The job market after college hasn’t been looking so good, and it’s not going to get much better - at least not right away - the 31st annual Recruiting Trends survey found.
The survey of more than 280 employers, conducted by MSU’s Collegiate Employment Research Institute, found graduates with bachelor’s degrees could see a 6 to 13 percent decline in hiring. Master’s and doctoral students could see a 20 percent decline in hiring for the 2001-02 school year.
Employers who responded to the survey said they have hired 34 percent fewer bachelor’s degree graduates and 45 percent fewer master’s degree graduates than they projected last year.
Phil Gardner, director of research for Career Services and Placement and author of the study, said graduates need to know this information. He will be presenting results and analysis from the survey at 4:30 p.m. today in the auditorium of the Clara Bell Smith Student-Athlete Academic Center.
“It’s important for how they approach things,” he said. “They’re not going to have a lot of people begging for their services, they have to be patient.”
Gardner said it’s hard to say when this trend will end, but he said it’s going to take time - he predicts it will recover by the third business quarter.
Some factors contributing to the hiring decline include decreases in hiring late last year and the ups and downs of consumer confidence in retail and tourism industries.
Gardner said this isn’t the first time such a trend has occurred. In the 1970s and early 1980s there was the same kind of decline, but this was a little unexpected, Gardner said.
“This decline comes just after a very frantic and robust market we’ve had for the last four years,” Gardner said.
The survey showed students who graduate with engineering, computer science and business majors may see the largest declines. Gardner said those graduates receive more opportunities anyway, but the number of multiple offers they receive will suffer.
Computer science senior Ryan Stephenson, who may graduate in May 2003, said he knows the job market is tough right now, but hopes it will recover soon.
“I am kind of worried,” he said. “I am going to graduate school for computer science, and the technology industry has gone downhill a little bit.
“If I were to graduate this year or next year, I would be worried, but I figure it will rebound by then.”
Lindsay Ward, a communication senior who will graduate in May, said she is also having some concerns about finding a job.
“I would say that I am a little nervous, but I will probably have to do something I am not excited about for a few years,” she said.
Ward said she ultimately wants to have a career in public relations dealing with social events coordination. Even with the recent trends, she said she will remain optimistic about landing her dream job.
“I think it’s important to have an open mind when it comes to college,” she said. “Not many people can go right into the field they want to do.”
Staff writer Camille Spencer contributed to this report.
