ST. CLOUD – Jacqui DuBois walked across the stage last December to receive her degree, becoming a graduate of St. Cloud State University, with high hopes of continuing her passion for journalism in one form or another.

Now she is working as shift leader at a Davanni’s in Brooklyn Center, where she has been employed since high school, and hasn’t found the break in journalism she once hoped for.

With all things considered, she isn’t disappointed in her current situation, given the poor job market and financial stressors placed in her life.

“I was too afraid and couldn’t afford to make a leap starting out at the bottom of an actual journalism career,” said DuBois, a 22-year-old SCSU graduate from Brooklyn Center, Minn.  She is receiving health and time off benefits at her current job, and said a new job wouldn’t have allowed her these privileges.

2009 marked one of the toughest job markets in years, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), with the average starting salary dropping and the types of jobs available to new graduates consolidating.

Additionally, the NACE found that new college graduates who had taken part in internships fared far better in the job market than their counterparts who didn’t gain that experience, something DuBois participated in.

She was able to do a newspaper internship during her final semester as an undergraduate, and used the experience to learn new skills and perfect old ones, but nothing panned out.

“I was hoping the internship job would have become something more, but my editor was feeling the economic effects and couldn’t afford to pay me to stay on,” DuBois said.

She is now looking at going back to school for something else, so she can maintain a consistent job schedule, something she wouldn’t be able to do as a rookie reporter.

When asked if she regretted her decision to pursue a degree in journalism she couldn’t say she did, as she found SCSU to be a nice, affordable school where she could get to know her teachers.

“No I don’t regret anything. I didn’t expect the economy or events in my life to be the way they were when I got out of school. I loved learning everything I did and it’s always been my dream to do investigative journalism.”

Getting a foot in the door is often the best way to get started in the job market, something SCSU graduate Joe Brown can relate to, but he too has found it hard to find a reliable full-time position.

Brown, from Fridley, Minn., graduated with a degree in print journalism this past summer and landed a part-time gig as a sports desk editor for the St. Cloud Times, where he is helping with coverage of local high school sports.

Yet, job options seem bleak.

“I am trying to find a full-time gig, but the job market is terrible right now,” Brown said, when asked about his short term-goals to secure permanent employment.

The NACE maintains that for new graduates in this tight economy, becoming the “perfect” job candidate is a tall order, and today’s employers are compiling extensive lists of desired qualities in job applicants.

NACE Executive Director Marilyn Mackes said, “More than three-quarters of employers told us they prefer to hire candidates with relevant work experience,” and specifically “new college graduates who have taken part in internships or cooperative education assignments.”

Brown is not about to give up hope, and will continue to gain experience, while looking for his dream job, something he hopes will be attainable in the future.

“I just want to find a place that is willing to take a newbie such as myself. Hopefully it can be in the Midwest so I can stay in touch with friends and family, but every passing day it becomes a harsh reality that that goal will be tough.”