Most students go through elementary school, middle school, high school, and then college with one main objective: a job that will provide a fixed income and a comfortable healthy lifestyle.

However, as of lately college graduates have been struggling to find a suitable job, and whether that’s because of unrealistic requirements or a low quality of education is debatable.

According to recent studies, unemployment for college graduates between the ages of 20 and 24 reached 6.4 percent in the year 2009, and has made little improvement since.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, that number is nearly twice as much as the unemployment rate of adults between the ages of 25 and 34.

When such a wide range of the U.S. workforce can’t work, it drags down the entire economy. With such eye-opening statistics, it’s normal for people to question them. Such information leads to the debatable question: Is our education system not properly preparing our students, or are job requirements for recent college graduates unrealistic?

Many argue that students are being pushed through high school as graduation rates are now more highly prioritized than the quality of education. As a result, many colleges and universities are complaining of ill-prepared incoming students.

Frighteningly, the same complaint the colleges and universities make regarding high school graduates is being made by many businesses about the college graduates: they have been labeled ill-prepared and unqualified for the work force.

The College Learning Assessment Plus (administered to freshman and seniors to measure their gains in critical thinking, writing and communication, and analytical reasoning) showed that 40 percent of college seniors fail to graduate with the complex reasoning that is required for today’s workplace, creating conflict when the graduates are considered for job positions that should be within their reach.

As students are put through 12 or more years of school and then four to six years of college, they are expected to gain more and more of these skills every year and are expected to have mastered them by the time they reach graduation. Many argue that this is one of the primary reasons college graduates are struggling to find suitable jobs in the work field.

On another perspective, many say that businesses and corporations are simply asking too much of graduates, as they’re expected to have years or experience prior to submitting their application. They are also expected to have a perfect, active resume that’s fit to impress.

Is this too much to expect of a graduate fresh out of college? Many believe this is one of the top reasons students find it difficult to locate a job that they are both qualified for and will find satisfying.

People also tend to ignore the affect this has not only on college students’ debt, but also the economy as a whole. Many students graduate college thousands of dollars in debt, so what will happen when they don’t find a job to pay off all that money?

When looking for solutions, we must take into account all perspectives and work on finding a way to guarantee our college graduates a job they can lean on so they can build a life for themselves.