Cardinal Points

Issue date: 4/20/07 Section: Fuse

Media Credit: Holly Boname The chances of finding an entry-level job for college graduates have risen - 16.9 percent for the Northeast - but wages have remained the same.

Finding a job that will pay a good salary.

For students about to graduate from college this May, that's at the top of their list of things to look for when looking for employment.

Although the chances of finding an entry-level job for college graduates has risen in the past few years - 16.9 percent in the Northeast according to Barbara Barry, senior career counselor at the Career Development Center - wages have not.

Industries that need to work hard at attracting applicants are the ones who tend to increase salaries at the entry-level position, Barry said.

"It has to do with supply and demand," Barry said. "Where there is less of a demand, there is no need to raise salaries."

Business is one of the high demand entry-level jobs for college graduates - specifically in the fields of accounting, marketing, finance and computer science.

Although these occupational fields offer a better chance to receive a job after graduation, they are more likely to have lower wages, Barry said.

Jimmy Nieke, a graduating business major said: "A bachelor's degree doesn't mean much in the business world anymore. If I don't go out and get a higher degree after college, there aren't too many options for me."

Barry said if money is what someone is looking after, their best bet is pharmaceuticals, a major Plattsburgh State does not offer.

Business administration is the major at PSUC offering the highest potential earnings for entry level at around $50,000. Entry-level pay for communications can potentially net $37,000 and $37,500 for criminal justice.

Andrea Konzz, a spokesperson for the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), an organization devoted to providing the public with information on college graduates and their employment, said the NACE did a study on different college majors and measured their increase of wages over the course of year.

Konzz said the NACE tracked 80 majors from 81 different colleges and universities. Of those 80 majors studied, 29 reported a change in wages - 26 of those changes being increases.

Continued...

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