Nearly 5,000 University of Wisconsin undergraduates will achieve alumni status this spring to either enter the work force or attend grad school, which some students say they will do to dodge the “real world.”
Despite a stunted economy, various departments report employment opportunities for UW graduates are stable, if not greater than last year.
Letters and Sciences Career Services director Ann Groves Lloyd said nearly graduated seniors from L&S boast a positive outlook toward a job market that has improved from last year.
“It certainly seems to be a pretty good year with the job market,” Groves Lloyd said. “We had our spring job fair in April and had a record number of employers attend.”
Groves Lloyd added while some L&S alumni do not graduate directly into employment due to lack of preparation, many do find jobs within a few months.
Other UW departments have experienced the same trend within their own graduating classes.
Director of Career Services for the School of Business Karen Stauffacher said she has also seen employment opportunities increase from years past.
“It’s been a really strong year,” Stauffacher said. “The past three years had been really repetitive.”
Stauffacher added on-campus recruiting for business-school graduates is up 10 percent from last year and salaries have increased 11 percent. She also said average signing bonuses have risen 21 percent to $4,000.
While 51.4 percent of UW School of Business graduates entered directly into employment last spring, nearly 15 percent are still seeking employment. Meanwhile, 15 percent of the business school’s 2004 graduating class is continuing their education in graduate school.
Stauffacher said many business-school graduates enter graduate school or remain unemployed because they refuse to settle for entry-level positions that may not fit their preferences.
“Some students have very, very specific goals in mind.” Stauffacher said. “But the job market is really good [and] the students know that. So when it comes to students being panic-stricken — I don’t think that’s the case.”
UW senior Rachel Seltzer, a conservation biology and English major, will be working for the River Alliance of Wisconsin in Madison during the summer months following graduation, but said she may enter graduate school if she cannot acquire a job with the specific profile she is looking for.
“I’m going to see how I fare it out in the real world first,” Seltzer said. “If I hate the real world, I guess I’ll go to graduate school — probably law school.”
Seltzer added she would love to stay with the River Alliance, but as a small non-profit, it doesn’t have room in its budget to employ her past August.
“Really, I’m just not willing to compromise right now. I feel it’s too early.” Seltzer said. “I know exactly what I want to do, so I’m going to keep looking for it until I get desperate.”
Seltzer is searching for employment with an environmental non-profit in the Milwaukee area focusing on policy issues and outreach.
Groves Lloyd said the number of L&S alumni who enter graduate school varies with the economy, but “I don’t think it has been as great as last year [because] the job market was worse.”
