You can be on Entrepreneur’s cover!

Entrepreneurship as a Career Choice for New Grads Gets Some Respect While the number of employed young people remains desperately low, some experts suggest entrepreneurship as an increasingly worthy option.

By Diana Ransom

entrepreneur daily

Just when you thought the employment picture for recent grads couldn't get any worse. A report out today shows that students are increasingly having trouble landing internships -- making the experience gap between recent grads and older workers even more pronounced.

Fifty percent of employers haven't hired any interns in the past six months, according to a survey of 225 employers by the Boston-based Gen-Y consulting firm Millennial Branding, using data from career-services operator Experience Inc. The survey also shows that 91 percent of those employers think that students should have between one and two internships before they graduate.

What's more, a study out last week from Rutgers University notes that of those who graduated from college between 2006 and 2011, only half are now working full time.

After these reports, one could find it hard to stay positive about life post school. But rather than become despondent and embittered -- or even take a job that won't help you acquire any professional skills -- some experts suggest starting up a business may be a more palatable career alternative.

Related: 10 Things Colleges Don't Tell Young Entrepreneurs at Graduation

Among others, Karen Mills the head of the Small Business Administration recently extolled the benefits of entrepreneurship in a Twitter chat with students. And Scott Gerber of the Young Entrepreneur Council even started a campaign called #FixYoungAmerica to highlight the issue.

Indeed, entrepreneurship can be a worthy alternative for many recent grads, says Jeff Cornwall, director of the Center for Entrepreneurship at Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn. In particular, he points to the low barriers to entry these days. In addition to inexpensive technology, younger entrepreneurs' personal overhead -- that is, what they need to earn to cover their living expenses -- may still be low, as they've just spent four years eating day-old pizza and cereal for dinner.

Related: Are You Ready for Student-Loan Rates to Skyrocket?

Cornwall adds that "the biggest expense for most small startups is the owners' salary." Maintaining a Spartan lifestyle can enable young entrepreneurs to offer more competitive prices -- which, he says, is key to creating value in a weak economy.

Keeping your expenses low will have another effect: Should you want to, you can walk away without much of a downside, says Cornwall. "After that, they can start another business using the experience they gained from the first business or leverage that experience to land a job."

And if you're still not convinced that entrepreneurship can be a keen career choice, consider this: According to the same Millennial Branding survey, nearly 30 percent of employers are actually seeking candidates with entrepreneurial experience.

Would you hire a former entrepreneur for your team? Leave a comment and let us know why or why not.

Should you follow YoungEntrepreneur.com on Twitter? Absolutely.

Diana Ransom is the former deputy editor of Entrepreneur.com.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Editor's Pick

Business News

James Clear Explains Why the 'Two Minute Rule' Is the Key to Long-Term Habit Building

The hardest step is usually the first one, he says. So make it short.

Side Hustle

He Took His Side Hustle Full-Time After Being Laid Off From Meta in 2023 — Now He Earns About $200,000 a Year: 'Sweet, Sweet Irony'

When Scott Goodfriend moved from Los Angeles to New York City, he became "obsessed" with the city's culinary offerings — and saw a business opportunity.

Business News

Microsoft's New AI Can Make Photographs Sing and Talk — and It Already Has the Mona Lisa Lip-Syncing

The VASA-1 AI model was not trained on the Mona Lisa but could animate it anyway.

Living

Get Your Business a One-Year Sam's Club Membership for Just $14

Shop for office essentials, lunch for the team, appliances, electronics, and more.

Leadership

You Won't Have a Strong Leadership Presence Until You Master These 5 Attributes

If you are a poor leader internally, you will be a poor leader externally.