Students graduating in Ohio University's Class of 2005 will enter the best job market in four years, and many can expect to earn increasing average salaries, according to reports published by the National Association of Colleges and Employers.
Employers plan a 13 percent increase in the hiring of college graduates this year, according to the association's Job Outlook 2005 survey. The NACE report also reported in its Spring 2005 Salary Survey that average salaries offered to new graduates are climbing.
Business disciplines top the list with increases in salary as large as 6 percent from a year ago, while other majors, such as information sciences and systems, posted minimal decreases.
Dr. Shawn Ostermann, chairman of the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, said although many information science majors already have jobs lined up, computer science graduates who do not yet have jobs likely are focusing on class work and plan to find jobs during the summer or are planning to attend graduate school. He also said many graduates prefer to find a job close to home.
Business students, on the other hand, often travel to more urban areas to find jobs. OU senior Joshua Hemmert, a business administration student in the Honors Tutorial College, said he hopes to benefit from the increased average salary, which is $39,448 for graduates in his major, according to the Salary Survey.
Following an internship in 2004, Hemmert accepted a job offer to be an analyst with JPMorgan Fleming, the investment management division of JPMorgan Chase & Co. in New York City. Because the need for business majors can be forecasted more easily, especially as the demand increases because of corporate finance issues, some business students have an easier time arranging jobs in advance, Hemmert said.
Kelly Curtin, a senior finance major who accepted a job offer from National City Bank in November, said motivated students who begin their searches early often are most successful because the best programs hire long in advance.
Hemmert agreed but also said internship experiences, which demonstrate a student's talents and initiative, are invaluable in pursuing jobs after graduation.
Robert Moffat, associate director of Career Services, said certain skills and presentation techniques increase a student's chance of being hired. The majority of employers out there want someone with a bachelor's degree because to earn that
you have to show you have these skills he said.
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