LiberalNation
05-26-2010, 01:07 PM
why I may go active, bad job market, even for nurses.
http://finance.yahoo.com/college-education/article/109639/glimmers-of-hope-for-grads
Jenna Alt, a recent graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., said, "If you have a job, you're lucky."
This spring's college graduates face better job prospects than the dismal environment encountered by last year's grads. But that doesn't mean the job market is thriving.
Average starting salaries are down, and employers plan to make only 5 percent more job offers to new graduates this spring compared to last spring, when job offers were down 20 percent from 2008 levels, according to a study by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, which tracks recruitment data.
Liam O'Reilly, who just graduated from the University of Maryland with a bachelor's degree in history, said he had applied to 50 employers -- to be a paralegal, a researcher for a policy organization, an administrative assistant -- but he had gotten hardly any interviews. While continuing to search for something he truly wants, he has taken a minimum-wage job selling software that includes an occasional commission.
"Had I realized it would be this bad, I would have applied to grad school," Mr. O'Reilly said.
The study by the National Association of Colleges and Employers found that 24 percent of 2010 college graduates who applied for a job have one waiting after graduation, up from 20 percent last year. But the average salary offered to graduates with a bachelor's degree has slipped 1.7 percent from last year, to $47,673.
Salaries for finance majors rose 1.6 percent, to $50,546, while those for liberal arts majors fell 8.9 percent, to $33,540. For graduates with computer-related degrees, salary offers rose 5.8 percent, to $58,746.
Patricia Rose, director of career services at the University of Pennsylvania, said that students had more choices this year. "Last year, people found employment, but there was a sense of musical chairs, that if there's an empty seat, take it," she said. "This year, there's a little more sense of ease."
Persistence, connections -- and credentials in hot fields like finance and computer science -- are especially helpful, say economists and college officials.
Jenna Alt, newly graduated from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., applied for 20 jobs in construction management in New York beginning last fall, but came up empty-handed. While she was attending a tennis party at her aunt's house, she said, "A friend of my aunt's said, 'You seem like an intelligent young lady. One of my brother's friends owns a construction company in D.C.'"
Thanks to that referral, Ms. Alt will join Clark Construction in the Washington area in September, and she feels grateful. "Only about a third of my friends have jobs lined up after graduation," she said. "If you have a job, you're lucky."..............
http://finance.yahoo.com/college-education/article/109639/glimmers-of-hope-for-grads
Jenna Alt, a recent graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., said, "If you have a job, you're lucky."
This spring's college graduates face better job prospects than the dismal environment encountered by last year's grads. But that doesn't mean the job market is thriving.
Average starting salaries are down, and employers plan to make only 5 percent more job offers to new graduates this spring compared to last spring, when job offers were down 20 percent from 2008 levels, according to a study by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, which tracks recruitment data.
Liam O'Reilly, who just graduated from the University of Maryland with a bachelor's degree in history, said he had applied to 50 employers -- to be a paralegal, a researcher for a policy organization, an administrative assistant -- but he had gotten hardly any interviews. While continuing to search for something he truly wants, he has taken a minimum-wage job selling software that includes an occasional commission.
"Had I realized it would be this bad, I would have applied to grad school," Mr. O'Reilly said.
The study by the National Association of Colleges and Employers found that 24 percent of 2010 college graduates who applied for a job have one waiting after graduation, up from 20 percent last year. But the average salary offered to graduates with a bachelor's degree has slipped 1.7 percent from last year, to $47,673.
Salaries for finance majors rose 1.6 percent, to $50,546, while those for liberal arts majors fell 8.9 percent, to $33,540. For graduates with computer-related degrees, salary offers rose 5.8 percent, to $58,746.
Patricia Rose, director of career services at the University of Pennsylvania, said that students had more choices this year. "Last year, people found employment, but there was a sense of musical chairs, that if there's an empty seat, take it," she said. "This year, there's a little more sense of ease."
Persistence, connections -- and credentials in hot fields like finance and computer science -- are especially helpful, say economists and college officials.
Jenna Alt, newly graduated from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., applied for 20 jobs in construction management in New York beginning last fall, but came up empty-handed. While she was attending a tennis party at her aunt's house, she said, "A friend of my aunt's said, 'You seem like an intelligent young lady. One of my brother's friends owns a construction company in D.C.'"
Thanks to that referral, Ms. Alt will join Clark Construction in the Washington area in September, and she feels grateful. "Only about a third of my friends have jobs lined up after graduation," she said. "If you have a job, you're lucky."..............