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Elizabeth Bland/Old Gold and Black

The Real World 2002
By Elizabeth Bland
Perspectives Editor

For seniors graduating this May, life in the real world may be a little bit rougher than anticipated. With the unemployment rate at 5.6 percent in January, increased corporate layoffs and an economy slowly recovering from a recession — graduates face the worst job market in almost 10 years.

The success of dot-com companies and the stock market ensured a receptive job market for graduates throughout most of the 1990s.

But $10,000 signing bonuses are little more than a figment of the imagination at this point. In the wake of the Enron debacle, corporate America probably won’t be looking to add to the workforce; rather, they’re downsizing and cutting costs – not an uplifting thought for newly graduated students seeking employment.

Bill Currin, the director of career services, said the 2002 job market is the worst he’s seen in 14 years.

"We began to see a slight decline in the job market in January of 2001 and then through the summer it was obvious the recruiting was down," he said. "It’s a national problem. We were going into the fall knowing the market was down substantially and then 9-11 took place. That took the wind out out of the sails even more."

 

Who is affected?

"It’s a combination of all those things and we just haven’t recovered. Most recruiters said they would not be recruiting this fall, but would maybe be back this spring," he said. "But the market has changed and they haven’t come back."

According to Currin, colleges are among the most vulnerable institutions during an economic downturn. He said, "College recruiting is the first to feel a decline in the market and we’re the last to recover." Currin estimates that recruiting activity on college campuses nationally could be down as much as 35 percent to 50 percent from previous years.

Here, the career services office is working to correct what at first seem to be dire circumstances for grads. Currin said, "We’ve redirected some of our programming. We’re working very hard but it’s just a difficult time," he said.

"We work closely with the counseling center and the alumni career assistance program provides us with a network to help students."

 

What is the job forecast?

The National Association of Colleges and Employers forecasts hiring trends for college graduates, provides research gathered through college and employer surveys and conducts quarterly surveys of college graduate starting salary offers. "The surveys we’ve done show that our employer members expect that hiring is going to be down about twenty percent for new grads," said Camille Lauckenbaugh, the employment information manager at NACE.

Lauckenbaugh said the forecast is bleakest outside the Southeast. "Things are definitely dismal," she said. "It’s toughest in the West, where they’re expecting a 44.8 percent drop in the number of jobs. When we originally went out we asked employers and looked at each region. In the Northeast we estimate a 18.5 percent drop and a 17.6 percent drop in the Midwest, which is keeping with the national averages. The South is expected to go down 7.3% percent, though."

Currin and Lauckenbaugh agree that no one factor seems to have caused the downward spiral in hiring trends, but the primary reason for the dip is due to economic trends. Currin cited the economic slide associated with Sept. 11 and Lauckenbaugh said, "It’s pretty much the economy. That’s the driving force. Some employers have told us that they have not seen as much turnover as they have in the past — people don’t feel the need to change jobs. Things are unsure and they kind of want to stay put."

 

Are there other opportunities?

While securing a job is at the top of the list for many graduated students, they may be disappointed when discussing salary offers with future employers. Graduates are competing for not just fewer jobs — but lower paying jobs as well. NACE found that starting salaries have dropped in liberal arts fields, but that engineering and accounting disciplines continue to stay at relatively high levels. Accounting graduates are the only group to command an increase in salary offers — starting offers average around $40,174 – an increase of 3.7 percent from January 2001.

Business administration grads, though, posted a drop of 9.1 percent to $32,994 for the average job offer. NACE said computer science and civil engineering starting salaries are holding steady for now.

Nicholas Mathias, a fourth-year student studying analytical finance in the integrated business school program that offers a bachelor of science and a master’s degree in five years, interned with a professional accounting firm in Charlotte the first part of this semester. He feels insulated from the depressed job market that has created worries for others.

"I think because Wake has a pretty good record as an accounting school and because you will have a graduate degree as well — that will help a lot," Mathias said. "If you are just getting your bachelor’s degree there are still a lot of opportunites, maybe just not as many."

In his opinion, graduating from the university already puts seniors one step ahead of the competition. "I think it’s easier for Wake people than anyone else in general," Mathias said. "I think most people in the program will get job offers from where they intern." Mathias anticipates a job offer Friday, in fact.

For seniors who don’t have a similarly guaranteed job offer, other options provide an alternative to immediate "real world" employment.

In 2001, 31.13 percent of graduates went to professional or graduate school. But for some, the idea of more school seems a bit much to bear. Other programs like Teach For America and the Peace Corps have become increasingly popular options in recent years, especially now. Currently, 14 alums from 2001 are serving in the Peace Corps from this university. The Peace Corps ranks the university ninth among the Top Ten small colleges in how many students are serving overseas with the program. Ben Dunbar, a recruiter for the Peace Corps, interviewed students on campus March 6.

Dunbar said there are varied reasons for why students may be choosing to apply to the Peace Corps now more than in the past. "It certainly helps when the president gives personal support to the program," Dunbar said. "But there are a lot of different factors. I think there are three reasons: one is the (state of the) economy, two because it’s good to diversify your resumé and have experience in other areas and third because it’s a way to subsist without spending much money."

 

What do students think?

Senior Jami Johnson had an interview with Dunbar on March 6. She has been thinking about applying for the program since her sophomore year.

"I’ve been looking into it for a long time," she said. "It’s something a little bit different — a way for me to use what I’ve learned in school rather than just sitting at a desk."

Another alternative to working or grad school is joining the Teach For America program. Missy Sherburne, the executive director of the North Carolina regional Teach For America program, said they have noticed a change in the application rate. "We’ve had a tremendous increase in applications," Sherburne said.

"Clearly 9-11 has played a role in that, but organizationally we have done a lot. We have expanded our corps and we were anticipating a larger corps this year. We had a 150 percent increase in applications — even more than we anticipated."

She expects the interest will continue to grow. "I think that the trend will continue, our goal is to grow (the program) Teach For America over the next four years. It’s anything but an entry-level job. You have the opportunity to do some pretty exciting things and you can transfer skills to any job down the road. Those skills will stay with you and you have the ability to make a tremendous impact."

If students want a job immediately upon graduation, though, they may have to fight a little harder. According to Lauckenbaugh, the economic condition may take a turn for the better soon. "Most economists are in agreement now that we’re coming out of the recession, which is a good thing," she said.