By Daniella Marrero and Haley Peabody

As commencement looms gloriously on the horizon for many Suffolk students, so does the prospect of securing a job in their field and making their degree worthwhile. Several recent Suffolk graduates shared their trials and tribulations of post-college life with The Suffolk Journal. Despite graduating from the same university, the students had completely different experiences hunting for their dream jobs.

Jared Pelletier, a 2013 graduate, started his job hunt in early April last year, almost two months before commencement. As a broadcast journalism major, Pelletier knew the degree of competitiveness that he faced and was willing to look for a position outside of the immediate Boston area. Within six weeks, Pelletier had landed a job on the air for WDTV News in Bridgeport, West Virginia.

“Anyone serious can’t be afraid to move,” he said, “You need to realize to really make it, you need to be willing to go.”

Recognizing that finding employment in your field after graduation can be a difficult task, Pelletier offered his best advice to the class of 2014, and said, “don’t sit and wait for your opportunity, push outside of your comfort zone.”

Despite the stressful nature of searching for a job and facing the fierce competition in the broadcast field, Pelletier said that his education at Suffolk helped give him an “edge” on the air. Although he was initially unaware of the heavy emphasis on multimedia that was present in his field, he said, “I didn’t realize just how well my education had prepared me to step right into the professional world so fast and so furious.”

Carmen Sofia Plazas, another graduate of the class of 2013, shared similar success to Pelletier in her initial job hunt. Plazas was a student from Maracay, Venezuela, and received a master in arts in communications in December.

Plazas got a head start in applying to jobs in the U.S. nine months before graduation, meeting with advisers, talking to professors, and doing personal research and networking within her field.

“I like to think that I am an organized person,” Plazas said. “In the fall of 2013, I officially started to apply for both internships and full time jobs. In November, I had a few interviews and luckily one of them resulted on the offer of the positions that I currently have as a junior account coordinator at ARGUS Communications.”

Plazas began working at ARGUS immediately after graduation, the ideal job she was hoping for. She wanted to work with the Hispanic market, and her current job has allowed her to do just that.

“Before graduation I pictured myself doing in-house marketing for the Hispanic audience in the healthcare sector,” she said, “such as working in the marketing department of a hospital or a bigger organization like Partners Healthcare. I wanted to use the fact that I’m bilingual and Hispanic as a skill. Yes, I was not able to find exactly what I wanted. However, now that I’m actually working, not dreaming about it but working with ARGUS, I’m more than happy with how things worked out for me.”

She advised current students to be prepared to handle the weight of finding a job, but not to forget their own dreams.

“Plan in advance, think big, stay loyal to your work ethic and values, and always be positive. The perfect job is out there waiting for you. It’s just a matter of finding it.”

Although the perfect job may be waiting right around the corner, success does not immediately find graduates. Alumna Kirstin Mulvaney, another member of the class of 2013, struggled in the months after commencement.

Mulvaney studied English and worked as a teacher’s assistant and as a tutor at the writing center while at Suffolk. She began looking for jobs months before graduation in Boston and New York, hoping to work in higher education. Six months after receiving her degree, however, she had not received any calls from employers, including her application to Suffolk University. With the pressure of student loans kicking in, she was forced to take a job at CVS in New York, her home state, to cover the costs.

Although CVS provided some economic relief to cover the loan payments, Mulvaney said that because of the difference of minimum wage between Massachusetts and New York, she was earning less than in her part time job as an undergraduate in Boston, and the high cost of living in the city did not allow her to stay.

An opportunity came from a high school friend after seeing a Twitter post from Mulvaney expressing her frustration with working in a minimum wage job as a college graduate. She was then able to get a job with AmeriCorps, a corporation for national and community service, as a teacher for elementary kids in Rochester, N.Y.

Mulvaney said that although this job is not something she expected she would ever take part in, the opportunity to work with kids via AmeriCorps has shifted her perspective on what she would like to do in the future by working with students who are learning their ABCs and numbers rather than her original idea of working in higher education. After forming close bonds with the children and their family’s circumstances, Mulvaney said she sees a flaw in the American school system to push for a college degree as the only plausible path to a “successful” life. She believes it is a choice that is not attractive or practical for all.

“I am not devaluing a college degree,” Mulvaney said. “I am saying that it is not for everyone and not suitable for all circumstances.”

During her time at Suffolk, Mulvaney said she would have liked to have taken more advantage of resources at the career development center and attend more networking events, but felt that those kinds of events on campus were usually designed for business or law students.

“What about the students that don’t want to work for big corporations?” Mulvaney said about Suffolk’s networking gatherings.

Her advice to current students is to avoid “zoning in” on one job or career and to leave room for change.

“Be prepared to be creative with what you can do with your major,” she said.

But although looking for a job is the biggest worry for all college seniors and graduates, Pelletier, Plazas, and Mulvaney all unanimously agreed that people should not forget to enjoy themselves and their post-graduation life.

“Paint, start a band, read a book, take a nap. Do things that make you happy and that will lift your mood and spirit and that don’t cost a thing,” Mulvaney advised.

Plazas shared that looking for jobs can be a stressful task, but that with proper organization, it is manageable.

“I have managed with organization, planning, asking for support of my family, and friends, lots of chocolate, and hot yoga,” she joked.

Pelletier said, “Breathe and relax. Things will work out one way or another, whether you   think they will or not.”