Seniors search for life after college

The job market has grown significantly since 2005 and presents more opportunities than ever for the Class of 2007, Lynn Jacobson, coordinator of the campus interview program at the MBNA Career Services Center, said.

"The economy, in general, is much improved compared to the last few years," Jacobson said. "The market's been growing."

In 2005, the university awarded 3,527 bachelor's degrees, according to the university's annual Employment and Educational Status of Baccalaureates by Curriculum Group report, published by the Office of Institutional Research and Planning.

The report surveys graduates each year about their career prospects after graduation. Of the 1,314 alumni who returned the survey in 2005 - the most recent year for which data is available - approximately 77 percent reported obtaining full-time employment within one year of graduation. Approximately six percent of respondents were still seeking employment, while four percent were working part-time and approximately 12 percent were pursuing further education.

Jacobson said the job market experienced an increase in 2006 and is experiencing another increase this year. It is a particularly opportune time to graduate with a degree in accounting or engineering,, as those fields are increasingly in demand.

The demand for graduates with accounting degrees is a response to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, which essentially requires large corporations to meet stringent financial disclosure standards, she said.

The demand for engineers is also widespread, Jacobson said, but civil and mechanical engineers are particularly valuable.

"Part of it, especially for the civils, has been based on the housing boom in the last few years," she said.

The current, average starting salary for accountants is $43,809 and $43,462 for civil engineers, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers.

Although Jacobson said she cannot think of any one field that has seen a decrease in demand, she said liberal arts majors have a more difficult time finding jobs. "When you're a liberal arts major, what do you want to do with your degree?" Jacobson said. "A liberal arts major needs to have a focus of how they want to use their degree in a particular field."

For majors like English and history, she said graduates need to either focus themselves in their job searches or be aware that jobs are available to them with many large businesses, banks, government agencies and marketing firms, which do not look for a specific degree but for college graduates in general. These employers see a college degree as a sign that an applicant is educated and trainable.

Senior Heather Caporaso, a music education major with plans to become a middle school chorus teacher, said she started handing out resumés at a Trabant University Center job fair in November. Although she interviewed with one school in Maryland, Caporaso said she has not received any offers and has since begun posting and sending out her resumé online.

Caporaso said the job search for a music education major is frustrating.

"It's just so difficult to get a job because a school needs what, seven math teachers, eight maybe?" she said. "They need one chorus teacher."

Although Caporaso has a long list of options to fall back on - everything from waiting tables to cutting hair to teaching private voice lessons - she said all she really wants to do is be a chorus teacher.

Senior Jenna Maple, an elementary education major, plans to stay in Newark for the summer and move south to become a teacher in the fall.

Maple said she started applying for jobs one month ago and has applied for 15 thus far. She has gotten several offers, all in southern states, and is considering some of them.

"You can think that you're going to stay in your hometown but it might not happen so you need to broaden your horizons and just be willing to look at everything that's out there and consider your options," Maple said.

As the May 26 Commencement ceremony draws near, so does a time of excitement and uncertainty for many seniors. Caporaso said the uncertainty of her future terrifies her.

"September, I could be in my own classroom, I could be in Maryland, I could be in New Jersey, I could be waiting tables, I could be cutting hair," she said.

"It's so unbelievably scary."

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