University of South Carolina Libraries
Jobs And Liberal Arts Graduates By John Van Dalen Gamecock Staff Wrir Many rising seniors and those about to be graduated are jolted into the reality of entering a job market which is "increasingly and alarmingly technological" and the temporary refuge of four years in academia comesabruptly to an end. Although fine arts, English, history, the languages, and political science, among other disciplines, are the traditional foundations of a broad education that are. compatible with numerous job opportunities, today employers are much more selective and credential-oriented. The prestige and respect ac corded a liberal arts degree has not been tarnished or diminished in importance. Rather, the bachelor's degree in arts and letters has become more of a personal, aesthetic goal than a college degree in the con ventional sense which leads to immediate employment. Thus the fact that a liberal arts education can be a significant asset in many fields of endeavor is often overlooked by today's employers who can be very specific about the degree can didates in whom they are in terested. Must liberal arts graduates "surrender to the clutches of job specialization?" How many can obtain positions within the academic community when the tenure controversy is flaring up again and when university enrollments are declining across the country? There is indeed a premium on space for educators. The issue comes down to translating the skills and abilities of liberally educated students into saleable, tangible assets that will give them at least a firm foot-hold when competing during job interviews with graduates holding more specialized degrees. However nebulous the area of opportunity for liberal arts majors, jobs are available. "One way in which many students may bridge the gap between their degree at Carolina and per ro/Ana INSTITUTION E L AR the Placement Bureau at Lieber College," said Frank Johnson, Placement Bureau Director. An orientation session is being held September 9 at 5 p.m. in Currell College for seniors and graduate students in the colleges of Arts, Sciences, Law, Jour nalism, Business Administration, and Engineering and General Studies. Among the functions of the Placement Bureau are developing personal files for students, providing interviewing opportunities through arrangements. for on-campus interviews with employers from business, industry, and govern ment, and providing current job listings. In addition, the Placement Office notifies university "...he may face the frustrations of searching for a career which in some way harmonizes with his academic backgound." departments of interview dates scheduled by individual com panies, maintains sources of employer's names and ad dresses, and renders individual assistance to students requesting information on placement procedures. Ruth Quattlebaum, assistant placement director, said that six or seven years ago there were nearly equal opportunities for arts and science ma jors, but now, with the economic slump, companies are becoming quite specific about whom they in terview. They are more selective because there are less jobs. Quattlebaum said that ac cording to the office of manpower devellpment, the next ten years lysi will see a tremendous shortage of graduates with technical knowledge and skills. Thus, there is a surging interest in and expansion of "tech" schools and two-year colleges. During January through March this year, the Placement Bureau's interview schedule listed 121 different businesses and companies which were tentatively scheduled for in terviewing students. Many represented national recruiting efforts and such diverse firms as Penn Mutual, General Dynamics, and Proctor and Gamble were represented. Many of the companies were heavy industrial firms desiring to interview chemical, mechanical, and electrical engineering graduates. Quattlebaum in dicated that engineering majors were in great demand now. Tennessee Valley Authority Naval Weapons Lab, Westvaco , Duke Power, and General Electric were some of the firms with these requirements. Many firms, including the trust com panies, banks, and insurance firms, specified business majors: management, marketing, ac counting and finance. Where does all this leave the liberal arts major? Well, if the arts and letters graduate does not seek further refuge in the safe ports of graduate school, and decides he has to orient himself toward employment in the business world, he may face the frustrations of searching for a career opportunity that in some way harmonizes with his academic background. Few of the firms on the Placement Bureau's interview schedule were so flexible as to list "any degree." Often any degree is acceptable for positions in sales ana insurance. But, although many firms request business administration majors, it is not unusual for liberal arts majors to interview for specific business positions and to obtain Ihem. Many individuals in positions of management hold degrees in arts and letters. .Dr. Howard Figler has written, "Career counselors must resist the temptation to translate all educational programs into job credentials in order to satisfy what employers say they need. If they believe that the liberally educated person can offer in tangible qualities that have value to organized employment, then they shouldbe convincing liberal arts graduates of this viewpoint." Figler sees liberal arts graduates as "the last significant holdout against the credentialed society ." A "technocracy" makes job credentials and experience necessary factors in employment. But the "in tangible" qualities that arts and science majors possess are so often not compatible with the more specific, objective requirements of jobs within the business superstructure. Thus, liberal arts majors may spend four or five years after graduation searching for a satisfying career because they cannot relate the subjective training of their education with mundane job.credentials. These jobs may offer the student very little chance to draw upon the skills or intellectual pre occupations developed in college as an undergraduate arts and letters major. There are a number of alter natives for the liberal arts major in the job market. Ideally, the most viable are those which in some way incorporate the precepts of a liberal education with flexible opportunities for individual creativity. Thus, the job areas of social work, human development, counseling, and cultural affairs are ideally suited to some libealn arts major. Two years ago some of the findings of a survey by an English professor, Lindwood E. Orange, were published by the Modern Language Association of America. His study, while focusing primarily on career opportunities for English majors other than teaching and writing, is also indicative of the types of positions open to other arts and letters graduates. .Four hundred large companies were surveyed and 85 per cent responded affirmatively when asked whether they hire English majors even though they lack specific training in the jobs ap plied for. Two broad categories were revealed. One was editing, technical writing, com munications, and other skills drawing on the English major's background. The other, and more promising as far as em plymnt> was oncen,wsa area hat equied pecis conicaiv silandlgc Mos of th potne lan th ae o pronelrlains edtnpn writing and Twosear ago ivsomegation. fining of ah o survey include MoenLnugassociatiorte,mne of commuicatin srvice, whie fdesigr profesionar eer Teopportunities fo nls ars isprsoendiative of the available poiin pnto othera arts andr wt letters somadtioatrinn needed hded ilausrae ompanict were uinessed and 85ntereti rsond aettersmaivel ifwhe gakduatexres the heire gis maors vn til hogseycke Two broaduiteoriae wrm tehnica expsedtincoge. co more opromise fais em ploymntasocre,wsa