With a difficult job market for traditional employment, there is a rise in the number of recent graduates from both undergraduate and graduate business schools starting their own companies right after graduation, according to a feature in the magazine BusinessWeek.

"Students are looking out over the horizon and saying, 'You know what, there may be no job waiting for me when I graduate,' " Bernhard Schroeder, director of the Entrepreneurial Management Center at San Diego State University's College of Business told the magazine. He added that membership in the school's entrepreneurship club tripled this year.

It is a difficult time to launch into an entrepreneurial career. In the first quarter of 2009, venture capital activity plummeted to just $3 billion according to a new report from PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association. That is a new 12-year low, and may make it extremely difficult for some ideas to ever get off the ground.

One way entrepreneurs can access money is to enter business plan competitions. The prize money can be used to launch a career as an entrepreneur, but contestants also benefit from the chance to talk to venture capitalists who can advise them on ways to improve their business plans.