Tuesday, April 21, 1998
The University Daily Kansan
Section A·Page 5
Graduates on unstable ground when stepping into job market
Continued from page 1A
advertising job
"I don't want to deliver pizzas for the rest of my life." Benson said.
But he would keep doing it until a decent job came along.
Staples said the increase in temporary jobs, job insecurity and decrease in benefits has added up to a negative changes in the employer-employee relationship.
"Employees are less and less dedicated to their jobs because employers are less and less dedicated to their workers," Stanley said.
This shifting relationship means new graduates can look forward to changing jobs at a more frequent rate than 20 years ago.
"Before, you saw people staying with a company for their entire careers," Staples said. "Now, people change jobs five or six times in their lifetimes."
Fortune said this job jumping trend was not just because of the changing employer-employee relationship but also because of changing career attitudes.
People will stay at jobs for four or five years and then move onto another job to learn different sets of skills. Fortune said, adding, "This will enable them to rise in salary and position. People are less satisfied with staying in one job their entire careers."
Recent graduate Elrod does not plan on staying at Boeing for more than another year. He said he wanted to work at a variety of jobs.
"I should stay for five years of experience. Then I would be able
to apply to any aircraft company and I would be able to get a job," he said. "But the longer I stay where I am, the less my skills stay fresh in what I want to do."
Elrod said one reason his job was not
what he expected was because he only worked on one section of a project, not all of it.
"I have used one class in my job," he said. John Mier, 1997 business administra tion. Nice job, after nallong.
for him was not much different than before
"You don't go out as much as you did in college because you have more bills, but it's basically the same," Mier said.
Mier, 24, works at Roark and Associates P.A., an accounting firm. He continues to live in the same college apartment with friends, like many recent college graduates.
Other students graduate and move home to save money. A recent survey by the U.S. Census Bureau shows that the number of 18 to 24-year-
olds living with their parents has increased by 6 percent to 53 percent in the last 25 years.
Mier said that he had considered living with his parents. "I'm going to graduate school so it would have helped me save money for that, but I realized I enjoyed my freedom and independence too much." he said.
The ultimate answer for the instability of the real world for some is simple: Go back to school.
Elrod said he would return to college to receive a master's degree in engineering and hoped to later work in research and development.
"The only thing that's stopping me from coming back to school now is money," he said.
Professors Take Planes.
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As a special offer, show us your face, a student ID to match and give them the code "Y814" and you get 10% off. Better yet, if you have a Student Advantage Card stuffed away in your book bag,you get 25%.
Go home. Visit friends. Even go back for summer classes if you have to? All at up to 25% off regular fares. You do the math. Good for travel between April 13 and June 20, and includes any of the over 500 destinations Amtrak serves.
Hurry. Seats are limited (this isn't a term paper you can blow
off to the last minute). For more information on fares & reservations, call your travel agent or Amtrak at 1-800-USA-RAIL. Trains depart from the Amtrak station at 413 E. Seventh St. in Lawrence.
Offer shown is for coach class travel only and is subject to availability. Reservations are required. No multiple discounts. Fares, schedules and restrictions are subject to change without notice. Blackout dates may apply. Not valid for Autotrain, peak metroiner, or Canadian portion of ViaRail.