News Highlights

College grads finding a hot job market

College graduates are surprised -- and parents are overjoyed -- to find a job market with many employers opening their arms to spring grads.

2006-05-15
By Robb Murray, Free Press staff writer [published in The Free Press, Mankato, MN, 6/12/2006]

MANKATO — The truth is, DeAnna Goddard wanted to land a job someplace close to home, preferably someplace in the tri-state area.

But when the sun was beginning to set on her college career and it was time to start the whole résumé-cover letter-interview thing, it was hard to say 'no' to the interview opportunity from Yale University.

And when they offered her a job, it was even harder to say 'no.

"It was a shocker for me," says Goddard, who along with thousands of other students this time of year is heading out to a new job or looking for one. "I had gone to a conference for student affairs and was asked to interview with them. I thought, 'Hey, I can say I had an interview with Yale.' I had a great connection with them. Apparently they thought so, too."

Goddard's success is indicative of what some are calling an excellent year for this year's 1.4 million college grads. The National Association of Colleges and Employers reports that employers plan to hire 14.5 percent more new college graduates than last year. Starting salaries across the board are up 6.2 percent. Signing bonuses — a relic of the dot.com era — are slowly reappearing. Benefits are getting slightly better. And salaries are up in many job areas. Nationally, engineers of all kinds are seeing big increases with starting salaries of nearly $55,000. Computer science is also making a comeback.

At MSU, accounting, finance, marketing and engineering are among the hottest majors in the Midwest — among graduates of four-year colleges and universities — and are seeing some of the biggest starting salaries. All in all, the job outlook picture is rosier than in past years.

At South Central College, health careers are leading the way.

"Our school has 107 graduates (in health careers), quite a bit for a school this size," said Placement Director Diane Hendrickson. "Other programs that are excelling are accounting, carpentry, architectural drafting. I am also seeing a general increase in all career areas, so the job market is opening up."

Some job areas are no-brainers for steady, consistent growth. With the aging population, careers in health care are going to be a solid bet for some time to come. Engineering is also another good bet.

But what if you're not interested in the predictable areas, but you want to make sure your career choice won't be on life support when you graduate? Getting help early in a college career is key, especially for students unsure of what they want to pursue.

"We do a lot of career counseling here with people wondering what direction they should go in," said Pamela Weller-Dengel, director of MSU's Career Development Center.

And when it's time to apply for jobs, students are advised to be cautious and thoughtful about their decision.

"We always try to look beyond just the dollar figure," Weller-Dengel said, "to look at how large of an organization is it, think about whether you'll be able to advance and get training, what are the benefits."

Weller-Dengel says 90 percent of all MSU graduates either find a job they're satisfied with or go on to graduate school or some other mode of further study.

Two years ago, Goddard, who is from Faribault, would have been among those who went on to further study. She earned her bachelor's degree at Winona State University, then came to MSU for the graduate program in counseling and student personnel.

Now, with her job at Yale, she'll be doing what she wants to be doing: career counseling with college students.

She'd heard that students last year had a harder time finding jobs. But now the market appears to be loosening up. Of the 12 students in her area of study graduating this spring, three have jobs. But she suspects most, if not all, will find jobs soon.

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