In the past, University of Chicago graduates did one of a couple of things after getting their diplomas: graduate school, i-banking, Teach for America, or Peace Corps. Sure, there was the odd alum who holed up in the same decrepit MAC apartment as always with four years’ worth of course reading and refused to leave Hyde Park, ever, but these students were in the minority, and the rest used their diplomas as one-way tickets out of Siberia and into the land of jobs (or education in more hospitable climates), never looking back.This, of course, was in the era before the evil money men crashed the world, so things like interviews and internships and job offers still happened. Not so anymore. But Career Advising & Planning Services has announced that somehow, 57% of the Class of 2009 has secured either gainful employment or an extra-long twin bed.

As of mid-May, 57 percent of graduating seniors reported that they had found full-time employment or were pursuing graduate studies. That is only 4 percent less than last year—CAPS’ best year since it started recording the numbers in 2003—and is in line with other nationally prominent schools. It was a welcome result, considering how much the job market has changed in the last year.

I’m curious about how CAPS defined “full-time employment.” Does this include Peace Corps and other non-profit gigs? Are summer internships that cut off in the fall lumped in? What exactly is the other 43% doing, other than playing with Bernie Madoff and John Thain voodoo dolls?It would also be interesting to see the split of “full-time employment” vs. “graduate studies.” I’d put good money on the second one being a lot higher than it normally is.EDIT: Ouch, found the numbers for the Class of 2007 and the Class of 2008. ’07ers left with 79% of students headed toward full-time employment or grad school; last year, it was 75%. That means that almost 20% more of the graduating class – which translates to roughly 225 students based on class size – is unemployed this year than last. And CAPS did have a closer breakdown of the percentage, which the News Office left out because it’s utterly depressing: The number headed to grad school next year is about level with the last two years (19% vs. 18% in both 2007 and 2008), so it looks like it’s actually just that people didn’t get jobs. CAPS also reports this about the Class of 2009:

153 were in the midst of searching for full-time employment (14%)

226 planned to begin their job search process after graduation (21%)

43 indicated they did not yet know what they would do after graduation (4%)

So 35% are looking and 4% have no frickin’ clue.