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plus 1, For area job seekers, not all college degrees are created equal - Sacramento Bee

For area job seekers, not all college degrees are created equal - Sacramento Bee

Posted: 20 Nov 2010 12:07 AM PST

Keep fretting, parents: The college major your children pick will indeed have a big impact on their career options.

While that may not seem like an earth-shattering revelation, a Bee analysis of new Census Bureau data lays out the stark contrasts between chosen disciplines in illuminating detail. Is your child, for instance, thinking about …

… a philosophy degree? Philosophy graduates in California last year were about five times as likely to be unemployed as nursing graduates.

… ethnic studies? Computer engineering graduates in California typically make twice as much.

… a drama degree? Theater majors were about eight times as likely to work in the food services industry as those with accounting degrees.

Any college degree is valuable. California college graduates in every popular discipline made more last year and were more likely to be employed than Californians with just a high school diploma. The income and employment gap between those with a college degree and those without continues to widen.

Plus, college isn't just about making money. A religion major might never be happy pursuing a career in engineering. And many students know the risks of pursuing an arts or humanities degree: Thousands have subsequently done well and are reaping the rewards, both spiritually and financially.

But others feel disappointed by the results of their choice of major, especially these days.

"It's funny because when I wasn't in school, people were saying, 'Why don't you get your bachelor's degree?' " said Sacramento resident Emily Baker, once a waitress. So she did.

Baker, who has been unemployed for months, graduated from California State University, Sacramento, last year with a psychology degree. Psychology is the fifth-most common degree among Californians. About 7 percent of psychology graduates are unemployed, higher than the unemployment rate of 6 percent among all Californians with a bachelor's degree.

Most psychology graduates are doing jobs tangential to their studies – working, for instance, as schoolteachers, social workers and secretaries, census figures show.

At this point, Baker wishes she had majored in something different. "A lot of the jobs that are out there – they are looking for some sort of scientific degree," Baker said.

At first, Carlos Compeán had better luck than Baker, but today he's in the same spot. Compeán majored in Chicano studies at UC Davis. The median salary for California ethnic studies graduates working full time is $45,000, tied with music graduates for the lowest salary among all popular majors.

Compeán found work as a Spanish teacher at a local school after graduating in 2002. He was laid off last year.

"I have applied to every job posting I have seen," Compeán said. "I have only had three job interviews since getting pink-slipped. I applied to everything from various teaching jobs to farmworker, McDonald's, Nugget, Wal-Mart and AT&T."

Hiring managers consistently tell Compeán he's overqualified. "I tell them I have worked at Blockbuster. I will take any job and be an asset to your company."

Some majors go through hot and cold spells, making students' choices tougher. At the moment, the hottest major is nursing – only 2 percent of its graduates are unemployed.

"I feel like I picked the right career, for sure," said Sacramento resident Nicole Tellmann. She graduated from Sacramento State with a nursing degree in 2008 and accepted her current job at UC Davis Medical Center before even graduating.

On the other end of the spectrum is architecture, a great major during the housing boom. After the subsequent bust, the unemployment rate for architecture graduates in California is 11 percent.

Government and political science majors are also experiencing a rough patch. A few years ago, taxes were flowing and governments were hiring. Now, as Stephen Batchelder will tell you, a government major will have trouble finding government work.

Batchelder graduated from Sacramento State in May; he's been unemployed since.

"The college degree – I thought it would be very attractive in this region," he said. "From my experience, it hasn't been."

Across the nation, universities are adapting to a shift in students' preferences. In 1967, almost 18 percent of the bachelor's degrees granted in the United States were for fields in the humanities, such as English, history and philosophy. By 2007, that had dropped to just over 8 percent. Now business is the most popular college major, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

Some schools have begun paring back on the humanities. The State University of New York at Albany recently announced it is suspending programs in French, Italian, Russian, classics and theater. Washington State University eliminated its drama department last year.

A lot of Californians who majored in the arts, humanities or social sciences are nonetheless doing well. About 13 percent of English or psychology graduates – tens of thousands of Californians – made six-figure salaries last year.

Many who don't make much money because of their chosen profession are still happy – and wouldn't have it any other way.

Connor Mickiewicz, 27, has no regrets that he majored in drama. He said most of his theater friends feel similarly.

"We went into it assuming it would be hard for us to work as actors," he said.

Mickiewicz studied theater at New York University. After graduating, he spent time auditioning in New York City while bartending. He moved home to Sacramento in 2008 and started his own company, New Helvetia Theatre.

"I thought I would stay in New York and work as an actor out there," he said. "But then I decided it would be more fulfilling to do my own stuff out here in Sacramento."

Now Mickiewicz gets a salary from his theater company about 18 to 20 weeks a year. Between shows he works as an administrative assistant in his dad's dental office.

For Baker, the unemployed psychology graduate, the prospects for working even part time in her field seem grim.

"Some sort of bartending job is definitely in my future," she said.

Call The Bee's Phillip Reese, (916) 321-1137.

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Jobs available in sectors of the economy - Dayton Daily News

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 08:32 PM PST

By William Hershey and John Nolan 
Staff Writers Updated 1:32 AM Saturday, November 20, 2010

New jobs can take all kinds of forms, as some sectors of the economy begin to show signs of life.

Jet Express Inc., the Dayton-based trucking company, is looking to hire six owner-operators of their own long-haul trucks to help the company move quickly to serve increased business hauling car parts for General Motors Corp.

Asked on Friday how soon he needs the owner-operators, Jet Express president Kevin Burch said: "Immediately — Monday morning.

"Over 70 percent of our business is with GM. We stayed with them," Burch said, referring to GM's well-publicized struggle to become profitable again. "As a result of that, they've given us more opportunities."

Kotobuki-Reliable Die Casting Inc., of Xenia, is using the GreeneWorks Employment and Training Center to fill up to 31 jobs, including quality engineers, tool design engineers, project managers, part processors, quality control auditors and die-set specialists. GreeneWorks, at 581 Ledbetter Road in Xenia, conducted a jobs fair for Kotobuki on Thursday and plans another on Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Kotobuki is seeing increased business from automotive and other customers, and is trying to find additional workers after years of job losses in the die-casting industry that prompted people to leave for other careers, said Gary Grochowski, the company's chief operating officer. His immediate concern: "Bringing in too much business and not having an adequate amount of skilled, trained people."

Ohio's unemployment rate dipped to 9.9 percent in October, the lowest it has been since 9.6 percent in March 2009, state officials said. But there are dark aspects behind the latest numbers, said George Zeller, an economic analyst in Cleveland.

The 8,400 jobs that Ohio gained in October compare poorly with the 167,900 jobs the state lost in 2008 and 255,400 in 2009, Zeller said. And for most of the past 14 years, Ohio's job growth rate has trailed the U.S. average, he said.

Gov. Ted Strickland noted that Ohio's unemployment rate has fallen for seven consecutive months.