MARTIN, Tenn. — The job market for University of Tennessee graduates this month and next spring appears to be much stronger than in recent years, UT placement officers said Tuesday.
“I think the jobs are out there,” said Candice Goad, UT-Martin’s director of alumni employment.
Bob Greenberg, UT-Knoxville’s director of career services, said this fall was the “heaviest recruiting season we’ve seen in a number of years.”
Michigan State University’s annual nationwide survey indicates employers expect a 6 percent increase in available jobs in 1997. Job prospects appear good in all regions of the country.
The survey indicated a strong demand for graduates in computer science, computer programming and engineering.
“I wish we had a thousand computer science majors. I wish I had engineers. We have a lot of demand for graduates in agri-business,” UT-Martin’s Goad said.
“Hottest fields for the fall have been chemical engineering, electrical engineering, logistics and transportation and accounting,” Greenberg said of recruiting at UT-Knoxville.
“(The job market is) very strong for students interested in sales, retail management and other types of service businesses such as restaurant management and insurance financial services.”
Greenberg said companies primarily use on-campus interviews to evaluate job candidates, but he said a few are using video-conferencing to interview students.
“You’re also seeing companies developing pools of applicants via the world-wide web. But for major organizations, a lot of their hiring is still done through campus recruiting,” Greenberg said.
“We expect to have a strong recruiting season this spring at UT-Knoxville.”
“I was very pessimistic at the beginning of fall, but I’m optimistic now. Our career day was larger than it’s ever been,” Goad said of UT-Martin.
The Michigan State survey indicated starting salaries will be 3 to 4 percent higher than last year, with chemical engineers at the top of the scale, close to $43,000 a year. Journalists will be offered the lowest salaries, an average of $22,000 a year, the survey showed.
Jean Dake, the placement officer at UT-Chattanooga, was unavailable for comment.
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Contact: Candice Goad (901-587-7740) or Bob Greenberg (423-974-5435)