College graduates ditching Big Tech for Big Defense

Thousands of soon-to-be college graduates across the country are getting ready to join the workforce. When it comes finding that employment: Big Tech is out, defense contractors are in.

The website Handshake helps match new graduates and soon-to-be graduates with potential employers. Handshake analyzed search traffic on the site and found of the 10 companies students are most interested in working for, there wasn’t a single Big Tech company. Meta, Google and Microsoft are all off the list.

1. Raytheon, search interest up by 209%.
2. Nike, search interest up by 103%.
3. Toyota, search interest up by 101%.
4. Lockheed Martin, search interest up by 92%.
5. Chevron, search interest up by 72%.
6. Capital One, search interest up by 64%.
7. Morgan Stanley, search interest up by 60%.
8. Boeing, search interest up by 56%.
9. Bank of America, search interest up by 42%.
10. NASA, search interest up by 29%.

There were three defense contractors, however. Raytheon Technologies topped the list of employers, seeing more than a 200% increase in interest.

Handshake said new graduates want stability in their careers, and few industries have been more volatile lately than Big Tech.

On the flip side, defense contractors are seeing an uptick in revenues. The war in Ukraine, instability in the Middle East and the mounting tensions in the Pacific over Taiwan all helped propel global defense spending to record levels in 2022.

If current trends continue, global defense spending will likely set new records over the next few years as well. That, in turn, means a career with a defense contractor will likely continue to be appealing to college graduates.