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Show Devaluation c the diploma The college sheepskin oif all its cracked up to be.,, Fewer jobs and less pre;; make the going toughk the graduate... By Kurt Nutting Bob is a student at the University of Utah. He worked part-time (at the minimum wage) at a local garden shop until last spring. But when summer vacation began the owners decided to cut his hours from 40 to 16 a week, just as he was starting full-time work. So he spent the rest of the summer working for $1.35 an hour in a Holladay pieshop, trying to get enough money to go back to school in the fall. Kathy is another full-time student and part-time employee. A sophomore she worked as a waitress at a restaurant on 13th East for a year, but was fired because she was "making too much money." After two months out of work she found a job at another restaurant near the campus, again as a waitress But she got sick and now she's out of work again TABLE I After-graduation plans of the University of Utah June Graduates as Rep Graduation Time 1963-1971 (University Placement) 1971 1970 1969 1968 1967 1966 1965 W Percent at 42 5 1 5 6 5 4 5 5 5 4 59 6! Commencement Time Percent Mil- 5 7 6 9 6 5 6 itary Service Percent Married not 4 3 3 2 2 4 2 for placement place-ment Percent Enter- !?8 , 22 22 1 7 2 0 2 0 22 20 14 Cjradu- ate Study Percent ' Availa- S fr 27 v ,8 15 7 15 13 12 ii cm- Q ploy- ment Third year student Now beginning his third year at the Un.vers.tv. Steve has worked part-time 1 k C'eru t$175 an hour and a lock boy at the same downtown Salt La e department store ($1.80), and as a desk attendant ,n the Marriott Library for the past year and a half (pay l creas,ng gradually from $1.40 tonow pirHi::uiotevUiftlsoc,abored fall, as a night watchman for $1 75 an hour. H,s friend Ted, a senior spend" most summers as a "full-fledged b ck mason" earning $7.50 an hour bu is now working part-time in the Un on Building at $1.85. n Kay began part-time work , hunter g,r, at a loca Continued on page 20 , Jobs Continued from page 16 getting $1.10 an hour, no tips, late hours, and 25 or 30 hours a week in a seedy dump. After four months she moved up to another local restaurant, which paid $1.25 plus tips for 30 hours a week. Now she works 7 hours a week at the restaurant and tutors English composition at a junior high school for $2.00 an hour, 9 hours a week. Judy worked as a secretary at the University Hospital for a summer at $1.60 an hour, then quit to go to school full-time. This summer she worked full-time full-time on a work-study arrangement with the University Bookstore, with the same pay, but again left when the summer ended. She says she is lazy enough not to mind living in poverty. Pushing for food Fred is a senior at the University. He has worked his way through school by selling illegal drugs to his friends. Marijuana mixed with some alfalfa goes for about $10 an once, and before tuition is due each quarter he will sell Continued on page 27 Jobs the lowest "employed"figure in at least nine years; the percentage beginning graduate work in 1970 and 1971 was the highest since 1966 (which may reflect the tighter job market); and the percentage still unemployed at commencement rose from 13 in 1965 to 17 in 1967, 18 in 1969, and 27 in 1971. Although figures are not available, the University Placement Center estimated at commencement that "according to the present trends the 27 availability figure should be reduced to 16 by the first of July" (1971), so conditions are probably not as bleak as these figures indicate. Next, the professional schools. In the College of Law, "those who sought placement in industry or government found the demand much less than it was last year. Generally speaking, the lawyers experienced a fairly normal year." Graduates of the College of Medicine, who all began internships, have good prospects for the futre; "the demand for medical doctors remains exceedingly high and specialization seems to be in vogue." In the Graduate School of Social Work, many were on leave from permanent employers and resumed jobs upon graduation. "Those in school without such arrangements found a reasonable demand for social I Continued from page 20 ) virtually anybody he trusts. He fmstodo quite a booming busines.. I They all illustrate the situation of the diversity student who must split his ne between studying and earning lough money to keep studying. No je seems to know just how many udents here work, but certainly the ercentage is high. As the economy oth in Utah and nationwide ontinues to stagnate, the job market is jlit, employment is difficult or im-issible im-issible to find, and public attention is tused on men with advanced college ;srees who bag groceries, drive taxi-;bi, taxi-;bi, or exist on welfare checks and od stamps. How they fare College-by-college statistics demonstrate how well various majors fared (See Table II). Some of the specific whys have been outlined by the Placement Center. For the 45 receiving the Ph.D. or Ed.D., the 31 "available for employment" rate is "due to the widespread reduction or elimination on the part of industry and government" of jobs requiring them, and because "the economic problems among the institutions of higher learning reduced the demand for college teachers, and in-service teachers stayed on their jobs for security purposes. Some of those who received their doctorates accepted post-doctoral assignments, hoping that the demand might increase in another year." In sum, "the demand for advanced ad-vanced degree people dropped more drastically than did the demand for people with bachelors' or masters' degrees." 1 lobs have been found F all the talk of joblessness, wr, most June 1971 graduates the University of Utah were able ifind jobs. At commencement time were employed, 5 were en-"8 en-"8 military service, 4 became omemakers, 22 entered graduate A and the remaining 27 were available for employment." But the -cin job opportunities since the Vears of the late 1960's is ap-last ap-last year 51 were employed; 19 the figure was 56, in 1968 ""Win 1964 62. Last year was workers." And finally, in the M.B.A (Master of Business Administration program, the outlook was poor. "Th demand for M.B.A.'s throughout th nation dropped considerably. Man' employers elected to hire persons witl bachelor degrees at less money than t pay a premium for the M.B.A.'s. Thos( with adequate preparation in ac counting had virtually no difficulty ir securing favorable employment." The other colleges had mixec prospects. "The demand for busines: graduates was down considerably except for those prepared for sale: appointments. . . although the demanc i ment prospects in all m bright. Opportunities are pM, graduates from the College and Pharmacy. "Perhaps the r demand for a university p experienced among the noise an excellent field for emptor the demand should remain b foreseeable future" the j; Center reports. For the phi-; the apparently high men;., figures are deceptive stmt students who have com fair-of fair-of California have returned f work. It should not take then-locate then-locate favorable employees home state." v. for engineers has dropped con-i) con-i) siderably (particularly in defense e contracting), the graduates this year e have been successful in obtaining y employment" read ths summaries for h the colleges of business and d engineering. ; For Fine Arts students, half still - waiting at graduation, "placement 1 success depends upon the general qualification of the person obtaining i degrees. The demand for dance s teachers has dropped considerably. Artists with adaptability to business s needs have a distinct placement i advantage. Architects are anticipating the building boom, but during the meantime they are gaining adequate work in their field." In Health, Physical Education, and Recreation, the surplus of high school and college teachers left many out in the cold; "competition for the appointments is keen." AB.S. better than a Sixty percent of the 112 (i : Science graduates go onto, school, oftentimes medical r colleges. As for the rest, "the for B.S. chemists and phssi greater than the demand io:: these fields. . Many of fc; students have turned their p-attention p-attention to college tea have found favorable i-assignments, i-assignments, but others : looking." Ther largest single Social and Behavioral to': had a large percentage : graduate study. "Very1 portunities have been avails: the year with the state af Utah," but "industry hascfc opprtunities during the i-graduates i-graduates of this college" The last academic s Craduate School of Educt Mines good A similar plight has afflicted graduates of the College of Humanities: history and language teachers are having difficulties entering en-tering the public school system, while the demand from business and government "has been lower this year." But "qualified journalism majors have had success in finding favorable employment" and many humanities graduates have stayed in school for advanced degrees. In contrast, "the demand has been reasonably good this year" for graduates of the College of Mines and Mineral Industries. Ceo-physicists Ceo-physicists and geological engineers are much in demand and future employ-I a rhaps the most public attention over ployment for college graduates. ( ;ha nationwide excess of qualified ichers over teaching positions, jobs ( e becoming very difficult to find in ,(i jh as well. The Placement Center 't sorted that "Many persons prepared lr teach on the elementary level who ... e not available to accept a position 3 aide of the Salt Lake City area will f. be successful in gaining teaching 1( itracts for next year There has been , jieat demand for mathematics, sci-ce.and sci-ce.and instrumental music teachers. t ie demand for social studies teachers , is remained very low." iwenty-nine the job market (regardless of major) and whether he has "the characteristics charac-teristics for success." A few of the reasons some people have success at job-hunting, Mr. Carlston says, are "outstanding academic record; systematic search in cooperation with the Placement Center, departmental chairmen, and faculty members; willingness to accept employment outside of the state of Utah; and favorable faculty and off-campus recommendations." Although the Placement Center has a highly automated system for matching jobs to qualifications and arranging job in- educational market" reported that "For the first time in many decades, the supply of Ph.D.'s and other academic specialists seems to be in excess of industrial and private demand for their services. It now appears that the number of teachers with doctorates who will be required in the next decade is about one-fifth the anticipated an-ticipated Ph.D.'s which will be awarded." Furthermore, "It is quite probable that Ph.D.'s are not likely to be unemployed, but... they will increasingly in-creasingly 'bump' others with lower educational credentials in many teaching jobs." Another study noted that "the surplus is real, but it would disappear tomorrow if society wanted high-quality education badly enough to pay for it." Picture not the best Dean of the Graduate School of I acation, Stephen P. Hencley, says . Jt "the picture isn't the best that ' ve seen in the past few years," in iching positions. "Out of five 1 ndred and some five-twenty or e-thirty graduates this past year ; oth June and August com-ncement), com-ncement), 69 elementary teachers i ' iust over a hundred secondary diets do not have jobs," Dean ndey says (Secondary school ders major in the college of their : 'Mlty, not in the Graduate School Education). "About a third of those : Wing for jobs late in the summer ' not find them." He believes that : ' Present economic recession is V a leading factor, as new rs entered the labor force and ones reentered it, either as n grow up or as monetary ms force housewives to take on ob. ejtudy on "the glutted Center reflects ecomony How do graduates get those jobs that are available? One important way is through the University's Placement Center, in the Annex. Its director is a friendly, enthusiastic man anmed Herald L. Carlston. His operations reflect, to some extent at least, the changes in the economy: two years ago he handled 20,000 on-campus interviews, the next year was 17,000 and last year only 13,000 (although things seem to be picking up a bit this year). In good times the Placement Center distributes about 6 tons of literature yearly, but last year this figure was down to only 3-12 tons. "The demand (for employees) is a great deal less than it has been," he says. Mr. Carlston believes that whether or not a student finds a job depends largely upon how adaptable he is to s r ; terviews, they make every effort to help everyone personally. Counseling and vocational information is readily available. Arrange interviews To indicate the scope of the Center's work,, Mr. Carlston states the "during the 1970-1971 placemnt year, the Placement Center arranged 7,415 full-time full-time employment interviews on the campus with recruiting officials and 2,926 interviews for full-time employment em-ployment off the campus, a total of 10,341. Seven thousand, four hundred seventy-two part-time employment interviews were arranged for students, making a total of 17,813 full of part-time part-time interviews on or off the campus during 1970-71. Six hundred seventeen senior and graduate students were placed in full-time employment, while 1,592 received part-time employment through the Placement Center, making a total of 2,209 individuals placed." Anyone interested in finding work-full- or part-time should register at the Center. Employment interviews for jobs after graduation begin during fall quarter. As for the future, Mr. Carlston exudes nothing but confident optimism. op-timism. "We have to ride out a storm without becoming alarm, cautions. "We hope the de, be great-not as great as Ion years ago, or three years ago great." Many students have found campus work offers manyii of convenience (both as to k location) and pay at or it minimum wage. Until October year, the Univeristy's P( Department handled sk ployment. Last autumn . (October 9, 1970), 2,527 i worked on campus, including work-study projects where tie ment pays 20 of the salary and the Federal fe picks up the remainder. Lasts (as of July 16, 1971), sle ployment on-campus totald Informal search Ken Miller of the Person: ment believes that "morefc': maybe as high as threei" students finding on-campusw informally, asking around ak: ings or picking up tips l" There are five categories S ' work, from manual labor up ing assistant, and pay rising!' to $3.50 hourly. Continued on page!! Jobs Continued from page 30 Work-study (and all other campus employment for students) is now handled through the Financial Aids and Scholarships office in the Annex. This quarter some 765 students, chosen according to financial need after application to the Financial Aids office, (but no more than one-sixteenth the total number of undergraduates) are on work-study projects with nearly every department on campus and 19 off-campus, non-profit agencies such as the Veterans' Administration hospital, the YMCA, and the Sal Lake City School Board. Work-study is primarily an undergraduate program, but graduate students can qualify for teaching assistantships of National Defense Loans. State office If you can't find or don't wanton-campus employment, check the state department of employment security. Sterling Nielson, a counseling supervisor there, admits that it's "kind of a bleak outlook" for jobs right now, but a lot of kids get them and go to school. Most find work thraut-own thraut-own efforts, a "po pavement" approach, and k them, he says, find work a! It vices, hospitals, (includir University Hospital), on load.; with delivery firms, will' manufacturing plants, a few c-construction c-construction tasks, and at Iocs The main obstacles encouft students looking for work t-employers t-employers want permanent while students are concerns; with money, not loyalty; man; are draft-vulnerable (althoitf "not as important as often it., students tend to be unreafe their capabilities ("skypilolu; big strikes or recession "miscellaneous" work, the kire' students, hardest and q. especially when skilled worif off, begin to compete for the-Mr. the-Mr. Nielson believes that thet; may now be stabilizing some-so some-so the "miscellaneous" ate improve. But the Utah unerr; rate remains (the unadjuste figure was 6.4) higher tar nation as a whole. So you t. interested to learn that "ur circumstances" (for example, were working and going toscK then were laid off, or if you (!-to (!-to imporve yourself at school!' draw unemployment benffe going to school. Most get jobs In summary, says the Placement Annual n 1 Regional Placement Assot "despite what you may have read, most graduates in years got a job-at least really wanted one." Theyte employers usually cone scholastic achievement, tivites, college honoranes, part-time work expend sonality, and appear ' graduates. They adv.se I "Don't press the pan become alarmed; uthh e planning and placement ot don't wait for a job to Jf on your door; set your primary target and alternative possibilities be related directly 0 goals; launch a marl M a number of irons in W them hot; don't beamed To which those still I J, might ad "hope your physics and env nm won't condemmn I Y 'overeducated portantlyW |