College Grads Get Creative in Job Search

While some of the classmates who graduated along with Amin from Princeton University this spring went on to $80,000-a-year jobs fresh out of college, the 22-year-old chemistry major decided to go into business for himself. He had an idea and the know-how -- he just needed to give it a shot.

But that's a tough thing to do when student loan statements are arriving.

"My mom tried to tell me, 'just get a job for a couple years.' It was tempting. There's always that twinge of doubt. It's money, security," Amin said. "You have to be willing to throw that away."

Not Willing to Settle

Amin said a large portion of Princeton grads go on to lucrative careers in finance with big banks, and that senior year, he felt as if everyone was getting interviews with large firms. But when the trouble on Wall Street peaked this fall, many job prospects dwindled -- and many were forced to settle.

He'd rather try and fail on his own than settle.

"A friend in aerospace engineering went to work at a sub-optimal job outside his field, 'just for a while'. People tend to think like that and then they get stuck," Amin said.

The young entrepreneur said his drive to take the riskier path started after he spoke with the president of an online company who quit a cushy corporate job to launch his own venture.

"I asked him: 'What made you quit your job?' He said, 'If I quit and it succeeds, then great. If it fails, well, I'll still have experience running my own company,'" Amin said.

Despite the poverty and uncertainty his post-college choices have brought him, Amin said he's at least doing something he loves and of course, he hopes rSapient will eventually yield a product that will bring home the bacon.

"If you're losing sleep over an idea, you've got to go do it," he said.