Penn job seekers thrive despite economic woes

Despite the prevalent doomsday predictions about the economy, Penn students continue to find success in the job-seeking front.

The portion of graduates from the Class of 2012 still seeking employment is at 9 percent as of Sept. 4, a slight drop from 10 percent for the Class of 2011 at the same time last year.

Preliminary survey results of the Class of 2012 job numbers reveal that 62 percent of graduates had already obtained full-time employment — the same percent as the Class of 2011 based on 2,043 responses. The Class of 2012 results are still being collected and analyzed, with around 1,770 responses obtained out of the expected 2,000. They will continue to record responses until early November.

The average salary of those employed is $59,397 based on 970 responses. This is up slightly from the Class of 2011’s $57,944 average.

The percentage of recent graduates seeking employment could potentially be lower than 9 percent, as Career Services is expecting those who responded “seeking employment” to follow up and let them know of any successful results.

According to a National Association of Colleges and Employers survey conducted in February and March, employers are expecting to hire 10.2 percent more new graduates than they did last year.

The increased number of students employed full-time could also be attributed to the upward trend of employers participating in On Campus Recruiting at Penn.

“We’re heavily booked,” Director of Career Services Patricia Rose said.

Rose said typically, the majority of students utilize OCR to find jobs. The job-seeking method used by students depends a lot on the kinds of jobs they are applying for. OCR is used primarily for corporate jobs like finance, banking and consulting.

“Good jobs are hard to find,” Engineering senior Napat Harinsuit said. “It’s a lot about what kind of jobs you’re going for.”

Seventeen percent of the Class of 2012 stated that they were planning to go to graduate school. This shows a downward trend from 20 percent for the classes of 2011 and 2010 and 21 percent for the class of 2009.

“I definitely do want to go to grad school, but I do feel the need to start working first,” Nursing senior Toni Rose Gatchalian said. “Part of it is because of the economy, but at the same time the nursing profession requires a good grasp of the basic skills first and knowing what the job is really like.”

College senior Evan Ames said the bad economy definitely affected job prospects, but that “it’s definitely advantageous coming from Penn, as we know lots of people who’ve graduated before us that we can use as resources.”

“I’m fairly confident I’ll be able to get a job,” Ames said. “It’s not as hard to get a job but it might not be the job you want in a perfect world.”

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