When thinking about graduation, most students are concerned about finding a job, while others are worried about consolidating their student loans.

Each academic college offers a career services department to help seniors combat the stress of finding a job. The departments offer career days, mock interviews and resume reviews.

The problem for some students is not job availability, but deciding what kind of job to get.

“You’ll be doing it for the next 40 years; you want to be careful when you’re deciding,” said Trevor Plett, senior in economics.

Plett is planning to go into the Peace Corps after graduation. He began the process in October with an application; an interview and nomination followed.

Plett said paperwork for the Peace Corps included updating and organizing dental and medical records and deferring his student loans.

Before official acceptance into the Peace Corps, Plett said he must have his loans consolidated or arrange a payment plan. Organizing government loans was simple, he said, but the private loans, especially the ISU Partnership loan, were more difficult.

To begin the process of loan organization in preparation for graduation, seniors are required to take an exit exam verifying their knowledge of the loan process.

“It’s really easy, like whether you know what a loan is,” said Pete Ragias, senior in communication studies After graduation, Ragias has a job lined up in Indiana with a transport company. He came in contact with the company through an ISU job fair, where he offered the representative his resume and was then called to set up an interview.

Other considerations are not always at the front of prospective graduates’ minds, like differences in salaries within a single department like engineering, said Larry Hanneman, program director for Engineering Career Services. The national average for a chemical engineer is $54,256, but the average for a civil engineer is $43,462.

Job placement is more difficult now than in the past, said Mike Gaul, director of career placement for Agriculture Career Services.

“[Sept. 11] wreaked havoc with the economy, plummeted consumer confidence, business suffered — between 1.5 and two million people were let go during that stretch,” Gaul said.

This is of particular concern to graduates because now they are competing with no experience against people with considerable experience.

“The best advice I could give is to remain aggressive,” Gaul said. “There are great opportunities out there.”