David Burke dburke@media.ucla.edu
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With graduation and summer approaching quickly, many UCLA
students will soon turn their attention to the job market. I hope I
won’t be one of those students, but since I’ll probably
be searching for a job sometime in the near future I decided that
it was a good time to check out my options. I wanted to find out
what my diploma would be worth once I got into the real world, so I
went online to UCLA’s Jobtrak system and looked at job
openings in areas that correspond to fields of study here at UCLA.
I didn’t look at internships, volunteer positions, or distant
jobs. I focused on job opportunities in full- and part-time
capacities that are based in Los Angeles.
The information I uncovered was extremely surprising,
interesting and often disheartening. Though the Jobtrak system
isn’t the only job search utility, it is one that directly
targets UCLA students. For that reason, I think we can learn a lot
by examining it.
Although there were many areas of study in which a diploma would
guarantee a variety of desirable job opportunities, there were just
as many areas in which a diploma did not open many doors at all. In
one extremely popular area of study, a degree seemed to translate
into zero bonafide job opportunities.
Let’s start with the good news: a degree in computer
science, engineering or education will apparently be greeted with
open arms from the real world. There are plenty of positions
available in engineering or computer science where the only real
requisite is a B.A. degree in either of those fields. In the case
of those majors, a diploma should directly lead to an admirable
job.
There are even more opportunities in the world of education.
School administrators, teachers and people with educational
know-how seem to be in great demand. Although education isn’t
the most vaunted field in the world, it offers many benefits and a
variety of jobs that cater to different specialties of
study. If you’re looking for a job out of college,
teaching is not a bad place to start. It might be much more
enjoyable than an entry level position at an office.
Now for the mediocre news: a degree in business, accounting or a
specific science should provide an adequate amount of opportunities
in the job world. But a degree is not always a sufficient
qualification. Most employers demand at least one year of
experience and fluency in a number of computer programs.
Although those two qualifications are not difficult to obtain,
the students who do not have them upon graduation will face
severely limited employment opportunities. If you are an
underclassman in business or accounting, it would be wise to spend
a year at a job or an internship in your field of interest before
graduation. Gaining experience and familiarity with common computer
programs will also be well worth the time spent.
Now for the “sort of bad” news: English and
political science majors will not have many job opportunities in
their respective fields, at least not in Los Angeles. English
majors will be confined to editing positions and employment with
printing or publishing companies for their primary job
opportunities while political science majors will be interviewing
with elected officials or government agencies. If you are in one of
these two majors and are worried about finding a job after college,
it is a good idea to double major or add a minor in a more
practical field like accounting.
Now for the “Oh crap! I shouldn’t have majored in
communication because it’s easy and there are a lot of
sorority girls in it” news: I have always suspected that
communication studies should not have the designation of
“major,” and it seems like the real world agrees with
me. I could not find one job opportunity in the area of
communications and media that required or even preferred a specific
degree in communication studies. I can’t imagine why. I
thought that my roommate’s communication studies project
comparing the Web sites of two television shows, (one of which was
“Dawson’s Creek”) would have the employers
banging down his door.
Out of the twenty-nine jobs offered in the communications and
media field when I searched Jobtrak, four of them simply required a
B.A. in anything, four of them required a B.A. in business, one
required a B.S. in anything, one required that applicants complete
a television/movie trivia test, and zero required a degree in
communication studies. Perhaps on other days, the degree would
appear in a more favorable light. This time, however, most of the
jobs listed requirements such as “detail oriented,” or
“positive, outgoing personality” as their primary
qualifications. If you are a communication studies major who
will be searching for a job after graduation, you should either go
to law school, learn a marketable skill, or develop an affinity for
Top Ramen and Fanta.
One bit of good news for all future UCLA graduates is that any
sort of college degree will open some doors. Obviously some majors
are more practical and marketable than others, but a diploma from
our fine institution should ensure that there are a sufficient
number of jobs within reach. Even if you don’t have a highly
sought-after degree, computer skills or years of experience, you
shouldn’t worry too much. A desire to succeed and a
willingness to work hard will always get more jobs than some
qualifications on a piece of paper.