Apparently we are in a jobs boom while at the same time 1.5 million
people are working involuntarily part time.

kelly

from the Chicago sun times

                         College grads find jobs boom

   February 23, 1998

   BY ADRIENNE DRELL HIGHER EDUCATION REPORTER

   More jobs--an increase of 27.5 percent--and higher pay--as much as 5
   percent higher--await this year's college grads.

   Job recruiters at area colleges hope to attract graduating seniors
   with starting salaries as high as $48,000 and up to $5,000 in sign-up
   bonuses.

   Thank the boom economy and the Year 2000 computer glitch.

   Graduates with degrees in engineering and computer science are in
   particular demand, receiving multiple job offers and such perks as
   moving expenses, wardrobe allowances and even cars.

   Northwestern University senior Kary Hisrich, an engineering major,
   said she had more than 30 interviews, resulting in five job offers.
   She recently accepted a position at the Arthur D. Little management
   consulting firm at $48,000 a year, a $4,000 signing bonus and up to
   $2,000 for relocating to Boston.

   ``I think $48,000 is a little high for a 22-year-old,'' Hisrich
   admitted. ``But they are paying for the competition. The job market is
   really strong.''

   College placement officials say Hisrich's experience is not atypical.
   Even liberal arts grads without highly prized technical skills are
   being courted. Enterprise Rent-A-Car, for example, is vigorously
   hitting area campuses in its search for 5,000 liberal arts graduates.

   ``Employers are willing to train English and history majors if they
   have good oral or interpersonal skills,'' said Susan Ries, assistant
   director of Loyola University's career center.

   Employers expect average salaries to be 3 percent to 5 percent higher.

   The highest starting salaries are expected in chemical engineering
   ($44,557), electrical engineering ($41,167), mechanical engineering
   ($39,857), industrial engineering ($39,462) and computer science
   ($38,741), according to the Collegiate Employment Research Institute
   of Michigan State University. The best job prospects are anticipated
   to be in the Southwest.

   At Northwestern University, 500 employers are visiting the campus this
   year, more than twice the number who were there in 1993. To
   accommodate them, officials have doubled the number of rooms available
   for interviews.

   ``On some days, we have had to beg and borrow space,'' said William
   Banis, director of university career services. ``This is probably the
   best year for on-campus recruiting in a generation.''

   The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign reports students in the
   last year have had a record 37,273 job interviews--the highest in the
   nation. Most desired are degrees in engineering, business, math,
   computer science and education.

   The university's Chicago campus reports a 45 percent increase over two
   years ago in companies visiting campus.

   ``It is our biggest year ever for available teaching jobs,'' said
   David Bechtel, director of the U. of I. Career Services Center in
   Urbana. He attributes the phenomenon to a rash of early retirements by
   suburban teachers. In the last year, 3,285 schools across the state
   have indicated interest in U. of I. education graduates.

   Other factors behind the buyer's market for new grads include:

   * A growing economy after a slight dip in college grads two years ago.

   * Corporations that downsized and now need personnel to handle
   increased business or to staff internal communication departments.

   * A decline of students majoring in computer science.

   * Advances in technology that have created new job titles.

   ``Whoever heard of a Web designer or multimedia specialist?'' asked
   Keith Lusson, assistant director of career planning and placement at
   Columbia College. His school added multimedia studies to train workers
   for the new high-tech jobs.

   According to a national study of job market trends for new college
   graduates, the demand is acute for majors in computer and information
   sciences, engineering, business management and administrative
   services. Network computer systems and the Year 2000 problem are
   driving factors.

   ``Employers are searching for information systems staff who can help
   them rewrite code for complex computer programs. ... There are
   terrible predictions of complete shutdown of businesses and
   governmental agencies on Jan. 1, 2000,'' said study author L. Patrick
   Scheetz, director of the Collegiate Employment Research Institute at
   Michigan State University.

   For the seniors, the pace is already hectic.

   ``In the beginning it was fun, but it became hard to juggle classes
   and studies with all the interviews,'' Hisrich said. ``I'm glad it's
   over.''