Graduating into Headwinds?

Why Sales Might Be Your Smartest First Career Bet

Why Sales Might Be Your Smartest First Career Bet

The class of 2025 is walking into a labor market that’s tighter for newcomers than for seasoned pros. The New York Fed’s tracker shows recent-grad unemployment hovering around 5.3% with underemployment north of 41%, meaning many grads are in roles that don’t use their degree. That’s a double hit: slower starts and weaker earnings compounding over time. Federal Reserve Bank of New York

Zoom out and the picture stays consistent. Youth unemployment ticked up year-over-year to 10.8% in July, and workers ages 20–24 are at 7.9%, both above the national jobless rate. Meanwhile, employers have cooled their new-grad hiring plans to basically flat for the Class of 2025. Internships, often the on-ramp, are scarcer too. Put plainly: the doorway into “degree-required” work is narrower right now. Bureau of Labor Statistics FRED Indeed

So where are the doors that are still open?

One answer often overlooked by new grads is professional sales. Yes, “sales” is a huge category that includes everything from account development to complex B2B solution selling. Even though total sales employment is projected to edge down over the decade, the BLS still expects ~1.8 million openings every year, mostly due to turnover and retirements. In other words, lots of entry points and fast ladders where performance moves you up. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Look at pay to see the upside. In wholesale & manufacturing sales (the bread-and-butter of B2B), the 2024 median is $66,780; for technical/scientific products (think med-device, industrial, SaaS-adjacent hardware), the median is ~$100,070, with the top 10% breaking $190k+. Compensation is commonly salary + commission/bonuses, which means your earnings are tied to skill, activity, and results, leaving real headroom for high performers. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Why sales fits this moment

  • Meritocracy beats credentialism. When entry-level “analyst” roles demand 2–3 years of experience and AI screens résumés at scale, sales still rewards people who can create pipeline, run a process, and close. Output is visible and measurable.
  • Durable, portable skills. Prospecting, discovery, objection-handling, and negotiation are evergreen. They compound, travel across industries, and resist automation. (Even in BLS projections, replacement demand keeps opportunities flowing.) Bureau of Labor Statistics
  • Clear path to six figures. B2B new-logo roles (SDR → AE) and high-complexity verticals (industrial, medical, financial) offer structured ramps, on-target earnings, and uncapped upside via commission accelerators. Median BLS numbers—and top-decile figures—show that ceiling is real when you master the craft. Bureau of Labor Statistics
  • Motions towards high-touch. Despite increasing use of automation and AI, many businesses are investing in differentiation by leading with a human-first, high-touch, white glove prospect and client engagement methodology because they've discovered that people still buy from people they know and trust and rather than offloading that to digital interactions, they are investing in people to be the brand ambassadors of the business.

A simple playbook to break in fast

  1. Pick a vertical you can learn deeply. Industrial/manufacturing, med-adjacent, or infrastructure tech are welcoming to newcomers who study the product and buyer. (The pay data for technical/scientific reps reflects this.) Bureau of Labor Statistics
  2. Start as an SDR/BDR or Junior AE. Seek teams with formal training, clear quotas, and mentorship; avoid “sink-or-swim” shops. Use metrics (conversations booked, SQLs, close rate) to narrate your impact early.
  3. Skill up deliberately. Daily reps on cold outreach, discovery frameworks (SPICED, MEDDICC basics), CRM hygiene, and demo skills. Treat AI as a co-pilot for research and drafting, not a crutch.  The folks who become the very best salespeople are autodidacts.  (Less than 120 U.S. colleges and universities have formally recognized sales programs, representing less than 5% of four-year institutions.  Sales is something most learn on-the-job.) 
  4. Target comp plans with real upside. Look for fair territories, transparent accelerators, and meaningful variable pay. The structure should let effort and smarts translate directly into earnings. (BLS notes commission/bonus mixes are common in professional sales.) Bureau of Labor Statistics
  5. Document wins. Keep a brag sheet with pipeline created, win stories, and quota attainment. This is your leverage for faster promotions and OTE growth.  In sales, your addiction to achievement will serve you well.

Bottom line

Today’s entry-level market is tougher for new grads than headlines alone suggest. But that doesn’t mean opportunity is gone—it’s just shifted. If you’re hungry, coachable, and willing to work a process, sales remains one of the rare fields where skill × effort → income, with abundant entry points and clear, merit-based mobility. The macro winds may be in your face; sales lets you tack and still gain ground.  Federal Reserve Bank of New York


Sources:

  • Federal Reserve Bank of New York, The Labor Market for Recent College Graduates (Q2 2025 highlights). Federal Reserve Bank of New York
  • BLS, Employment and Unemployment Among Youth Summary (released Aug. 2025). Bureau of Labor Statistics
  • FRED (BLS), Unemployment Rate—20–24 yrs. (July 2025). FRED
  • NACE, Job Outlook 2025 Spring Update (employer plans +0.6%). Default
  • Indeed Hiring Lab, New Grads Need to Shift First Job Expectations (internships −11% YoY). Indeed
  • BLS OOH, Sales Occupations (≈1.8M openings/year). Bureau of Labor Statistics
  •  BLS OOH, Wholesale & Manufacturing Sales Representatives (2024 median pay and pay structure). Bureau of Labor Statistics