Competitive job market challenges graduates
By Sean R. Crosier Special to the Kansan
Reality bites.
That is more than a movie title for college graduates facing limited job opportunities.
The U.S. Department of Labor said the 1994 job market looked about the same as it had every year - very competitive.
The good news is that the forecast for this year is a little better than last year. The bad news is that last year was terrible.
Terry Glenn, director of the University Placement Center, said jobs in sales, health services and special education were more in demand than jobs in middle management and elementary education this year.
Also more in demand are graduates with degrees in financial and technical areas.
"Overall. the market is tight." he said.
Glenn said the School of Journalism was doing better than other schools at the University of Kansas at placing students in the job market.
"Internships are important," Glenn said. "They can really help a lot."
That observation is backed by the Lindquist-Endicott Report, a 1994 survey of 264 businesses and industrial organizations by Northwestern University. The report found that 26 percent of last year's graduates were hired from internships.
The survey also reported that employment in the chemical sciences and engineering fields was grim. Even with a master's degree or doctorate under a
graduate's belt, finding a job can be tough. Demand for chemical engineers with a master's is down 29 percent.
The labor department said college graduates entering the work force in the 1990s and early 2000s were expected to face more competition for jobs than their 1980s counterparts.
Many seniors will opt for graduate school or jobs requiring less than a college degree. In fact, more than 20 percent of the people who graduate between now and 2005 will not get a college-level job, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The bureau reported that eight of 10 graduates took from one to six months to find jobs and that 20 percent of college graduates were unemployed or under-employed within a year after graduation, compared to 11 percent in 1970.
"It is a very competitive market," Glenn said. "Be prepared that it will take a few months to find a job."
Some suggestions to college graduates entering the job market include being flexible in the job choice, salary and relocation.
That boils down to not a lot of reasons to celebrate commencement.
Mike Marmor, a Lawrence senior majoring in biology, summed up reality for a lot of seniors this spring.
"I'll be officially unemployed after May 15," he said.
The Associated Press contributed information to this story.
Martin Altstaedten / KANSAN
Maria Skeels, Leavenworth sophomore, writes down addresses while she looks at the job board in the Burge Union.
Would like to wish all of the graduating seniors
Good Luck!
Look forward to the future and always remember:
"What a long strange trip it's been."
Jerry Garcia
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GRADUATION • THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN • May 2, 1994