Volume 1 Issue 2 June 2005 |
|
 |
 |
 Half
of Hiring Managers Plan to Recruit New Employees in Q3
CareerBuilder.com has released the results of its latest survey tracking
projected hiring and job search activities for the upcoming quarter. The
survey, "Q3 2005 Job Forecast," indicated that 75% of hiring managers
had added workers over the last six months to expand operations, support
new product launches, improve customer service, and drive more revenue.
Although tracking below projections for the second quarter, hiring
activity for the third quarter is expected to remain strong. While 39%
of hiring managers are electing to slow recruitment over the summer
months, one-half of hiring managers anticipate increasing their staffs.
The leading areas for new job requisitions include healthcare, sales,
accounting/finance, information technology, retail and customer service.
All of these areas offer interesting career paths for those with degrees
in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics.
Chemical
Engineer Profile: Deborah Grubbe
 Deborah
Grubbe has worked as a chemical engineer for twenty-seven years and
currently is Vice President of Group Safety for BP -- the fifth largest
company in the world. Deborah recently joined BP and previously worked
for DuPont. At DuPont she held director level positions in operations,
engineering management, and safety. Her responsibilities in all of these
positions, at both BP and at DuPont, include setting strategic direction
and actions to support business success. She started her career with
summer jobs at various firms. "I tried to find out what I wanted to do,"
Deborah explains. "I was not well suited to research, so I explored
design engineering. But my skills in design were not yet advanced enough
and I moved on to work at a plant in manufacturing. I found that I
really enjoyed this work, the interaction with people, and the
implementation of engineering concepts."
Asked what she considers the most rewarding thing about being an
engineer, Deborah replied, "I have a great job and meet great people! I
travel all over the world, and get to know folks in China, Japan,
Australia, and Brazil. Engineering is really very, very special work,
and it helps the world be a better place, too. I have worked on super
projects that make things that save people's lives!"
Deborah's advice to students is to take all the math and science courses
they can get their hands on. She also recommends adding a foreign
language. Read more about
Deborah Grubbe under Sloan Career Cornerstone Center
"Profiles of
Chemical Engineers."
Hiring
Up 13% for Class of 2005
2005 college
graduates have reason to be optimistic about their job prospects:
Employers expect their college hiring for 2004-05 to surpass that of
2003-04 by 13%, according to a new study published by the
National Association of Colleges and
Employers (NACE).
 Overall,
61.4% of respondents to "Job Outlook 2005 Spring Update" expect to hire
more new college graduates in 2004-05 than they hired in 2003-04.
Service sector employers project the most positive hiring picture: On
average, they plan to hire 13.9% more new college graduates in 2004-05
than they did in 2003-04. Manufacturers paint a similarly positive
picture: On average, they plan to hire 13.4% more graduates this year
than they did in 2003-04. By region, employers in the Midwest predict
the biggest increase, projecting college hiring to increase by 15.1%
over 2003-04 levels. Employers in the West and Northeast report similar
increases in their college hiring.
Given the positive hiring
projections, it's not surprising that more than three-quarters of
employers reported an increase in competition for hiring new college
graduates. "We've seen evidence of increased competition in terms of
starting salary offers," says Camille Luckenbaugh, NACE research
director. "About half of employers told us that they had raised or would
be raising their starting salaries, and we've seen average starting
salary offers rise this year in a number of disciplines." And there are
signs that competition will carry over to next year's college graduates.
Degree
Profile: Mathematics
Business, industry, and government use mathematical expertise, often in
the context of applications. However, the job titles often do not
include the word "mathematics" or "mathematician," but do involve
significant use of mathematics and/or quantitative reasoning. For people
with advanced degrees in mathematics, careers involve development of new
mathematical methods and theories and application to almost every area
of science, engineering, industry and business. Those who major in
mathematics in undergraduate institutions find a broad variety of
opportunities. Some use their mathematical training directly and some
use their training in rigorous thinking and analysis indirectly to solve
problems in the business sector.
 The
use of mathematics is pervasive in modern industry. The result is that
mathematicians are found in almost every sector of the job market,
including engineering research, telecommunications, computer services
and software, energy systems, computer manufacturers, aerospace and
automotive, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, and government laboratories,
among others. The spectrum of the field is perhaps best illustrated by
observing the role of mathematics as it applies to different
products. Find out more about careers in
Mathematics and explore
profiles of
Mathematicians on the Sloan Career Cornerstone Center.
(Note: The
Mathematical Moments Program of the American
Mathematical Society promotes appreciation and
understanding of the role mathematics plays in science, nature,
technology, and human culture.)
Middle
and High School Students Need College and Career Plans
 Many
of America's middle and high school students need more help from schools
to effectively plan for the future, according to a recent study by ACT.
The study suggests that many students don't start thinking about their
post-high school plans early enough, and that those who do may not be
taking the right classes to prepare to meet their goals.
The results of the study, a survey conducted among nearly 3,000 middle
school and high school students in six different states, show that close
to one-fourth (22%) of eighth and ninth grade respondents had not yet
even thought about their post-high school plans, let alone planned a
program of study to help them meet their goals. In addition, only
two-thirds of the students who were planning to attend college said they
were taking a college preparatory program of study in high school. Only
slightly more -- seven in 10 -- had begun to consider ways to finance
college or training. "There is clearly a disconnect between students'
post-high school goals and their plans to meet those goals," said
Richard J. Noeth, director of ACT's Office of Policy Research. "The most
important element for middle and high school students in preparing for
the future is to take the right courses, and too few are doing that
now."
The ACT report, titled "College Readiness Begins in Middle School,"
suggests one reason students are not planning properly is that they may
not be relying on their schools for guidance. The study found that
students are relying more on parents and friends than on trained school
personnel for help in selecting their high school classes. Fewer than
two-thirds (63%) of respondents said they received help from a guidance
counselor in selecting their classes, and around one-fourth (27%) said
they were helped by a principal. In comparison, the overwhelming
majority named their mother (92%), father (84%), or friends (85%) as
sources who provided help in selecting high school courses. "Trained
school personnel know what classes students should take to be prepared
for college and careers," said Noeth.
"Parents and friends certainly have the student's best interests at
heart and are strong sources of support, but unless the school district
has a formal parent information program that focuses on educational and
career planning,
parents may not always be well enough informed to provide accurate
advice." See the
complete ACT Policy Report for more details.
Parent
Perspectives on Science and Engineering Career Paths
 The
Bayer Corporation has recently released
"The Bayer Facts of Science Education XI: American Parents Speak Out
About Their Children and Science" as part of its Making Science Make
Sense program. This year's survey examined the issue of
under-representation of women, African-Americans, Native Americans and
Hispanic Americans in science and engineering fields from their parents'
point of view. The survey of American parents who have at least one boy
and one girl between the ages of 5 and 18 living at home found that
parents see science and engineering careers as desirable for their sons
(91%) and their daughters (86%). And, upon learning that many jobs in
these fields do not require advanced degrees beyond a bachelor's, most
parents (88%) believe these fields present realistic job opportunities
for their children. However, almost all parents across the board (88%)
believe the science and engineering communities need to do a better job
telling today's students about job opportunities. "The science and
engineering communities not only need to do a better job communicating
the myriad job opportunities to students, we need to work much harder at
letting them -- and their parents -- know that we want and need them in
these fields," said Dr. Attila Molnar, Bayer Corporation president and
CEO.
Parents agree. They
believe the science and engineering communities (92%), together with
parents themselves (98%) and others, share responsibility for ensuring
women and minorities succeed in these fields. In addition, many agree
(72%) the science and engineering communities should develop programs
that attract, encourage and retain girls' and minority students'
interest in science and math. Almost all parents (81%) believe science
should be the fourth "R" in elementary school and given the same
emphasis as reading, writing and math.
University
Listings for STEM Degrees Online
 The
Sloan Career Cornerstone Center has recently updated its
listing of universities offering
degree programs for many science, technology, engineering, and
mathematics (STEM) disciplines. All university listings may be viewed
online or downloaded in PDF format for easy sharing in classrooms and
career centers. Listings of variety of accredited Engineering Technology
degree programs are also provided. URLs for each university are also
provided.
Career Cornerstone News is a publication of the
Sloan Career Cornerstone Center. Click here
to subscribe.
|
|
