Since President Trump’s return to the White House on Jan. 20, he has signed several executive orders that have significantly impacted the U.S. job market. These include the establishment of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), funding cuts to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the long-term hold on all international aid and development activities, impacting both the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the State Department.
Although the ultimate implementation of these executive orders may be challenged in court, Trump’s actions have inevitably created uncertainty and concern in the post-graduate job market, particularly for Middlebury students seeking employment in the federal government, international development and the environmental and healthcare research fields.
At the Center for Careers and Internships (CCI), conversations on the impact of these changes for the Middlebury community are well underway. Ursula Olender, executive director of the CCI, mentioned in an interview with The Campus that the impact of President Trump’s policies has not been fully presented yet.
“Things happen in the world that impact the job market,” Olender said. “It’s still really early days, so we’re still assessing what impact it’s going to have on our students.”
Olender said she believes that the strength of the overall job market will mean that the specific effects of Trump Administration policies on the class of 2025 will be more indirect. “We were anticipating that this would be the strongest market since 2021,” she said.
Despite this, Olender stated that some organizations and positions, such as AmeriCorps, Peace Corps and government consulting, would be vulnerable under President Trump’s administration.
“I haven't heard definitively, but my bet is that funding to them will be hit,” she said. “So students who are looking for those types of opportunities might be impacted.”
Julia Roth ’25 echoed these concerns about the impact of the current uncertainty.
“I have friends who are on the AmeriCorps programs that have had lots of budget cuts,” Roth said in an interview with The Campus. “I can imagine that programs like those would be impacted.”
Other fellowship programs have already seen cancellations or rollbacks. Roth applied to the Coro Fellowship in Public Affairs, but received an email notifying her that the fellowship had been canceled. Whether or not the cancellation is related to budget cuts is difficult to pinpoint, but Roth said she suspects there could be a link. The email came the same week that several news sources reported federal cuts in funding to nonprofits, and thousands of people lost their jobs due to Trump’s termination of USAID positions.
“I think people are kind of disheartened as they want to do a job that helps people but positions are fewer than a few years ago,” Roth said.
Olender also mentioned that positions in healthcare and academic research, including admission to graduate schools, might be influenced as NIH and NSF funding is cut. Several universities have already announced plans to freeze or rescind graduate school admissions in the wake of dramatic losses in funding.
“We have a pretty large group of students who take positions in clinical research, and some of that funding is coming through grants provided by the federal government,” she said.
Regarding public sector job cuts resulting from Trump’s emphasis on government efficiency, Olender shared that Middlebury students may not be as significantly impacted as they think — she said that only approximately seven percent of Middlebury students have gone into government, law and policy in the last several years, and very few of that seven percent have federal jobs.
For people who worried that unemployment among federal workers will worsen the overall job market, Olender was not pessimistic for college students.
“Federal [civilian] employees only account for about 2% of America’s workforce,” she said. “Most of these folks are older workers, and may not have as much of an impact on entry-level hiring. Many of the federal employers who have lost their jobs are more likely middle managers and senior level staff as opposed to entry.”
Although Middlebury has a global reputation for international studies, language instruction and environmental studies, these fields may be affected by Trump’s neglect of international development and sustainability as well as his policy preference for imposing tariffs on foreign products.
“I'm a bit more worried about our graduate [MIIS] students than our undergraduates,” Olender said. She expects some hiring freezes for some foreign language jobs, many of which can be found at companies which receive large government contracts and are now threatened with cuts.
Lily McGovern ’25, an environmental policy major and global health minor, shared that her job search in environmental sustainability is now more difficult under the new administration.
“A lot of people that I’ve been able to talk to and a lot of their colleagues are being fired or their programs are losing funding,” McGovern said in an interview with The Campus, sharing her networking experience. “They’re just really not looking to hire anyone out of college because they’re really focused on protecting people that are already at their company as much as possible.”
McGovern said she is now looking for job opportunities in different fields due to concern over a declining market.
“I also study global health, so public health is also kind of deteriorating,” she said, in reference to the recent NIH funding cuts. “Now I’m looking at broader research positions or looking at working in the Senate as an intern and just having a broader range of responsibilities just because that specific training that can be applied elsewhere isn’t really feasibly being applied in the environmental space anymore.”
To adapt to the new situation under the new administration, Olender suggested students explore their interests further, stay up to date on global hiring trends and actively work with career advisors at the CCI.
“We're a global institution, and we have connections, alumni, and parents all over the world,” Olender said, highlighting Middlebury’s effort to extend students’ opportunities to the whole world. “We're just investing our energy into making sure that there are opportunities not only in the U.S., but in other places because we can't fix the U.S. federal government, but we can help our students find meaningful opportunities.”
On top of that, Olender mentioned that CCI has over 40 funded summer internship opportunities for non-graduating students available on Handshake along with thousands of other internship opportunities.
“Keep in mind that the economy is still growing. This is a positive sign,” she said. “So we all should remain vigilant and students should work closely with the CCI as they plan for internships, jobs, and further education.”
Hugo Zhang '28 (he/him) is a News Editor.
Hugo previously served as an Online Editor. He intends to major in Economics and Geography. He enjoys cartography, traveling, and history. Last summer, he studied at Sciences Po Paris and traveled across Europe. He has also conducted research on ethnic minority policies, economic transformation, and urban planning in Northeastern China, also known as Manchuria.
