US job market expects rise in hiring rates of 2008 college grads

When the newly minted graduates of the UCLA class of 2008 receive their degrees this week, many will leave with only one thought on their mind: finding a job.

Kathy Sims, director of the UCLA Career Center, spoke about the job market for the class of 2008, which according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, bears good news for recent graduates and reveals other positive trends.

More job opportunities for recent graduates

Though in the middle of a struggling economy, the U.S. job market looks good for graduates of the class of 2008.

Employers are expected to hire 5.3 percent more new college graduates than last year and to pay them more money, according to “Job Outlook 2008,” an annual employer survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers.

“It’s pretty typical for a new college graduate marketplace to not be correlated with the economy at large. … This year at UCLA, we had an incredibly robust recruiting season in industries across the board,” said Sims.

But there are many reasons why they may not correlate, Sims said.

Nationally, job opportunities in the sciences, particularly engineering, have seen the fastest growth, while industries seeking social science and humanities students have maintained a positive outlook.

Jason Cong, chair of the UCLA computer science department, said that the news does not come as a surprise.

“If you look at how far computers have come from 40 years ago to today, from the personal computer to wireless technology, the rate of growth is spectacular. There are not enough people going into the field to meet the demand for labor,” Cong said.

The computer science field is rich with opportunity for students who want to start their own businesses, Cong said.

“Some of the richest CEOs of companies like Microsoft, Google and YouTube are computer programmers. … It goes against the whole media stereotype of computer scientists as “˜nerds,'” Cong said.

Business and finance jobs have taken the largest hit, experiencing little or negative growth, according to the report.

Recent UCLA graduates seeking jobs in business, however, have remained competitive against undergraduate business schools that offer a narrow education, Sims said.

“UCLA graduates have received a more broad, diverse education that makes them highly desirable and not dependent on any one area or industry,” Sims said.

Nationally, computer science students have seen the largest average salary increase, up 14.7 percent from last year to a $59,873 annual starting salary.

Chemical engineering students also saw a rise of 6.5 percent to a $63,616 salary, the highest starting salary for new college graduates.

In the social sciences, psychology saw the largest average growth of 10.7 percent to a $34,054 annual starting salary.

There’s good news for non-science majors, too ““ a growth rate of 12.9 percent is expected for liberal arts majors, though average starting salaries around $35,378 remain much lower, according to the report.

But regardless of their areas of undergraduate study, UCLA students are highly sought after if they look for the opportunities, Sims said.

“The most commonly requested major by employers is any major ““ they recognize that they have broad educations, and they want to talk to any student who will be eligible for full-time employment,” Sims said.

Graduates want more job security, less community involvement

This year’s graduates are more concerned about having a stable job than those in years past, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers’ “2008 Graduating Student Survey.”

In a survey distributed to nearly 20,000 students at 370 U.S. colleges and universities, respondents were asked to rank 15 work-related criteria in order of importance to them.

The point “Company offers job security” was chosen by respondents to be the second-most important attribute; above starting salary, location and social environment; and second only to “Company provides opportunity for advancement.”

Sims said this is a growing trend that the UCLA Career Center has seen over the past decade, but that it is only partially true for UCLA students.

“They want secure jobs, but only for short periods of time, like two or three years because they’re planning on going to graduate school,” Sims said.

Coming in third to last in the national survey, the point “Company takes an active role in the community” was the lowest ranked the National Association of Colleges and Employers has ever seen, worrying some about the role this generation will play in the future.

Sims said that while the data may reflect attitudes at other U.S. institutions, it doesn’t seem to be entirely the case at UCLA.

“Our students are very interested in social concern-type organizations year after year, such as Teach for America, the Peace Corps and government jobs. They look to those types of things to get balance in their lives,” Sims said.

Internship today, Job tomorrow

Continuing a trend from recent years, new graduates are finding more and more of their first jobs after first interning at the organizations.

Approximately 36 percent of graduates in 2007 got their first job after an internship, up from 30 percent in 2005.

Today, about 70 percent of internships nationwide lead to a job offer, up from 57 percent in 2001, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers.

At top universities like UCLA, which provide largely theoretical educations to undergraduates, internships can be crucial to gaining the practical skills for many areas of employment. The UCLA Career Center aids students looking for internships in Los Angeles, other U.S. cities, and abroad, Sims said.

Third-year communication studies student Brian Gay interned at Twentieth Century Fox during winter quarter.

Because of the internship, Gay said he was placed on a short list of candidates that receives notices with job openings.

Gay plans to work at Fox or another Hollywood agency after graduation.

Jenna Murphy, a third-year political science student, has worked as a paid intern at a Los Angeles law firm for the past year.

“It’s really helped me get an idea of what the work environment will be like after I graduate,” Murphy said.

Starting law school this fall, Murphy has already been offered a job from the firm after she graduates and passes the bar exam.

Sims said it is crucial that UCLA students utilize internship and career services before July 1 of their final year, as many free services become unavailable or charge a fee for alumni.

“Many of the services are online, but I encourage them to come in, get connected, and find everything they can before it’s too late,” Sims said.