College graduation brings both the satisfaction of academic achievement and the expectation of a well-paid job. But for 6,000 graduates at prefix = st1 /San JoseStatethis year, there's uncertainty as they enter one of the worst job markets in decades. Ryan Stewart has a freshly-minted  degree in religious studies, but no job prospects. "You look at everybody's parents and neighbors, and they're getting laid off and don't have jobs," said Stewart, "then you look at the young people just coming into the workforce... it's just scary." When the class of 2003 entered college, the future never looked brighter. But in the four years they've been here, the world outside has changed greatly. "Those were the exciting times, lots of  _ opportunities, exploding offers, students getting top dollar with lots of benefits," said Cheryl Allmen-Vinnidge of theSan JoseStateCareerCenter. "Times have changed. It's a mew market." Cheryl Allmen-Vinnidge ought to know. She runs the San JoseStateCareerCenter, sort of a crossroad between college and the real world. Allmen-Vinnidge says students who do find jobs after college have done their homework. "The typical graduate who does have a job offer started working on it two years ago. They've postured  themselves well during the summer. They've had several internships ", she said. And they've majored in one of the few fields that are still hot, like chemical engineering, accounting, or nursing, where average starting salaries  have actually increased over last year. Other popular fields have seen big declines in starting salaries. Ryan Stewart may just end up going back to school. "I'd like to teach college some day and that requires more schooling, which would be great in a bad economy," he said.  To some students, a degree may not be a ticket to instant wealth. For now, they can only hope its value will increase overtime. The purpose of a college career center is probably to   _  .
help students do their homework find jobs for students while they are in school prepare students to find jobs after they graduate help high school students get accepted to college