Seattle, while talent inflow has increased in new tech hubs across Texas and Florida, including Houston, Jacksonville, and Tampa[4]. Texas is now home to the headquarters of more Fortune 500 companies than any other state in the country, including Oracle, Tesla, Hewlett Packard, and AT&T. And within Kubrick’s growing portfolio of clients in Texas, the potential for salaries after just 2 years of consulting are predicted to exceed $100-130,000, presenting unrivalled career acceleration.

Kubrick has trained over 1,500 consultants in the most sought-after skills across data, AI, and cloud technology . Interested in becoming a Kubrick consultant? You can see all our available practices across the US apply here: https://www.kubrickgroup.com/u...









[1] https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/1...








[2] COVID-19 digital transformation & technology | McKinsey








[3] https://www.weforum.org/agenda...








[4] https://www.microsoft.com/en-u...