A recent survey of 600 college graduates revealed 70 percent are not happy with their current profession.

The Rockport Institute, a center for career counseling and advising, surveyed recent college graduates from a variety of occupations in the Washington, D.C., area. Of those surveyed, only 10 percent reported loving their job and 20 percent reported liking or being satisfied with their current occupation.

Thirty percent reported feeling neutral about their jobs while the remaining 40 percent were unsatisfied with or hated their jobs entirely.

“People expect they are going to get out of college and whatever they’ve already done … they think is going to lead them to a good life, but it turns out most of the time it doesn’t,” Rockport Institute Director Nicholas Lore said.

Lore also noted students from more elite universities reported the same amount of dissatisfaction as those from less-prestigious schools.

A correlation between job satisfaction and overall life satisfaction was also made apparent in the study, Lore said.

According to Lore, the 30 percent that were satisfied felt their job better showcased their skills and gave them an increased sense of purpose.

Lore added higher self-confidence, greater relationship satisfaction and a greater commitment to community service were more consistently reported among college graduates who liked their job.

In contrast, low self-esteem and general unhappiness were prevalent among graduates who did not like their job.

“Low work self-esteem contributes to low self-esteem in other areas, which is understandable because we get a lot of identity from our work — so if you don’t like it, that is likely to happen,” Lore said.

Leslie Kohlberg, director of Career Services at the University of Wisconsin, said she was not surprised by the report, especially among students fresh out of college.

“I see a lot of students that don’t do a lot of reflection on who they are and what they’re naturally suited for,” Kohlberg said. “A lot of people don’t do career assessments and talk to a career advisor, and there are a lot of people figuring it out on their own, which is going to be a lot of guessing and maybe not the same results they could get with a little coaching.”

Kohlberg added the first several professional experiences are often stepping stones to better-suited, more rewarding jobs.

According to Kohlberg, many employers feel students have unrealistic expectations about their first several jobs as well.

“By the time they graduate, they feel like they paid their dues — but in an employer’s eyes, they haven’t paid anything yet, so sometimes employers and students are on really separate paths, which makes for an unhappy situation,” Kohlberg said.

According to Kohlberg, students should not be discouraged by their first jobs.

“It doesn’t mean they aren’t going to get somewhere, but you have to fine tune things as you go along,” Kohlberg said.