1973 Graduates Report Better salaries, Job Opportunities Technology and business are proving to be the most lucrative fields for 1973 graduates of Weber State College, ac- cording to studies conducted by the WSC Placement Service, but better salaries and more varied opportunities are reported in all areas. Career opportunities are more plentiful in all fields than they were during the economic slump experienced by graduates two or three years ago, says Hugh Jacobs, director of placement. The liberal arts graduate, however, is taking a back seat to those trained in technical areas and in business, particularly in accounting. Starting salaries have shown no dramatic rise, but are generally on the increase, says Mr. Jacobs. The contrast between starting salaries of business and technology graduates and those graduating in liberal arts is significant. A large percentage of the graduates from the School of Arts, Letters and Science are now earning from $6,000 to $9,000, while a great number of Technology School and Business and Economics School grads are starting at $10,000 or more. The new School of Allied Health Sciences is also showing great success with nearly all their starting salaries are $10,000 or more. Most of these openings were out of state. Facing a more limited, though improving, job scene are the liberal arts graduates of the School of Arts, Letters and Science. Compared to the mostly successful reports of the technical school alumni, these graduates face lower salaries, a more Psychology jobs. placed, These, many however, in high- are often Service. majors are taking em- ployment as office clerks, and geography —— ce a The overall picture for all majors in the School of Business shows substantial beginning salaries and numerous openings for graduates. Some 40 percent of those reporting to the placement office indicated the larger Placement graduates Taking Spotlight majors end up in retail sales. This nationwide problem, typical also of The school of Technology at Weber State, graduating classes and not as on many other college campuses, is taking the spotlight with the greatest success in percentage of graduates placed solved in the near future, placement director. and amount of starting salaries. WSC boasts Liberal Arts the largest technical school in the state of Utah, and graduating students are finding likely says the is a past to be WSC DIRECTOR of placement at Weber State is Hugh Jacobs, who reports good success for '73 grads. given a boost by increased numbers of companies recruiting on campuses at a stepped-up rate from the slump of 1970 and ‘71; however, Mr. Jacobs says a new type of hiring philosophy is becoming more evident--a philosophy which puts emphasis on the effort of the student rather than on campus recruiting. campaigns by employers. Recent Conference At a recent conference of placement directors and employers in the Los Angeles area, representatives of about 50 companies, most of which hire business and liberal Arts graduates, indicated they had job opportunities within their firms for college graduates. However, they indicated to Mr. Jacobs that applicants from own to localities would be used fill their the openings, unless people from other areas contacted them for interviews. This type of self-help effort is paying off in themselves in some of the highest paying positions of all ‘73 graduates. The technical fields have shown a significant increase in number of job openings, while graduates in in the $6,000 to the 1973 job market, while the old wait-andsee philosophy is becoming much less profitable. In every case familiar to Mr. $9,000 category, with relatively few reporting beginning yearly salaries of $10,000 or more. the liberal arts and humanities consistently have a more difficult time in the job market, says Mr. Jacobs. First year teachers have experienced good success this year as well as in the past couple years; though jobs in education are Jacobs in which a student spent his own time and money to arrange interviews on his own, he was offered a position. A record 100 percent of the graduates in the fields of industrial and manufacturing engineering technology and_ diesel mechanics found positions following their graduation with nearly 40 percent of those who answered a questionnaire reporting *“*Any graduate who is good in his field and who puts forth enough effort can find a good job,” says Mr. Jacobs. The placement remaining service at Weber State, as well as at other starting yearly salaries of $10,000 or more. The average starting salary for a graduate of the School of Technology has been about $8,000 or more yearly, according to the placement survey. This includes electronics ee starting salaries of $8,000 and over, with 10 percent of those participating in placement surveys reporting $10,000 or more yearly as their starting salaries. placed by the school itself, and not through of its a business field is accounting. Top accountants in the ‘73 class started with salaries of about $12,000 yearly. About 65 percent of accounting majors reported difficult time finding jobs and more often the necessity to relocate. A common result is that they accept positions not related to the field of their college studies. paying a missions, with the seventh promising to begin recruiting at WSC this year. Also, governmental organizations and private companies hired a good percentage of ‘73 business school graduates. Probably the best career bet in the \ Starting graduates salaries for a little scarce. parts of the country, been few the are generally and far liberal While arts in other teaching jobs have between, Weber State College education graduates have enjoyed a relatively brisk job market. This has been partially due to a rapid rate of turnover in local teaching districts and also due to the fine reputation of WSC teacher graduates, says Mr. Jacobs. Beginning salaries for nine-month contract teachers have been mainly in the $6,000 to $8,000 category with only one and auto mechanics, other attractive and lucrative fields. . Also many technical school graduates are finding jobs in localities of their choice, often in Utah, even though these people seem more willing to relocate than do districts in California, Florida and Hawaii and other states have slowed their recruiting of out-of-state college graduates considerably, now hiring mostly from graduates of the other schools. This trend of colleges within their own states. Most WSC higher salaries, greater choice of jobs and teaching graduates opportunities close to home looks likely to continue for graduates of this rapidlygrowing school, Mr. Jacobs predicts. The outlook also bright for business looks particularly school graduates, especially those with accounting as a speciality. Of the eight largest international accounting firms, six visited the Weber State campus last year on recruiting percent reporting $10,000 or more. The 1973 School are placed in Utah. placement of graduates was colleges, is doing more to emphasize this type of job-hunting technique. The office is open to both students and alumni and offers varied types of help in placing them. Also employers are welcome to contact the placement office to find employees for any part time, full time career or full time ‘temporary positions. Generally, 1973 indications point toward a successful era for the vocational graduates--in technology, business and allied health sciences--with more money and more opportunity in these areas and better results for the ambitious graduates who do. their own job hunting. The 1973 graduates who have been willing to work at the task of finding jobs on their own are finding the future brighter than the one that faced graduates of two or three years ago. . ‘Anyone who is good in his field and who puts forth enough effort can locate a good position after graduation.”’