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perspectives
f riday September 26, 1SC0
Counselors face worries about jobs, careers
By Mary Louise Krupp
As inflation continues to tike bigger
bites out of the American paycheck and
unemployment continues to rise, more stu
dents are seeking career counseling, chang
ing their majors ami working to put them
selves through school
Frank llaUgren, director of the Career
Planning and Placement office in the Ne
braska Union, said that more students than
ever are coming in for counseling.
"More students are concerned about
what is going to happen to thern, he said.
"Most of the people we see fall into two
categories-those who have absolutely no
idea what they want to do and those who
want to sharpen their skills in the field
they have already chosen.
HaUgrcn saM that many students he has
seen feel that they must get a job in the
field they have a major or a degree in.
This is not absolutely necessary, he
said. "There are many alternatives to the
specific job a student has been trained for
t student can often get a very closely relat
ed job if he cant get the specific one."
"We don't see many freshmen, IbH
gren said. "The ones we do see want us to
predict what fields will be good ones to go
into, and that is usually not possible.
I IA LLC REN SAID today's students are
more interested in getting work with
established corporations than were their
counterparts of the 1960's.
"I've never seen the office boycotted,
though, he said. "There has always been a
certain amount of interest, at least among
students here in Lincoln, in established
firms.
Ilallgren said he has noticed more stu
dents entering the business and engineering
fields, and a higher percentage of arts and
sciences majors are going to graduate or
professional schools.
"I have not noticed a large number of
students leaving their profession in order to
find one that pays them better, he said. "1
certainly haven't seen anyone leaving
journalism school to go into engineering. 1
think most students are more concerned
about finding a job that makes them an
adequate living and gives them satisfac
tion. Barbara Kerr, assistant professor of
counseling psychology, advises both stu-
xM-1.08 ( A
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dents and guidance counselors in job-seeking
skills. She said she tells students to
major in a field they will enjoy.
"1 HAVE seen a large number of stu
dents change their majors because someone
has told them that there was no future in
the field they were in, Ken said.
"Because students were told five yean
ago that the teaching field was overcrowd
ed, we now have a shortage of teachers,
she said.
"Many students today are moving out
of the liberal arts fields into business or
engineering, and, of course, those fields too
will eventually become overcrowded.
Ken said she believes the insecurity of
the job market has been overplayed.
"Since the first baby boom is now past
-and the population has fallen quite sub
stantially since then-in about 15 years
there will not be enough people to fill all
jobs, she said.
Kerr said students seem much less ideal
istic and less oriented toward social service
and liberal arts careers than they were in
1973, when she began counseling at the
University of Mississippi.
KERR SAID that many students,
especially those in the fine arts, feel that
they are part of an "over supply' of liberal
arts majors, and that they are locked out of
the job market.
"This is not true at all, Kerr empha
sized. "There are jobs out there, and there
always will be jobs. My advice is for stu
dents to become very, very good at a field
they enjoy-not to choose a career on the
basis of what sells."
But Phyllis Bernt, a UNL English in
structor, feels she needs a second degree
in accounting.
"There is no future in what I am doing
now, she said. "1 originally trained my
self to teach and do research in Victorian
literature, but after several years of looking
for jobs in that field, 1 gave up because
there were none to be had.
Bernt, who now teaches composition
and introductory literature courses, is tak
ing six hours of accounting classes this
semester, and expects to be finished with
her training in two years.
"I hope to get a position as a certified
public accountant, she said.
Bernt said that the English field was
"beginning to go bad" when she started
teaching seven years ago.
"However, I grusted my teachers, who
predicted a rosy future and said that 'there
is always room for good people. 1 didn't
find this to be the case," she said.
Officials say
jobs are fewer; effort rewarde
By Mary Kempkes
The Number of jobs offered to UNL
students is down from last year but better
than this summer, according to university
and Lincoln employment officials.
Lincoln industrial firms are offering
fewer jobs to students and retail jobs are
snapped up quickly, said Mrs. Gail Wheel
er, off-campus employment advisor for the
Financial Aids Office.
Mrs, Wheeler said she has placed about
59 students in off-campus jobs since Aug.
15. Last year, she placed 173 students
within about the same time period.
The number of jobs listed with Mrs.
Wheeler by Lincoln businesses declined
from 369 last year to 155 this year. Em
ployers call with about 8 new jobs a day
compared with 12 a day last year, she said.
. .The only reason I can see is that the
economy is still in somewhat of a depress
ed state. We really havent moved out of
the recession we've been in the lsat few
months.'
BUT THE reduced number of jobs
hasn't caused a problem yet, she said,
because there aren't as many students look
ing for jobs.
A pinch on the area summer jobs sent
some students home and has others
requesting more financial aid this fall.
There were fewer traditional summer
jobs-construction and industrial labor-due
to the depressed economy, said Gene
Landkamer, manager of Nebraska Job
Service in Lincoln.
July unemployment in Lincoln was 4
percent, less than the national rate of 7.6
percent but still high for an agricultural
state, Landkamer said. Lincoln unemploy
ment in August fell to 3.7 percent,
"This summer, there was high unem
ployment among students," he said.
"Early this spring, we were swamped and a
lot of those (students) ended up going
home for the summer and getting jobs
there.
MRS. WHEELER said, "I started notic
ing the effect of the change in the econ
omy last March because we were making
contacts about summer jobs and not get
ting them."
She said in March of 1979 about 30 in
dustrial employers listed jobs through her
office but none returned this year.
Inability to get jobs last summer deplet
ed some student bank accounts, said Larry
Apel, on -campus employment advisor, and
more students are looking for on-campus
jobs, work study and financial aid.
Apel said most campus jobs are filling
up fast.
The big campus employers-food ser
vice with 450 students, housing with 610
and the unions with 205-have few open
ings left. The total number of students
employed on campus, including work
study students, is about 2,500, Apel said.
He said, "people, had every-summer
jobs that they thought they could go back
to and found out they couldn't so more
kids are coming in (for financial assist
ance)." The number of students employed by
work -study increased from 1,100 last
year to 1 ,400, said Doug Severs, assistant
director of financial aids. The number of
students accepting work-study as part of
their financial aid packet increased from
50 to 60 percent, Severs said, partly
because jobs downtown are scarce.
AND SEVERS hopes the economy will
increase the efficiency of work-study em.
ployees. Many students who have a job
downtown pay less attention to their work
study jobs,he said.
"If the job market is really tight down
town, students will take the (work-study)
position that they have and really work
it."
Students who look hard enough can still
find jobs. "We don't have a great number
of opportunities for part time jobs for
students but many are gotten by know
ledge from friends who knew about the
job," Landkamer said.
"Be a little more versatile about the job
one might accept "he said. "A job is better
than no job."
Lincoln has traditionally been kind to
students concerning jobs, Landmaker said,
and retailers are still hiring students
although manufacturers are not.
Apel said students seeking jobs should
check the bulletin board outside the Finan
cial Aids Office.
"There are quite a few jobs on the
board right now," he said, "especially
off-campus, so we think they're having
their own luck and when jobs get tight
off campus they'll come to us."
Apel recommended students check the
board at least once a day because it is
updated regularly.
The first few weeks of the semester is
the best time to look for jobs, Apel said,
because student jobs have hirfi turnover
rates.