Not 10 many yean t go ft was wildy accepted that to
pet a good job, youhadtoceta good education. R:t?
Today-net a decade latcr-tmtj are Ending they were
not Use only ones who thought that way. Its result if
too many graduates and cot enough jobs,
Students who have completed anywhere frcea three to
five yean of undergraduate work are fcarnss that the
career that they chose ts a freshman h Cocded by fc&
applicants.
Another heartache is the rea!iza!ica that their
ft- t. -1 . a . ...
vnuxion crgrce means amiost nciiisg. teelr cany
graduates with a bachelors degree wthcut ajc5 ia their
cawoixc3C5ieaa a Dsct5crcr era secre
tary causes aony.
For students the time to realize the odds they w3 face
after graduation is before they fca theSr edscatbx To
help with that, we hate questioned the heads of 50
deparUnents, colleges and schools ca campus sad ashed
for a prediction of the job outlook ia their dJrrfp&e. We
include here not only job prospects, but charges ia work
ing ; conditions and practices due to techncJczycr tes
tation. Some may be pure speculation, but it shocld gfse the
student an idea of what to expect after recemas that little
piece of gold embossed paper, supposedly his key to -success
and the world.
(Third Dimension writers Rich Tica, Terry Kecfe and
Nancy Stohs and Da3y Nebraakaa reporters Janet Fix and
Mary Jo Howe compiled the information for this story.)
Good news for future teachers, said Robert Egbert,
Teachers College dean. A higher percentage of students
was placed last year than in recent years.
economics, drc;?, alcohol, tobacco, sex cd cultural
awareness.
New emphasis ca wcrkfcs women, consamcriani, food
services, day care programs and rehydration make the
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Acthcny, Home Economies CcHegs deaa.
Te are geared to human terriers, and there will
ahsrays be a need for that," she said.
Changes ia employment opportunities are ia all de
partments. Anyone with training ia the area of conaunsnenani will
be ia demand by the gorcrnrnent to serve ia consumer
agendas, she fnnlr
"I thkk there is a trend for continued growth ia the
e!d of home economics because more women are
working cutaide the home. Salaries are improving
primarily because of sax ifiscrimfnalion laws, she said.
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Interior desnars must follow new building projects.
That's where the jobs are found," says Audrey Newton,
chairwoman of the Fashion llerchandising and Design and
Textiles, Clothing, and Desfga Dept.
Jobs ia faahioa merchandising usually are in cities
where there are more people and more buying, said
Newton. Siwdents must be wiling to move and make a
commitment over a period of time. Those who are inter
ested in working only one to five years will have difficulty
finding a job.
Interior design recently received accreditation. Stu
dents cow must take an exam similar to architect and law
exams.
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Summaries of the job prospects, changing work conditions,
expected salaries in 50 fields of study
Because of Title DC, the legislation mandating equal
opportunities for women, there is a desperate shortage of
women physical education teachers and coaches, Egbert
said. Other undersupplied areas include science, math, in
dustrial arts, elementary special education, speech path
ology and auiology, music and to some extent, English.
Getting the jobs means going where they are, Egbert
said. That means small communities in many cases.
A decrease in enrollment in Teachers College may have
helped cause the upswing in job opportunities, Egbert
said. There are 3,000 undergraduate majors now. In 1960
70, there were 5,000.
"There will always be jobs in the field of education,
he said. "No matter what, parents want a good education
for their children.
A program called "lifelong learning," a movement to
continue education for adults beyond teh school, and the
community college concept could open new jobs.
Programs for four-year-olds may also develop in the
near future, la a recent Gallop poll, the American
public was asked if four-year-olds should be educated, and
the majority answered "yes, Egbert said. .
"As more of these new areas open up, well see more
opportunities for teachers ia national education," he said.
Within the profession, work conditions are jahangssg
due to unionization. Teachers now have more fringe bene
fits such as life insurance, sahatticah, extra pay for extra
duty and ability to negotiate salaries. -
More teachers also wO be needed who can deal with
handicapped children. Recent legislation requires that all
children be provided with equal education opportunities.'
This means physically and mentally handicapped children
will be placed in regular classrooms under local schools
responsibility. .....
Student rights are another new area of legislation
that will affect education, as well as pressure from special
interest groups who want to see more instruction ia
Recent textile legislation affects both fields, said
Newton. There is much controversy among manufactur
ers, businessmen, and consumers over standards for textile
expedally flammabHity.
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Human services and food are areas that people always
will need a tot of help with, said Hazel Fox, chairwoman
of the Food and Nutrition Dept. "So jobs for dieticians
and nutritionists will be available.
The health area has expanded greatly over the past ten
years largely due to government programs. New jobs have
been found in government nutrition agencies, preventive
medicine programs, Medicare, Hsadstart and day-care
programs. Many new opportunities would open if a nat
ional health plan goes into effect, Fox said.
Ia Lincoln, the Senior Diners program, providing meals
for the elderly, and an expansion in the Lincoln Co-op
Extension service to help low-income families, has created
a need for training of paraprofesssQnals in nutrition.
There are many jobs advertised for these students, said
Fox, but the student must be willing to go where they are.
The Lincoln and Omaha job market is tight, she said.
Students who want to work in day care centers, elem
entary education, youth services, and other community
service programs can look forward to a favorable job
market, said Helen Sulek, Human Development and
Family Dept. chahwoman.
The good outlook results from federal funding for
expansion of programs, especially in child care, Sulek said.
The trend is toward new programs for persons of all
ages, from infant care to the elderly.
Although exmpbyment opportunities in the teaching
field are slimmer, there axe some openings ia colleges.
Students must be willing to explore in other states. The
Jobf are good if they go where they arc, she stressed.
Since 1970, enrollment in the human development and
family dept. has nearly doubled. The graduate to job ratio
is "comfortable now, Sulek sail.
ID C3
The field of careers ia the life sciences offers a steady
jsb market ia the future, according to director of the
school, Russel Meints,
The explosion in the emfironmental sciences a few
years ano caused the need for environmental quality
control experts. This market has not yet reached its peak.
There are increasing opportunities in the pThate and
public sectors. The next 10 to 15 years may show a need
by tranufacturmg plants and industry for errvironmenta
specialists. Predictions are that each industry will employ
its own specialist as wO the government, doing the watch
dogfcg.
The other major area of life science employment will
be research. Cancer and other health puzzles have supplied
additional employment.
Those interested in professional fields of medicine can
look forward to a steady career demand, if they are willing
to go to rural areas and small communities.
"Within Nebraska alone, especially in the western part
of the state, there are great possibilities and potentials,
said Russel Meints, director of the School of Life
Sciences. Hut the student who wants to work in the
larger cities can expect a lighter job market.'
National statistics may appear to show an abundance
of physicians, but this does not indicate vast under staffing
in urban areas.
The demand for dentists will change little in the near
future. Extensive national health insurance could increase
the demand.
The future sees dental assistants used more and in
different roles which allow the dentist to see more
patients. Dentists will likely fill fewer cavities as more
communities fluoridate their water supplies, and preven
tive dentistry and orthodontics will become more import
ant. Dentists will treat more periodontal disease earlier.
But such changes will take a long time.
There is such a backlog of oral disease, said Dr.
Richard E. Bradley, dean of the UNL Dental College.
There are billions of cavities in this country, and you
don't fill those overnight."
Equipment costs will continue to increase. Silver and
gold used now in dental work might well be replaced by
highly improved plastic materials.
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According to a Dept. of Lzbor occupational handbook,
all types of nursing employment are expected to increase
through the 1920s. Registered Nurses will have favorable
employment opportunities, although competition for the
more desirable, higher paying jobs will increase. Licensed
Practical Nurses, working under the direction of physi
cians and RiL's, will find very good employment oppor
tunities through about 1985. The employment of nursing
aids and orderlies also will increase. The increase in health
care positions is due to the rapid rise and expansion of
public and private health insurance plans.
As a chemist, you probably will work in one of three
areas in the future: private industry, government control
agencies Or ever-increasingly, medical fields.
"We are learning more and more about how the life
process is really just a form of chemistry," said G&mistry
Dept. Chairman G.G. Meisels. He referred to current re
search in disease diagnosis and cure.
A fourth area might be energy-independent govern
ment installations The academic market wiH remain tight.
Chemists will take more personal responsibility in shap
ing environmental and drug control in the future, done in
the past mostly by politicians. In medicine, chemists
probably wiH work as teams with other technological
specialists.
The overall job market looks "very strong, Meisels
said. Unemployment in chemistry has never exceeded 1 .8
per cent. Starting salaries for the chemist with a PhD-,
now $20,000, are expected to increase.
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Dr. Edward Zimmerman, advisor ia the Physics Dept.,
said that job prospects for graduates with majors in phy
sics have been improving, although the openings for
physicists are few. Someone with a B.S. in physics is not a
physicist, he pointed out.
"Those that terminate at the US. level do engineer
ing. . jor do what liberal arts majors might do, Zimmer
man said. Many students combine a physics major with
another degree, such as business.
Zimmerman said that he thought expanding areas of
physics ia the future would be optics and radiation,
following the emphasis of solar power, and solid state
electronics for science and industry. .
There are limited jobs for architects, unlimited jobs
for engineers and arts and sciences majors, especially in
math and science, said Major Henry Ghnsten, assistant pro
fessor of aerospace studies.
The need for qualified geologists is ever increasing, ac
cording to SJL Treves, chjiirn of the Geology Dept.
Enrollments ia geology have increased across the country
in the past few years, and UNL estimates its enrollment is
higher than it has been in the past 15 years.
The basis for this interest: concern for environmental
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