Graduates' Best Choice: Back to College

Graduates' Best Choice: Back to College

 

With the job market offering few opportunities for advancement¹, many in the workforce² are going back to school, as a result applications to the nation’s graduate schools are ¹⁾soaring. And the job picture is even tougher for those students graduating from college in the next few months.

With a 3.7 grade point average, a network of contacts and a resume full of achievements, Tracy Silverman, a senior at New York University, figured she’d have no problem getting a job after college.

Tracy Silverman: I thought that is was going to be very easy, I’ve had tons of internships, I’ve met lots of people in the industry but, you know, I passed out my resume and they’re  not calling me.

Silverman and other seniors are facing the tightest job market in nearly a decade, with employers expected to hire 20% fewer graduates than last year.

Marilyn Mackes: This year is a very different kind of job market for college grads than last year. And actually for the last couple of years, they’ve been really looking at a boom market.

But that boom has turned to bust³ and one of the places it’s most noticeable, college career centers. At ²⁾NYU last year standing⁴ room only, crowd of corporate⁵ recruiters is gone.

Trudi Steinfeld: I remember two years ago that there were forty days during our recruiting season where myself and members of our staff had to give up, give up our offices because we really did not have enough space to hold all our recruiters.

Recruiting visits are down at least 20% at the school and on some campus, they’ve been cut in half.

Trudi Steinfeld, NYU’s director of career services says seniors are nervous.

Trudi Steinfeld: They’ve entered college at a time when the economy was booming. They really thought they would have not only one great job, but maybe the ability to select from three or four great jobs. They feel like the rug has been pulled out from under them.

That uncertainty⁶ is starting a trend on college campuses across the country, like here at the University of Chicago, where applications for graduate school are soaring. Some from college seniors looking to ride out the down economy and many others from those already in the workforce, who are going back to school to sharpen their skills.

Twenty-six-year-old Jeremy Oberfeld applied⁷ to Chicago’s business school after the telecom start-up he was working for ³⁾crumbled.

Jeremy Oberfeld: If the economy would be doing well, I would continue my professional career and developing that start-up business. Unfortunately, since this did not happen. I believe, I believe that was a great time for me to pursue my education further.

  Applications to the graduate school of business are up 100% over a year ago. And starting to pile over in the admissions office. Officials say sorting through all of them is tough business.

Ann McGill: We read carefully, every single one of them, multiple people. What we’ve done is shifted work away from those people so they’re working longer hours.

And the trend is widespread. At ⁴⁾UCLA, biz school applications are up 90%. At Emory and Atlanta up 80%, and at Yale almost a 60% jump. Graduate school officials say returning for more education during a poor economy can be valuable. For more than the education.

Ann McGill: You get other things, you get an alumni network, you have a ready ⁵⁾credential that tells a perspective employer that you know what you are doing.

Staying in school paid off for MBA student, Shannon Ryan, who graduates this summer with a job, but the choices were slim.

Shannon Ryan: Because companies were very conservative about the number of offers they gave out. They really asked you to give them an answer immediately. So that would be three weeks verses typically you would have three months to think about an offer.

But for many of the nation’s seniors the waiting and worrying goes on.

Tracy Silverman: I just would like anything with a salary and benefits right now. So I’m broadening what I’m willing to do. I have to be extremely optimistic but, you know, something will come my way.

Experts say the key to finding a job in this current market: flexibility⁹. Showing the employer that you have enough skills to adapt to a number of different positions.

 

美国毕业生重返校园

 

由于劳工市场提供的就业机会鲜有增加，许多已参加工作的人打算重新回到学校，这导致美国研究生院的入学申请数量猛涨。工作前景对于往后几月要从学校毕业的学生而言将更加严峻。

特蕾西·西尔弗曼是纽约大学高年级的学生，平均成绩3.7分，拥有广泛的关系网和硕果累累的履历表，她曾认为毕业后找工作毫无问题。

特蕾西·西尔弗曼∶我以为找工作非常简单，我有很多实习经验，我见过许多业界人士，但结果我递出履历表后，根本就没有回音。

西尔弗曼和其他的高年级学生在近十年内都要面临着最严峻的就业形势：雇主计划比去年减少招聘20%的应届毕业生。

玛丽琳·麦绮丝∶对大学应届毕业生来说，今年的就业市场与去年相比有很大差别。实际上，在过去几年里，他们看到的都是形势一片大好。

但大好形势已经不再，有一个地方就看得最明显——学校就业中心。去年在纽约大学里拥簇着的大量的招聘单位，今年已经看不见了。

特鲁迪·斯坦菲尔德∶我记得两年前的招聘季节长达四十天，我和同事不得不借出我们的办公室，因为招聘单位不够地方容纳。

来校园招聘的单位至少减少了20%，有的学校减少了一半。

纽约大学就业服务中心主任特鲁迪·斯坦菲尔德说，高年级的学生为此紧张不安。

特鲁迪·斯坦菲尔德∶他们在经济高速发展的时候入校。他们确信自己不但可以找到一份好工作，而且还能有三四份好工作可供选择。现在他们感觉站不稳了。

这种忧虑席卷全美国各大学校园，引发研究生院入学申请暴涨的趋势，芝加哥大学就是一例。一些大学高年级学生希望借此避过经济低潮，其他一些已经工作的人则希望重返学校充电。

二十六岁的杰里米·奥贝菲尔德申请入读芝加哥商学院。他之前所在的一家新启动的电信公司倒闭了。

杰里米·奥贝菲尔德：如果经济好转，我将继续工作，拓展那个已经启动的事业。不幸的是，事与愿违。我相信，这是我继续深造的绝好时机。

申请就读商学院的人比一年前增加了一倍多，申请资料在招生办公室里堆积如山。工作人员说，挑选过程是一项艰巨的工作。

安·麦吉尔∶我们仔细地阅读每一份申请材料。很多职员不得不放下手头的工作来帮忙，大家要加班加点地工作。

这种趋势正在蔓延。加州大学洛杉矶分校商学院的入学申请增加了90%，艾墨瑞和亚特兰大增加了80%，耶鲁增加了近60%。研究生院的工作人员说，在经济萧条期间重返学校深造是有价值的。其价值超过纯教育本身。

安·麦吉尔∶你会有其他收获，你会拥有校友关系网，你还会得到文凭，用它来向未来的雇主证明，你的态度是认真的。

学业已成的工商管理硕士生香农·瑞安今年夏天毕业，她已经找到了一份工作，但选择的机会很少。

香农·瑞安∶由于公司所能提供的职位非常有限，他们其实会要你立即答复。所以你只有三个星期去考虑一个职位的取舍，而典型的做法应该有三个月。

但是，对国内许多高年级的学生，等待和焦虑还在继续。

特蕾西·西尔弗曼∶我只想能立即拿到薪水、享受福利。因此我放宽了对工作的要求。我必须高度乐观，但是你知道，希望事情能如我所愿。

专家们说，应对目前这种工作形势的关键是要能灵活多变。不妨向雇主表明你有适应不同职位的多种技能。

 

注释:

1) soar [sC:] v. 剧增

2) NYU: abbr. New York University （美国）纽约大学

3) crumble⁸ [5krQmbl] v. 弄碎，崩溃

4) UCLA: abbr. University of California at Los Angeles （美国）加利福尼亚大学洛杉矶分校

5) credential [kri5denFEl] n. 文凭，凭证

1 advancement   

n.前进，促进，提升

参考例句：

• His new contribution to the advancement of physiology was well appreciated.他对生理学发展的新贡献获得高度赞赏。
• The aim of a university should be the advancement of learning.大学的目标应是促进学术。

2 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

3 bust   

vt.打破；vi.爆裂；n.半身像；胸部

参考例句：

• I dropped my camera on the pavement and bust it. 我把照相机掉在人行道上摔坏了。
• She has worked up a lump of clay into a bust.她把一块黏土精心制作成一个半身像。

4 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

5 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

6 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

7 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

8 crumble   

vi.碎裂，崩溃；vt.弄碎，摧毁

参考例句：

• Opposition more or less crumbled away.反对势力差不多都瓦解了。
• Even if the seas go dry and rocks crumble,my will will remain firm.纵然海枯石烂，意志永不动摇。

9 flexibility   

n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性

参考例句：

• Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
• The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。