By Jasmine King, Volleyball, PR Major '12

For years collegiate athletes have outperformed the average college student, making them attractive to business organizations and employers after graduation, but only few have gone farther by benefiting from Career Athletes.

According to NCAA.org, over the past 20 years, student-athletes have achieved a higher graduation rate compared to the general population increasing to an all-time high of 77 percent versus the 61 percent of regular students. The Journal of Human Resources indicated that a higher percentage of student-athletes than non-athletes have earned a master’s or doctoral degree by six years after they were expected to complete college. The Journal of Human Resources also reported that student-athletes have also outperformed the general population in the work force as well. Once student-athletes are done competing in collegiate athletics, they turn their attention to the workforce earning up to a 9% average wage premium in business, manual labor, and military careers.

Career Athletes offers over 140,000 exclusive job/internship opportunities of all majors and backgrounds posted in 2010, offering nation-wide internship opportunities. Career Athletes also offer the ability to instantly connect with other alumni for professional networking with over 80,000 members.

Even if you don’t know the in’s and out’s of the “real-world” Career Athletes offers exclusive connection to more than 500 employers and organizations looking to hire student-athletes. Career Athletes also offers access to a Career Resource Center and a Virtual Career Coach tailored towards student-athletes to help with resume writing, interview preparation and much more!

Whether you are established in your career or you are looking for a job, Career Athletes is the THE NETWORK for current and alumni student athletes. It is also free.

Become a mentor to current student-athletes and alumni-you have the experience, now share the wisdom! This is also a chance to build your professional network nation-wide. Career Athletes also provides intimate communication with your alma mater and its athletic department, not only can you search for career opportunities, but you can provide valued feedback to current and alumni student athletes looking to get into your field as a mentor.

It’s easy to create your FREE account, just log on to www.careerathletes.com and see the benefits start rolling in.  Connect with your Career Athletes Howard liaison, Jasmine King, and many other athletes and employers from coast to coast.