Recent economic woes haven’t deterred students from pursuing their goals of a college education, even with the debt they may be paying off in the end coupled with the current job market.
“Despite the economy, I still think it’s definitely worth going to college because of the benefits once you get out,” senior Katie Boehnke said. “When you find a job eventually, it’s definitely worth it.”
USD students may have a reason to be confident. According to a press release from the USD Career Development Center, USD students are finding jobs or are participating in graduate programs at a higher rate than most of the nation.
Of the 607 USD students surveyed, 74 percent had already found employment or were enrolled in graduate school versus 68 percent nationally.
Clarence Pederson, interim director of career development, said the trend may be related to jobs that were already in place prior to the economic downturn.
“One of the benefits we have (in South Dakota) is we haven’t been as tied to some of the manufacturing segments as some areas of the country are,” Pederson said.
The survey found the majority of USD graduates who found jobs in their desired fields found work in South Dakota while 14 percent found employment in surrounding states (Iowa, Minn., Neb.). The remainder were employed elsewhere.
According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, recruiting through internships and co-op hiring has been on the rise since November, while the number of hired positions has fallen sharply since December.
Senior Katie Millar, a marketing major, is looking to find a job out of state.
“I’d like to move to Nashville, so I’ve looked mostly at sites for jobs in Tennessee,” Millar said.
Millar said she’s also taken the economy into consideration.
“If (at first) I can’t find a job there, I might find a temporary job in Sioux Falls until I can find a more stable one,” Millar said.
Last Thursday, the South Dakota Association of College Career Centers hosted the Business, Industry, Government Job Fair in Sioux Falls. The BIG event gave students a chance to interact with both major businesses and government entities such as the Transportation Security
Administration, AFLAC, the FDIC and Wells Fargo, among others.
Pederson said students shouldn’t expect an immediate job offer from the event, but rather use it as a way to gain experience.
“I tend to tell people if you think you’re going to go to the fair and get a job that day, you’re going to be disappointed,” Pederson said. “The goal is to go and learn about what opportunities there are and to make connections that they may be able to follow up on.”
While Pederson said the fair was smaller this year, turnout of businesses was good and more than 800 students from local universities attended.
“We (had) over 90 booths filled this year, which I don’t think is a bad turnout,” Pederson said. “And if you look at the list of the employers that (attended), I think they’re very solid employers.”
Pederson said how long a student takes to find a job in their respective career fields depends on the students themselves.
“In many cases, it takes about three to six months,” Pederson said. “But that varies because of the way people decide to do their job search.”
Alan Fritch, CorTrust Bank’s Vermillion Branch vice president and branch manager, said there are ways students can successfully cope with the current economy.
“First thing you have to do is control your spending, whatever your income is,” Fritch said. “Use credit cards responsibly, only put on it what you can pay off in one or two months.”
Fritch said he’s noticed that students in this area do relatively well when it comes to their finances.
“The students I’ve seen around here, a lot of them are very responsible about what they do (with their money),” Fritch said. “There are some that handle their affairs very well and some that need some help, and that’s what banks are here for, to help guide them through.
Fritch said he also believes that despite the economic troubles, the benefits of college are greater than the costs.
“Just like anything else, you get out of it what you put into it,” Fritch said. “If you come here and don’t apply yourself to the school, you won’t get anything out of it, but if you apply yourself you’ll get something out of it and a good result once it’s all over with.”
Reach reporter Rob Nielsen at Rob.Nielsen@usd.edu.
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