Posted on 07/01/2012 3:24:51 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
Andi Meuth earned a history degree from Texas A&M in May and has applied for 150 jobs, so far with no luck.
Jon Ancira graduated with a bachelor's degree in psychology last year, but can't find work that uses his degree. After six months of searching, the 26-year-old did finally land a job — at a bank.
Alex Ricard, 21, is grateful to be using his electronic media degree from Texas State at a social media startup company, but it's an unpaid internship.
He says he's sent out three to five resumes a week for the past two months, with almost no response from prospective employers. When he does hear back, he says, it's most often that he doesn't have enough experience.
While the particulars for each graduate are different, the overarching narrative has become familiar.
Up to half of all recent college grads are jobless or underemployed, doing low-wage work outside their chosen fields, according to a widely reported analysis this spring by the Associated Press.
These young women and men still have high expectations — as do their parents — that a college degree will pay off, despite rising tuition and the resulting debt.
But increasingly, say economists and workforce experts, there is a mismatch in today's job market between graduates' skills and those needed in the fastest-growing career fields.
The recession changed the economy permanently, economists say. In this largely jobless recovery, millions of mid- and entry-level positions are gone, the work now automated.
Many of those with college degrees who do find jobs can expect lower salaries and reduced earning potential over their working lives. Rising debt — the average graduate carries about $25,000 in loans — can push the often-necessary advanced degree out of reach.
Locally, the unemployment rate among 20- to 24-year-olds has been about twice as high as the overall rate.
Psych degree overload
Ricard still holds out hope that his degree will eventually lead to a job, given the increased importance of social media and digital technology, but he has his limits: August.
“If I haven't found something by then,” he said, “even though I'd like to think my days of fast-food jobs are behind me, it becomes less about the job I want and more about the job I need at that point.”
Not all graduates face such dire straits. Those with in-demand degrees in areas such as engineering, information technology and nursing enjoy much brighter job prospects.
Kevin Davis, who earned an electrical engineering degree from the University of Texas at Austin, had three job offers before he graduated in May. He took a job with Toshiba in Houston.
John Hollman will graduate from Austin Community College in December with a two-year associate degree in nursing. The San Antonio native already has two job offers, one from his current employer of nine years, Texas Oncology.
But employers and workforce agencies say the labor market is suffering from a jobs-skills mismatch.
Psychology, for example, is the third-most-popular four-year degree in Texas and one of the fastest growing, according to Workforce Solutions Alamo, a public agency that works to bring people and jobs together.
Problem is, there's almost no demand at that level, said Eva Esquivel, communications manager with the agency.
More than 5,000 people graduated from Texas colleges and universities with bachelor's degrees in psychology in 2010, she said, to compete for four job openings in the field, with an annual salary of $22,000.
“That's not even enough to pay student loans back,” Esquivel said. Most psychology jobs require a higher-level degree — and there still aren't many positions available.
Ancira, who saw some of his psychology research published while studying at Northwest Vista, one of the Alamo Colleges, said he found fewer research opportunities after transferring to UT.
Disenchanted, he looked into changing majors or getting an advanced degree, but the burden of $36,000 in student loans put him off.
Meuth, who lives in San Antonio, said she knew the job market for history majors without a master's degree or teaching certification was limited but decided to go for a major she was passionate about, even in a slumping economy. She wants to work in a museum eventually, which requires a master's, but is putting it off for now to avoid taking out any loans.
Conversely, Texas colleges graduated far fewer engineers than psychology majors in 2010 — just 271 petroleum engineers, according to Workforce Solutions Alamo, and demand far outstrips supply, especially as the Eagle Ford Shale continues to boom.
Starting pay for petroleum engineers averages $85,000, Esquivel said. For the 405 chemical engineers who graduated in 2010, it's about $60,000.
Skills in short supply
Chris Nielsen, president and CEO of Toyota Motor Manufacturing in San Antonio, said the company has struggled to fill engineering positions and points to the healthy starting salary as proof of the competitive nature of the field.
But perhaps more crucially, Nielsen said that in the six years the company has been building trucks in San Antonio, it's never been able to fill all its trade positions, or what it calls “skilled job” positions.
Those include maintaining assembly-line robots, which Nielson said requires training in programming, hydraulics and pneumatics.
These are good, career-track positions, he said, many that pay in the $60,000 range.
Toyota is hardly alone.
Manufacturers surveyed in the latest “Skills Gap” report from the Manufacturing Institute, an affiliate of the National Association of Manufacturers, reported that roughly 5 percent of current jobs go unfilled because of a lack of qualified candidates. That's as many as 600,000 unfilled jobs — machinists, operators, craft workers, distributors, technicians and more — that manufacturers say hamper their ability to expand operations, drive innovation and improve productivity.
Those surveyed said the national education curriculum is not producing workers with the basic skills they need, and the trend is not likely to improve in the near term.
Tom Pauken, appointed to the Texas Workforce Commission by Gov. Rick Perry in 2008, has become a passionate advocate for greater vocational and technical training.
He laments what he calls a “one size fits all” approach to higher education, which assumes that everyone needs a four-year degree.
Those who do are often saddled with enormous debt and still can't find good jobs, he said. “Meanwhile, there is a shortfall of qualified applicants for those with skills training as welders, electricians, pipe fitters and machinists.”
Entry-level salaries for those jobs in the San Antonio area begin in the low- to-mid-$20,000 range, according to Workforce Solutions Alamo, and rise to the upper $40,000s at the expert level.
In San Antonio, Alamo Colleges runs Alamo Academies, which aims to train high school juniors and seniors for skilled employment in fast-growing local industries, including aerospace, information technology and security, manufacturing and the health professions.
The academies, which are a partnership among the community college district, local industry and workforce agencies, also provide college credits, and expose students to occupations that require a college education. Students stay in their high schools, take about half their classes at the academy and participate in a paid internship in their chosen field.
After high school, graduates earn an average starting pay of more than $30,000 and will have earned a couple dozen college credits.
“I tell students they need to do career planning even before education planning,” said Esquivel, who travels a 12-county region talking to high school students about where job growth will occur in the coming years. “I wish more students would take advantage” of the information her agency has to offer.
Luisa Ramirez, the on-campus recruiting coordinator at the University of Texas at San Antonio, said she's seen an increase in freshmen who come to the career center seeking advice, rather than waiting until they're seniors.
“They've seen their parents go through the recession,” she said, “So they're more aware.”
Ancira said many recent graduates might be in for a rude awakening.
“You go to school thinking you're going to graduate and there's going to be a job in an office waiting for you,” he said, “but a few years into it, you realize that's not really going to happen.”
The purpose is not to learn history, just as Izaak Walton's real purpose in fishing was not to catch fish.
History (properly taught) teaches you how to read and digest large amounts of written material, how to write, and how to think analytically. Almost any workplace can use somebody with those talents.
In many places, a history degree is nothing but a "social studies" degree -- b.s. with a politically correct coating. THAT sort of degree is as useless as one in sociology.
:-D Took the words right out of my mouth . . . .
SKILLS are gained through EXPERIENCE
You do NOT need a DEGREE to get EXPERIENCE.
Wait, what? Is math a soft science? -- It's actually called software because it's the changeable/malleable algorithms implemented on the machine, rather than being hard-wired into it.
But I'll consider it. I do not want to return to school; I put myself through it by doing the National Guard and I don't want to do that again (far too much politics).
It’s called liberty. Look it up.
It’s easily a living wage for me here in Texas and I am doing what I enjoy and am building up experience to move up the ladder.
It’s a free country isn’t it?
I understood that from your previous post and I didn’t mean to imply otherwise. We’re in complete agreement all around.
“I am the founder and owner of an industrial electronic manufacturing and product design business.”
Would be nice to have a name so I can be sure never to patronize you. :)
It does tend to, but you’re talking mainly about rice bowl issues. They don’t want to starve to death or lose their independence.
It’s up to us to show them the way out. That way has to be politically viable. Liberals have forced their views on us and the way out isn’t to force our views on the country. Educate them and reason with them, that’s the best way. I think the suggestions that allow young people to get out of SS or those under a certain age are good. We must definitely change medicare.
The GOP and conservatives specifically have got to be nimble and goal oriented. It may take us a dozen steps to undo all the government jumble that’s messed up our country, but we cannot shoot ourselves every time we don’t get 100%.
I’ll take the incremental, but politically possible path every time. A little fiscal conservatism and a little social conservatism a little at a time and all in the correct direction.
Oh, sorry. I misunderstood!
“What’s yours?”
I’m a teacher. I also subcontract data entry work for firms on an as needed basis. I own my own tutoring business. I might not be a millionaire but I’m doing alright. Don’t owe a dime, and run things on cash on hand only.
Wasn’t even touched by the Obama recession when plenty of other folks closed, and the credit crunch was the same. Too many other businesses were running off borrowed credit. Still are in fact.
Unfortunately our ‘team’ (the GOPe) seems to merely want to slow the rate of increase in big government dependence, not turn it around.
We definitely have our work cut out for us...
“Also, with the cost of tuition skyrocketing is it worth going six figures into debt for a BA degree.’
I personally believe a BA has value but not six figures. Six figures today represents the cost of a private school education. There are other alternatives. If I were 18 today, was funding my education, and wanted a degree I’d probably go to the local community college for a 2 year associate degree while working as many hours as I could. I’d then go to a state university for my last two years. Of course I’d also pursue every scholarship program I could identify. Another option would be ROTC.
When my daughter applied to college in the early 2000’s the cost of 4 years at a state school was about $50,000 including room and board. Private school was 2-3 times that depending on the “prestige” of the school. Thanks to her good grades and extracurricular activities in high school she actually ended up with a nice scholarship package from an “up and coming” private school with her net cost at $10,000 per year. She worked all four years while she was in school so with our assistance, her income, and her savings she exited college debt free. She then went to graduate school (state university). She paid for grad school by working and taking out loans. Now she is working two jobs and will have her graduate education paid off less than 3 years after graduating.
Quite frankly I have no sympathy for the Harvard, Duke, Stanford, Vanderbilt, or Columbia graduate with a fresh liberal arts BA and $200,000 in debt. Those students and their parents have exercised poor judgment. I’ve seen first hand it is possible to go to college and not be in debt for life upon graduation. The kids who work their way through a state school, or less prestigious private school, appreciate the value of their education and are much more prepared to compete in the world than the students taking on six figure debt and using their extra time in college to play or participate in Occupy Wall Street.
Look at our president for example. He was given private school undergraduate and graduate school educations at very expensive private institutions. He shows no indication he appreciates those educations or anything else about this country.
I’d be happy with a Court made up of nine Catholics in the mold of Justice Thomas all the live long day!
The next President will likely get to appoint 3 Justices - Ginsburg, Breyer? or even Scalia or Kennedy. Which of them retires will depend on who wins, but Ginsburg is old. The other 3 could hold on, but if Romney takes a second term he’ll get all three for a total of four nominations.
It would be smart for conservatives to start looking for 3 Thomases who can survive the confirmation process. Liberals will fight like mad, but if you can appoint the right Justices, the Court will then be solidly conservative for more than a generation.
“Gusmithing has been my hobby for years, and it may very well become my primary source of income soon.”
Great idea and good luck. Given the way the country is headed you have a skill that will have value no matter how bad things become. A local community college near me is teaching blacksmithing. I’m thinking about taking it up as a hobby. Again, it is a skill that could be valuable if our civilization collapses and we go to a much more primitive economy.
We truly do. Keep in mind that we couldn’t even cut the sugar tariff which benefits the few at the expense of the many.
It will take a multiprong attack. We need to win the Presidency, despite Romney’s less than conservative record. That won we need to take the Congress, but with enough conservatives to make a difference. We then need to get 2 Supreme Court Justices to retire with at least one of them a liberal. That gives us the Court (depending on whether or not we get a stealth liberal - think Souter)
That still isn’t quite enough because the GOPe will simply ally with Dems to move their agenda forward. We’ll need to outmaneuver them over and over again. Pick just one goal - Strengthening the 10th Amendment is a good one (we just won the Commerce Clause Debate) and use every policy tool - Executive, Legislative and Judicial - to win.
Think 2nd Amendment and look for issues that capture the mushy middle. School vouchers would also work wonders.
Gee, we really do have our work cut out for us.
I don’t know, Roberts seems awfully young to retire. ;-)
You are a teacher huh? I am not surprised.
You could not utilize any of of services or product because they are for products for people who work with their hands and pay taxes so teachers can unionize and only work 9 months out of year.
Basically, they are for people who actually produce a tangible product or service themselves.
So much with your threat to ruin my business by not buying anything.
What, Fraternity XBox high scorer and youPorn producer aren’t skills in demand? Imagine that.
These demoralized Gen-XYZ frat punks, and the progressive 60’s reject dirt bags who created them, are in for a rude awakening when they discover the system has tired of their gaming.
GAME OVER.
Ha Ha! I was bailing hay at his age with 102 ambient temps in Tennessee. The barn was pure hell. Tell him we at FR respect his work ethic and attitude. It makes the man!
(We sincerely appreciate you getting it done as well)
Once again, Start making collages & university issue the loan to pay for their degree program and tie repayment to the students income over the next 10-20 years and you will see university start offering education for worthwhile fields in which there is demand.
Right now the university system is build upon a foundation of reputation bordering on outright fraud. They don’t care how successive the vast majority of their students & degrees are because they get paid upfront by the ignorant student.
Wether the student can get a job from their degree pay back their loans(now issued by uncle Sam) is largely irrelevant to the university. All the university has to do is convince the child & their parents that they can & must if that at all. With Federal taxpayer dollars on the line nether is necessarily too inclined to be worried about payback.
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