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April 2, 2004 > News > Seniors consider work alternatives as hiring improves but remains slow

Seniors consider work alternatives as hiring improves but remains slow

By Katherine Corley | Thresher staff

As seniors are counting down their last three weeks of class at Rice, some will choose to avoid the weak job market by pursuing programs like the Peace Corps or Teach for America. But for those that chose the traditional career route, most have found the job market is improving, but still tough.

Sid Richardson College senior Cathy Hoang, a chemical engineering major, said she may work for Air Liquide, an industrial gas company. Hoang said the selectivity of the interview process shows that companies are still cautious with their recruitment and hiring.

“It’s still a pretty tight market,” Hoang said. “For the most part, companies are still hiring fewer new folks. Also, they are being extremely selective with whom they invite to do on-site interviews — they just don’t have the money to spend bringing in people that ‘might’ be a good fit.”

However, Career Services Director Cheryl Matherly said an increase in on-campus recruitment this year is resulting in a higher number of serious job offers, a sign that the market may be on the upswing.

“We are seeing more active interest on the part of companies in terms of hiring, and we’re seeing greater numbers of companies coming back to campus to recruit,” Matherly said. “There’s more diversity, and the job offers are more serious than we’ve seen in the last three years.”

Matherly said despite the sluggish economy, most seniors will have solid postgraduation plans before walking across the stage.

“Rice students are incredibly resourceful,” Matherly said. “There are very few students who, at graduation, have absolutely no idea of what they’re going to do. Instead, in the last few years, if there’s any good thing out of this bad economy, it has opened up people to think more creatively about their options.”

Some students who found jobs said obtaining a position requires more than just a résumé. Brown College senior Kevin Bailey, who will be working for BP as an energy trader, said making contacts in the business world is essential.

“Finding a job these days is really all about networking,” Bailey said. “I interviewed for my job after meeting an exec for BP at a Rice Career Services luncheon. I hadn’t even applied [for the job] yet, and I interviewed the same day as the luncheon in jeans and tennis shoes. I was called back for a ‘Super Saturday’ event on the BP campus a few weeks later.”

Some seniors will be pursuing other options rather than battling the job market. Jones College senior Ashley Rodriguez said she will pursue a Master’s degree at the London School of Economics.

“I chose my particular program because I didn’t feel ‘done’ with school, as in there were still subjects and issues I wanted to explore,” Rodriguez said. “Along with being in an exciting area of the world, [LSE] affords you one of the most important things in choosing the right path in life for you: experience and exposure. It’s a good time to explore the world and yourself before you settle down to a nine-to-five or worse.”

Others see graduate or professional school as a step toward a specific career. Will Rice College senior Amanda Hugh said she plans to enter law school and eventually pursue a dual career as a professor and public interest attorney.

“I came to Rice with the intention of going to law school,” Hugh said. “It’s something I’ve been interested in since high school. I’d really like to teach at a law school while working in public interest law, putting theory into practice.”

Finally, a small but growing percentage of seniors are choosing programs such as the Peace Corps and TFA.

Associate Director of Career Services Jackie Hing said the current job market may be encouraging seniors to take a closer look at options other than the traditional career path.

“Peace Corps, the Japan Exchange and Teaching program, and TFA are no longer fallback positions,” Hing said. “[Seniors] don’t have a job [that they] know will be there. There’s also a thought process that goes into it: ‘The job market’s tough, how would I like to best use this time?’”

Seniors who decide to apply to such programs often want to take advantage of their current lack of attachments. Lovett College senior Greg Mitchell, who will be joining the Peace Corps, said he sees graduation as an opportunity for adventure.

“I have always had it in the back of my mind to join the Peace Corps,” Mitchell said. ”It is one of those things where I have heard people say, ‘Oh, I wish I had done that.’ Well, I never want to have any regrets. I think this would be a challenging adventure, and it is the perfect time in my life to do this.”

Hanszen College senior Geneva Rhee is applying to TFA, which would commit her to two years of teaching in a low-income school in a rural or urban area. Rhee said she decided she wants to channel her time and energy into something other than a long-term job.

“I was … afraid that if I ended up going to grad school or getting a job, I’d get too tired or too comfortable,” Rhee said. “I did contemplate going to grad school and getting an advanced degree in education, but my interests were way too vague. I think that participating in a program like TFA could help me streamline my interests.”

Hoang said even with a secure job offer, she will not be settling down by any means.

“This is really the time in our lives when we have the flexibility to do what we really want,” Hoang said. “I think 21- or 22-years-old is a little early to be deciding exactly what you want to do with the rest of your life. It’s good to keep your options open.”

According to the 2003 Career Services Post-Graduate Survey, 50 percent of seniors graduating in 2003 had secured employment by graduation. Forty-three percent went to graduate school or professional school, with the top three choices being medicine, engineering and law. Among the final 7 percent, a number chose programs such as JET, Peace Corps and TFA.

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