Millennials racking up more college debt as they struggle to start careers

With more college graduates than ever pouring into a job market that went south after 2008, much ado has been made about the convergence of challenges now faced by twenty-somethings. The job market has stiff-armed recent graduates, just as rising tuition and a languid economy have forced many to borrow more money to complete school. Last year, U.S. student loan debt reached $1 trillion and has now surpassed the nation’s collective credit card debt. The average debt per graduating student across the country is $25,000. The situation has diminished the expectations of millennials, who were raised to believe that a four-year degree would lead directly to stable work and rapid advancement. “Every job I applied for said that experience was required, but how do you get experience without getting a job first?” says 2010 LSU graduate Holly Kelly, who eventually took a full-time position at the corporate travel firm where she had worked part-time throughout college. Like many millennials, the 24-year-old has revised her career goals and now plans to pursue a travel agent’s license. Take an in-depth look at the experiences of more local millennials as they struggle to find a place in a contracted job market—and how college enrollment has been affected—in the new Business Report cover story by Maggie Heyn Richardson here.