Finding a path: Area students take part in Career Expo

Although the halls of Lakeshore Technical College were bare of college students last week, the classrooms were alive with the sound of high school students as sophomores forge paths toward careers after graduation.

 

Approximately 1,000 sophomores from area highs schools participated in a two-day Career Expo at Lakeshore Technical College. The two-day career exploration program was separated into three sections aimed at helping students find a career path suited to their interests.

 

"Today is a day that opens their horizons to look at many different facets of possible career choices," Karen Szyman, executive director of The Chamber of Manitowoc County, said. "Hopefully it will get them on the path of thinking and choosing classes that are associated with those careers."

 

The first section, a traditional career expo, allowed students to interact with 22 different business leaders in the community to discuss employment opportunities. Business leaders discussed skills needed for specific jobs and highlighted lesser-known careers students might be interested in.

 

"I think they look at a nursing home and think, 'I'd have to be a nurse,'" said Tracy Miller, human resources director at Shady Lane Nursing Care Center. "I have to convince them there are many other areas. There are more things happening behind the scenes than just caring for the residents."

Variety of ambitions

 

Some students, such as sophomore Vanessa Bautista of Two Rivers, focused on a career, such as health care, while others, such as Autumn Conjurski, were not so sure.

 

"I would like to help people. I just have an interest in that," Bautista said. "I'd always wanted to be a doctor to help people who were injured."

 

Conjurski, also of Two Rivers, said she was considering a career in graphic design, but was looking at other options, too.

 

"I plan to help other people with my disability, autism, or be an animator or video game designer," she said. "My brother plays a lot of video games and always asks me to make something. I always say, 'sure, whenever I get the right skills to do it.'"

Four-in-10 graduate jobs 'reserved for student interns'

Researchers also found that the average graduate starting salary would be frozen at £29,000 for an "unprecedented" fifth year in a row.

 

The findings are set to fuel the row over internships following claims that they are being monopolised by students from wealthy backgrounds with well-connected parents.

 

Nick Clegg warned that children of senior executives should not be allowed to use their privileged position to secure internships at top companies as part of a drive to boost levels of social mobility.

 

The study, by High Fliers Research, which was based on a survey of 100 leading employers, suggested companies were preparing to counter the concerns by creating more internships.

 

Collectively, they are making a record 11,819 paid placements available in the current academic year, it was claimed.

 

It comes on top of a total rise in the number of graduate job vacancies, with 18,264 being advertised for students finishing degrees this year – up 8.7 per cent in 12 months and the highest number since 2007.

 

But the study said: "Although the total number of graduate vacancies is set to increase sharply in 2014, recruiters have confirmed that 37 per cent of this year's entry-level positions will be filled by graduates who have already worked for their organisations – either through paid internships, vacation work or industrial placements – and therefore are not open to other students from the 'Class of 2014'."

 

It added: "Over half the recruiters who took part in the research repeated their warnings that graduates who have had no previous work experience at all are unlikely to be successful during the selection process and have little or no chance of receiving a job offer for their organisations' graduate programmes."

 

The study was based on a survey of top private and public sector employers including Apple, the Army, Barclays, BP, Centrica, Goldman Sachs, Google, McDonald's, Network Rail, the NHS and Tesco.

 

The biggest single graduate recruiter will be Teach First, the state-funded charity that places top graduates in tough inner-city schools, with 1,550 vacancies. This is followed by PricewaterhouseCoopers with 1,200 and Deloitte with 1,000.

 

Martin Birchall, the High Fliers' managing director, said: "This very significant increase in graduate vacancies at Britain's top employers means the job prospects for graduates leaving university this year are the best they've been since the start of the recession seven years ago."

 

David Willetts, the Universities Minister, said: "The substantial rise in the number of graduate vacancies demonstrates that confidence in the UK economy is growing and businesses really value the skills the UK's first-rate graduates can bring to their companies.

 

"A degree is still one of the best routes to a good job and a rewarding career."

IT career planning – Time, Talent and Treasury

As the Christmas season ends along with another year, this seems to be a perfect time to refocus our Time, Talent and Treasury.  Thinking specifically of our IT professional career, with time slipping quickly and limited treasury, planning to develop our talents requires careful thought.

 

Needless to say our talents require development through training and practice. If New Year's resolutions are your thing, you may well be considering using some of that precious time and treasury to develop your talents.  A New Year's Resolution is well and good but before jumping into the fray stop and consider your goals: financial, personal and professional.

 

Promotions and money are typical goals but consider some of your personal and professional career anchors: organizational security/geography; independence/autonomy; technical expertise/people management; challenge/routine and always work/life balance.  There are no correct answers just choices that are right for your health and happiness.

 

Many years ago my first year political science prof passed on a tip he received.  Yes he said, I can see by the looks on your faces you are wondering what can I do with a poli-sci degree.  Well, you can look around and see the job openings, pick a career, study and work hard for three or four years.  You'll graduate and likely find yourself unemployed as the openings have been filled.  So consider what you like to do as you might as well be unemployed at something you like as unemployed at something you don't. I actually changed schools 18 months later.

 

Armed with a renewed sense of you, consider the IT work you enjoy best and where your interests lead.  They will likely be mixed with some technical, some process and even some management.  Yes it is important to line them up with your company opportunities but don't let corporate goals completely overshadow what keeps you excited.  When your interests and company needs align you have a perfect match which is a matter of degree and rarely a home run.  There is nothing wrong with a single base hit.

 

And you're not alone.  Professional IT societies likely CIPS, PMI, IEEE, ACM, ICCP to name a few, present opportunities for you to connect with your peers and discuss continuing education opportunities and plans.  As a long-time CIPS member and currently on the board of ICCP, professional careers are their focus.  Presentations and speakers at gatherings and conferences are intended to provide IT professionals education and exposure to a broad range of interests.

 

As a shameless plug for ICCP, I can attest to the hard work by IT professionals and academics in developing assessments which provide detailed results of knowledge and experience for the subject of each assessment.  Most people tend to focus on the single mark but the best lies in the second or third level outline results which you can use to direct your efforts for study and review.  Additionally academics are increasingly using aggregate results for review and course planning.

 

It's a New Year and now is the best time to think about and plan your career development and direction for 2014.  So go ahead and make a New Year's resolution for  your professional Time Talent and Treasury in 2014 – Happy New Year!