By Lacey Bitter
Nearly 600,000 Americans lost their jobs last month. Since the recession began a little more than a year ago, 3.6 million Americans have joined the ranks of the unemployed. This is the market in which about 700 University of Portland students will enter this May, in search of their first "real job."
Despite national reports indicating the worst job market in decades, UP's Career Services hasn't noticed major changes in the jobs available for students. Employers are still interested in contacting students through events like the spring career fair in April, according to Mary Beth Snell, assistant director of Career Services. Snell said that in this economy, networking is even more important, and the upcoming fair provides students with a good place to network.
Snell has also noticed that students seem more worried about their career future than in the past. "I think students are scared about what the economy is like right now," she said, adding that students are starting the job hunt earlier in their senior year than in the past.
Furthermore, Snell said that Career Services hasn't noticed a trend of certain fields offering more jobs than others.
According to the Labor Department, of the nearly 600,000 people who lost their jobs last month, the majority - 207,000 - worked in manufacturing. Tens of thousands of jobs were also lost in areas like transportation, retail and financial service, though.
Only two fields gained jobs in January. The government added 22,000 jobs, and 19,000 jobs were gained in the health care industry.
With nursing being one of the University's most prominent departments, society's constant health needs may protect these students from unemployment, Snell said. However, she also mentioned that while in general the nation is suffering a nursing shortage and quickly snatching up new graduates, metropolitan areas are not in such dire need, and Portland is no exception to this. If students are willing to work in the suburbs or in other regions of the country, nursing majors should still be able to find work.
Education students may be similarly exempt from the effects of the recession in that school districts will still need individuals to teach the nation's children. However, a drop in government funding may impact the number of new teaching jobs available to graduates.
Assistant Dean of Education Bruce Weitzel said that the hiring season for teachers is usually between the end of May and the beginning of October, but during past recessions this period has shifted. Graduates seem to have more success securing a job in late June through mid-October.
"The reason for this is that school districts have to make sure that they have the students they believe are going to be in attendance," Weitzel said.
UP's education department is currently inviting school principals and administrators to come to campus to conduct mock interviews and prepare students for the hiring season.
"At this point I haven't anticipated or picked up any change of sentiments," Weitzel said, indicating that education students may not be as worried about the economic condition.
Students of other majors might be more directly impacted by the recession, though.
"Everyone is having a little bit harder time," English Professor Herman Asarnow said. Asarnow has noticed that students are more worried about the job outlook this year. "That's smart, that's reality," he said.
Students that graduate with a degree in one of the humanities have a wide range of opportunities to pursue for a career, with recent English graduates working as lawyers, teachers and businesspeople or for places like universities, restaurants or the Obama campaign. A past English graduate is even in dentistry.
With this wide range of options, graduates can tailor their skills to fields still offering jobs.
"Put up with a little adversity, but pursue your dreams," Asarnow said. "Major in what you love, and then be practical of what kind of job you want first."
Asarnow stressed the need to be active in the career search throughout college. Students should build up examples of their work on papers and projects that demonstrate their skills, and internships and volunteer work are also invaluable.
"In every case you can't just be passive," Asarnow said.
Career Services also provides many ways to prepare students for careers. In particular, the center has resources and advice for students who are job hunting in a recession. For example, in times like these students can focus on recession-proof industries, volunteer, freelance their skills and most importantly, focus on networking to open up new opportunities.
Senior Jessica Liuzzi had been considering doing a volunteer program after graduation, and the economic situation has encouraged this idea. "I was already thinking about it, but now it makes more sense for me to volunteer instead of looking for a job with the economy as it is," she said.
The class of 2009 may not be entering into the most optimistic job market, but opportunities are still available for students of all majors. According to the Collegiate Employment Research Institute, 49 percent of employers of a variety of fields report that they have definite plans to hire college graduates during the 2008-2009 academic year.
