As graduates prepare to step out of college and onto their career paths, job markets are fluctuating with the economic downturn.
While the slow economy has affected many job markets, some areas still remain strong.
At the Graduate School of Social Work, students currently have about an 85 percent hire rate within three months of graduation, according to Dean Jannah Mather.
“When there’s a cutback in the economy, there’s a cutback in social services,” she said. “Graduates have a high hire rate, but they may have to take combination of part-time jobs instead of one full-time job because of budget cuts.”
In the College of Social and Behavioral Science, a few specific areas are in high demand. Students focused on the Geographic Information Software field have a good chance of finding a job.
“If students complete the program, they almost have their pick of jobs. We often have students that don’t finish their masters’ theses because they get great job offers,” said Harvey Miller, geography professor. “There is so much demand for it because it’s not only a private-sector job, but all levels of government use the technology.”
The field remains steady because graduates can use the technology for many jobs?from finding optimal evacuation routes to laying pipeline, Miller said.
The criminal justice system is also looking for new employees because with a downturned economy, crime rates often go up, said Steven Ott, dean of the college.
“I think jobs for social scientists in the system are still a growth area, and these don’t have to be criminal justice majors,” said Michael Timberlake, sociology professor. “Most employers want broad training, including things like race relations and public administration skills for administrative positions.”
At the Graduate School of Architecture, the job market is more mixed than it has been in the past five years. When the economy faces a downturn, construction is often the first field affected, according to William Miller, architecture dean. However, job opportunities are still available.
“The local market is a little strained right now, but the national market is pretty good right now,” Miller said.
In mining engineering, the economy has left some sectors of the department unaffected.
Graduates can find good opportunities in the areas focusing on construction and working with sand, gravel, stone and concrete, as well as surface and underground coal mining, said M.K. McCarter, chairman of the department.
Although construction is slowing down, a larger demand for mining engineers has cropped up in the construction business because of changing laws and regulations, according to McCarter.
“We had more job opportunities than students to fill them this year,” he said. “It’s not a boom cycle right now, but it isn’t bad either.”
Another area with a good job market is education. For the past decade, the nation has had a shortage of elementary and secondary education teachers. Despite budget cuts in Utah, that demand is still present.
“The job market is pretty good, and the teacher shortage is projected to grow,” said David Sperry, dean of the College of Education.
For graduates who don’t want to move out of the Salt Lake area, Sperry predicts the job market will become more competitive as districts work through their budget cuts. But, increasingly graduates have taken jobs outside of the state for better pay, signing bonuses and other incentives, Sperry said.
“In places like the Las Vegas area, where they have experienced large population increases, their need for teachers is just critical,” he said.
In other colleges, such as the College of Science, the downturn won’t affect job markets for at least another year, according to Dean Peter Stang.
“If the economy doesn’t pick up there will be an impact,” Stang said. “But so far, there has been no significant change, the market is quite good at the graduate level.”
In the chemistry department, graduates are finding jobs in the expanding biotechnology field.
“There has been strong growth in the pharmaceutical industry recently, and many pharmaceutical companies are looking for both undergraduate and graduate students,” said Tom Richmond, associate chemistry professor.
Both the academic and industrial job market is strong for students graduating with majors in chemistry and mathematics, Stang said.
Other departments aren’t as fortunate. In the metallurgical engineering department, job offers have been “reasonable,” but not as strong as previous years.
“With the economic downturn, the jobs are not as prevalent, but it’s still a pretty good area because there aren’t any other programs for hundreds of miles around,” said Michael Free, assistant professor of metallurgical engineering.
Some graduates, such as political science majors, may find volunteering for the summer their best chance at finding a job.
“It’s an election year, and many candidates are seeking students with a political sense to help in their campaigns,” said Ted Wilson, director of the Hinckley Institute of Politics. “It can be a good opportunity for a volunteer to perhaps get a job after a candidate is elected.”