Editorial: Welcome back to college -- Start thinking about a job

Boston Herald editorial staff, Boston Herald on Sep 12, 2026

Published in Op Eds

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The Labor Department’s release of its August jobs report landed just as college students swarmed into Boston. The two events are coincidental, but shouldn’t be.

College students, new or returning, should pay attention to such reports. The U.S. labor market bounced back in August as employers added 162,000 jobs, according to the Associated Press.

Restaurants and bars added 59,000 jobs last month, construction companies 22,000 and manufacturers 16,000. Factory jobs are up by 58,000 since hitting a recent low in December, the Labor Department noted.

That’s good news for people who aren’t necessarily pursuing a college degree, but those who’ll need to pay off student loans should also track which careers are poised for growth.

Strategizing future paychecks may drain some of the fun out of the much-hyped “college experience,” the parties, socializing and dining hall privileges, but it’s vital to a successful future.

The Labor Dept. also released a list of the fastest growing occupations: those with the highest projected percent change of employment between 2025–35.

Leading the pack: Nurse practitioner, with a projected 41% growth rate and average salary of $132,300 per year.

It’s one of six occupations on the list that fall under the umbrella of healthcare and social assistance services, as CNBC reported. That’s due to the aging population in the U.S. and the high prevalence of behavioral health disorders and chronic conditions like cancer, heart disease, and diabetes, says Emily Krutsch, chief for the Division of Employment Projections at the BLS.

Nurse practitioner roles are projected to grow roughly 137,800 jobs from 2025 to 2035. While nurse practitioners are expected to see the greatest percentage change in growth, medical and health services managers are projected to grow fastest in raw numbers, with an estimated 155,100 jobs coming.

Two jobs on the BLS list are computer and math occupations, which reflects “growing demand for IT products and services, and the need to store, manage, and analyze large amounts of data,” Krutsch says.

College students should ask themselves this: Is my major preparing me for a job in a fast-growing field, or even a sector that’s stable? Will your major prepare you to land a job that pays enough to tackle student loan debt, housing and other adult necessities?

The sooner you figure that out, the sooner you can either regroup or lean into the right track.

This is the boring stuff — looking at college as a vehicle to a financially stable future rather than four years of socializing and new fun experiences. It may mean changing from a poetry major to one that is aligned with better and more lucrative job opportunities.

And if you do start combing the business section and crunching the numbers, you may find that the education you need can be found at a less expensive institution.

All this may sound like the ultimate buzzkill as you enter, or return to, college life. That first real job seems so far off, but graduation day will come sooner than you think.

Will you be ready for what comes after?

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