The job market is thin for new graduates 8212; we know that, but some college graduates are making the best of it and are giving back at the same time.

In 2009, there was a distinct upturn in students working in the private sector for nonprofit organizations, according to a Wednesday article in The New York Times. Students who were unable to find jobs in the traditional sector were finding out that their desire to give back to the community along with their degrees were very marketable to nonprofit organizations.

These ideals are alive and well at TCU. Students are always looking to get involved and to give back, and now it turns out that these feelings can equate to post-college employment in the current, desolate employment market.

Although these jobs aren’t exactly traditional, their starting pay is often directly comparable to private-sector employment in similar positions, but these opportunities come with the sense of giving back to the community and personal fulfillment that a corporate career may lack.

These jobs also offer a great starting point for a career. They offer real world work experience in the fields of the student’s interest and can springboard an individual into a more lucrative private sector-job in the future, if they so please.

Multimedia editor Matt Coffelt for the editorial board.