ATLANTA -- Imagine being a college graduate and trying to enter today's shrinking employment pool -- and imagine being saddled with a sizeable student loan to pay off.

"I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, behavioral science, human resource management," said Chris Harvin.

"I got a Bachelor of Science in business administration with a minor in economics," said Ralph Horton.

Having earned their lofty degrees at Atlanta's Oglethorpe University, Harvin and Horton are looking to earn a living in an uncertain economy.

"I remember my freshman year, I was taking an econ class and my professor said by the time you leave here the econ is going to be great," Horton said.

"The economy is just so bad right now with everyone graduating, I feel bad for everyone else including myself," Harvin said.

That's because there are fewer jobs and more competition.

"As good as my resume looks, to me there's always something better out there," Harvin said.

Horton agreed.

"It's tough, it's tough for a company to take a college student seriously," Horton said.

Add to that, both have significant student loans.

"I probably owe 70, 80," said Horton.

"I've never physically seen 60-grand before, so I don't know what it feels like to pay it back," Harvin said.

"I think there is an elevated concern about the way the job market exists today," said Professor Lisa Littlefield.

Littlefield spends her time preparing students for survival in the real world as career counselor.

"It's going to be some hard choices, and we hate to say this, but for parents it may mean having your undergrads at home just a little bit longer than anticipated," Littlefield said.

Littlefield says it may take longer for new graduates to find that first job and when they do, it may not be exactly what they wanted.

"That doesn't mean they're going to be serving fries and a Coke with everything that they do, but, it could mean they're going to have to do what falls outside of what they anticipated."

Harvin and Horton have six months before they need to start paying on their loans. With the clock ticking, they give their job search predictions.

"I hope to have a job by July," said Harvin.

"I would say either middle or late June," Horton said.

If not, there's always mom and dad.

Littlefield also counsels that some students looking to defer their loans may want to consider teach for America or the Peace Corps. She also says we may see more new grads doing post graduate internships to get their foot in the door.