Despite talk of recession and unemployment problems throughout the country, graduating seniors have found the job market more open than it has been in the past couple of years.
Although statistics have not been released yet, Director of Career Services Patricia Rose is very optimistic about the job opportunities for this year.
"The last couple of classes in the wake of the 9/11 attacks had a tough time, but this year things are looking up," Rose said.
"The job market is improving, and we will have [job placement] numbers that will increase, if not exceed, 2003" numbers, she added, noting that 60 percent of last year's graduating class found employment within three months of graduation.
According to Rose, financial services and consulting firms are hiring more people because of all the recent job mergers, while nurses and teachers are in more demand than ever.
In previous years, students had been confronted with a tough marketplace in which jobs were scarce. To combat this problem, some students followed other paths such as graduate school, one-year internships or programs like Teach for America.
Last year, however, there was a decrease in Penn seniors going to graduate school -- with 18 percent enrolling, as opposed to 23 percent in 2002. Despite this overall decrease, enrollment in law school among Penn graduates is the highest it has ever been.
According to Rose, most Penn students are planning to eventually go to graduate school but are taking a few years off before they do.
"After 10 years, 75 percent of Penn graduates will be in the middle [of] or have completed some graduate program," Rose said.
Gaining work experience before going to graduate school is the road College senior Joel Newman is planning to take. Newman will be joining the Mercedes-Benz USA business management associate program in September. This is a two-year training program, and afterward Newman said he will consider law or business school.
"I needed a break from school -- I'm getting really sick of it," Newman said, adding that he wants more life experience before heading back to graduate school.
Newman never thought of a career with Mercedes-Benz, but with his interest in automotives, he happened upon an internship with the company in the summer. He received a job offer from the company in November and quickly took it.
"I got pretty lucky," Newman said. "I had sent out a lot of resum‚s and didn't hear back."
In fact, summer internships seem to be one of the best ways to secure a job for the future.
"Last year, summer employment went up, which will be borne out in permanent positions," Rose said.
College senior Sari Eisendrath also found the job search not as hard as she anticipated.
"I personally had it kind of easy, but through my friends, I can see that the job market is definitely better than it was a couple of years ago," said Eisendrath, who will be working at a consulting firm.
Eisendrath feels that a Penn diploma gave her an edge over the competition.
"It helps to have a Ivy League school on your resum‚," Eisendrath said. "It is definitely a significant factor, but not a defining one."
Like many recent graduates, Eisendrath does not see her new consulting position as permanent.
"I see myself there for a couple of years, but because of the lifestyle of consulting, I don't think of this as [a] permanent career choice," she said.
For many students, however, the path is not as clear cut.
Engineering senior John Goldschmidt is still searching for a job. Despite his major in systems engineering, he is now looking for a career in real estate or government.
Goldschmidt said he always expected to work in finance, but after an internship in that field over the summer, he decided to change courses.
His recent decision to switch career paths has baffled many potential employers.
Goldschmidt plans to continue searching after graduation and has one or two potential employers in mind.
"I see myself probably working on a campaign to gain experience or working part time until I find a job," Goldschmidt said, adding that he is not worried.
But not everyone is as sanguine as Goldschmidt, as the job search can be a very tense time for many seniors.
"Uncertainty does produce stress. ... Students are aware jobs aren't coming and tapping them on the shoulder," Rose said.
