page 2
daily nebraskan
monday, march 9, 1931
High-paying jobs make graduate students scarce
By Reid Warren
The engineering field is currently a "hot" item in
nationwide employment circles because of the high de
mand for quality engineering graduates.
But the high demand is a double-edged sword that
cuts right to the heart of problems the UNL Engineering
College is now facing.
Many engineering graduates are being offered $20,000
to $25,000 right after college.
Most students, rather than suffer relatively poor paying
years as graduate students, are accepting higher paying
jobs.
Those high-paying jobs are leading to a shortage of
graduate students, which leads to a shortage of professors,
according to Edward Anderson, UNL's associate dean of
Engineering and Technology and director of the Engjneer
ign Research Center.
"There's no question about it," Anderson said, "it's a
problem of extreme consequences.
"Graduate studies are based on economic reasons. It's
a fact of life today.
"Nobody comes to graduate school to get rich,"
Anderson said. "You have to consider what it costs to
live. Somebody has to put groceries on the table."
And because engineers are in such high demand today,
Anderson said, it's hard for a graduate to accept low pay
in lieu of a higher offer.
Making the problem more serious is the fact that many
graduate students quit school after achieving their
master's degree, and forego a doctorate.
Many teaching jobs
Anderson said that last year there were 60 people
to fill 400 nationwide job openings to teach mechanical
engineering.
"We fell short 330 to 340 teaching jobs," he said, be
cause only 20 percent of 350 graduates went into edu
cation, the rest entering private industry.
'You can stand that for a while, but it has reached a
point where trimming (graduate students) further cuts
into the quality of education."
Jim Blease has one more year before he receives a
master's degree in chemical engineering.
Chance for experience
The temptation to accept a $23,000 job after gradua
tion was strong, Blease said, but graduate school offered
him a chance for practical experience and valuable re
search, not to mention a still higher paying job after his
degree.
But Blease said that a master's degree is where he draws
the line, for now, in furthering his education.
"I'm giving into the pressure matter," he said. "This
is where 1 have to cut out.
"I wouldn't consider acadcmia unless I have been in
industry for a while" Blease said. "The financial re
ward is much greater (in industry)."
Blease said his graduating class totaled about 30 stu
dents, and that there are now five full-time graduate
students with three coming from Taiwan.
And just one of the students is going after a doctorate,
Blease said.
Teachers retiring
This is a critical situation at UNL because, according to
Anderson, "we're looking at a large amount of faculty re
tirement (in engineering) in the near future."
And the money shortage the engineering college is fac
ing worsens the problem.
"It's a multi-pronged problem," Anderson said.
"Rather than let the quality decline, we're servicing fewer
students."
But Anderson stressed money is not the only cause of
problems.
"Money certainly helps," he said, "but even if we
lured 100 percent of the people we graduated, we'd still
have shortages."
Mona I've finally
decided where I'd like
to make my
career: State Farm!
State Farm?
Great Plowshares!
You're going to be
a soil tiller.
Living an
agrarian
lifestyle!
Come on now!
!f 'i Virgil, you're going
Ul I II IUIUI lOfc? lrrvO
1 'm' '7- y , . :s3v Hnu mi 1 in vni iv
Even if they'd
have you . . .
N; Til
I rt
3 jf i
Mona, there's more to insurance than
selling policies. Insurance is
opportunity.
'P State Farm is
looking for people
interested in a data
processing career. I
p don't have a computer
science degree but I do
have six hours of data
processing courses. So
qualify!
SIATI FARM
INSUI ANC I
Virgil,
you're
putting
me on.
No way, Mona. State
Farm is looking for men
and women with
any degree and
six to nine hours
of data process
, ing courses.
A Of course,
you've got to
be interested in
a data
processing
career.
sGood grief! They're
wl 1 II MVWI WUJ
A
No, but they're also interested in
people in mathematics,
? accountma. law and
actuarial sciences.
Incidentally,
the pay is
great!
Uh. Virgil, wear a clean pair
of jeans to the interview.
To get details on career opportunities for computer programmer analysts and auditors contact
your Campus Placement Director or visit the State Farm Recruiter Our representative will be
on campus March 10. 1981.
STATE FARM INSURANCE COMPANIES Home Offices Btoomington. Illinois An Equal Opportunity Employer
Amlprnn said if faculty salaries were doubled m.,.
still would be teaching spots that stayed empty.
Engineering and Technology Interim Dean Lyle I;.
Young called it a matter of supply and demand.
The engineering college will suffer shortages, Young
said, until it can supply enough money to fulfill students
demands.
"It's very difficult to keep students to go for a master's
degree," Young said.
"I would think we'd be able to increase the percentage
of graduate students if they could get at least half the
money (that is offered by industry)."
Anderson also said there is no real economic advantage
to becoming a professor.
Trend to continue
Anderson said he predicted the trend won't stop tor
another 20 to 30 years.
"I don't see it stopping for a long time," he said.
"We're eroding away with even more slots becoming avail
able. "Salaries just keep getting better and better and the de
mand keeps increasing.
"This is just the crest of the wave. What's going to
follow 1 don't know."
Increasing the problem is the fact that society is he
joining more technological each day, Anderson said.
"Our scientific literacy is decreasing, but our daily
livelihood is based on technology."
Anderson said he would like to see courses offered to
non-engineering majors, much the same way literature
courses are offered to non-English majors. But the money
is not there.
"I would like to see it happen," Anderson said, "but I
don't see that as happening." .
Gasohol overview
conference subject
Technological advances in the production and use of
agriculturally derived fuel alcohol will be the focus i a
conference March 12-13 at the Nebraska Center for Con
tinuing Education.
Sponsored by the Nebraska Gasohol Committee, the
CNE Energy Research and Development Center and the
CN'E Division of Continuing Studies, the conference is
designed to provide an overview of new production hvh
nology, alcohol fuel use project financing and gasohol
marketing.
Topics such as the use of Nebraska geothermai te
sources in alcohol production and the dehydration of
ethanol with cornmeal will be discussed in the production
session of the conference. The session on fuel use will in
clude aviation applications for alcohol fuels, the potential
for using vegetable oil'in diesel engines and a report on the
"sonic nozzle," a device that allows the use of ethanol in
diesel engines. Marketing and financing sessions will
identify ethanol and by-product markets as well as federal
sources for project financing.
Now Accepting
Applications for the
Position of
1981-1982
Advertising Director.
It's not easy, but you'll gain rewarding)
experience in organizing and leading a
department of over 15 persons. This is
an eleven month position commensurate
with University holidays and with one
month off during the summer. Ad
vertising and Marketing majors are esp
ecially encouraged to apply.
Applicants should be familiar with the
Guidelines for the Student Press adopted
by the Board of Regents, and copies will
be made available at the Daily Nebras
kan. Applications should be returned to
the Daily Nebraskan, Room 34, Nebras
ka Union. Application deadline is Mon
day, March 9, at noon.