Jayme Turner, a recent University of Tulsa graduate who was hired out of school, stands in front of McFarlin Library on the TU campus. Turner, who minored in energy, started looking within the industry for jobs in September. STEPHEN PINGRY / Tulsa World
University of Tulsa college graduate Jayme Turner started looking for a job last September in the energy field and figured competition for jobs could be tight.
The move paid off. The new grad starts a job next month at ConocoPhillips.
"I knew I wanted to go into oil and gas," she said. "That industry is kind of driving Oklahoma right now. There are a lot of graduates that realize the benefits of pursuing that industry, and I knew that I had to get a head start in the process."
Turner, a Tulsa native, is one of the fortunate grads who will transition immediately from college diploma to a career and steady paycheck.
The fact she started her job search early made a big difference. Plus, by minoring in energy, she boosted her likelihood of landing a job sooner than many.
Still some gloom in national reports
Nationally, the job outlook for college graduates looks good or grim, depending on which study you embrace.
Early data from the National Association of Colleges and Employers - the organization most college representatives cite - shows that employers expect to hire 10.2 percent more new college graduates from the class of 2012 than they did from the class of 2011.
According to another report from the Economic Policy Institute, however, 2012 graduates face high unemployment and underemployment rates, depressed wages and burdensome student-loan debts.
Young workers who find jobs in today's labor market have had to accept lower wages than they would have a decade ago, with wages substantially lower today than they were in 2000.
In Oklahoma, state college representatives seem fairly optimistic, noting that they're seeing more recruiters at job fairs, more online job postings and more opportunities in general.
Bette Scott, director of career services for the University of Oklahoma, says the hiring outlook for this graduating class is much better than it has been in the past two or three years.
"We've certainly been excited and encouraged because of the job market," she said. "... It makes our job easier, but primarily it makes the students' job of finding a job easier. You always tell them the hardest job you'll ever have is finding a job."
The energy sector is driving a lot of job demand. Popular professions include accountants, finance, engineers, information technology, computer science, landmen, sales and economics.
The hiring outlook is "definitely on the uptick," said Allison Jones, director of career services at ORU. She noted that engineering is always is demand, and accounting students are "flying out the door" as graduates with business degrees are among the university's top-recruited students.
Midwest market stronger
In addition to recruitment efforts strengthening this year, starting salaries also are improving.
Nationwide, as baby boomers start retiring and the economy turns around, competition and demand is pushing salaries up nearly 5 percent, said Caroline Fox, assistant dean of the Business Career Center with TU's Collins College of Business.
College grads who want to stay in the state have a better opportunity of doing so given that Oklahoma and Texas have a stronger job market than other parts of the United States, OU's Scott said.
Hiring is faring better in the Midwest than on either coast. Patti Schmigle, coordinator of career services with OSU-Tulsa, points to one report that shows employers expect to hire 18.5 percent more college graduates in the Midwest this year than last.
That's not to say that finding a job is a guarantee, however.
"I think any college student will say it's a challenge to find a job, but the opportunities seem to be recovering," Schmigle said.
And, yes, jobs are out there, but college reps recommend starting the job search early.
"The typical job search is three to six months for a college grad," Schmigle said. "If they start early in their last semester, and sometimes even before that, it increases the chance that they will be employed closely after graduation significantly."
That certainly turned out to be the case for Turner, who started her career search in the first semester of her senior year. She applied at four companies and interviewed with three.
In March, ConocoPhillips offered her a position in Midland, Texas, which Turner passed over in favor of staying in Oklahoma; two weeks later the company offered her a position in Bartlesville.
She believes that adding an energy minor in her junior year to her business management degree helped open doors that otherwise would have been shut.
"Obviously, it gives you a little bit more direction and opens a lot of opportunities that I wouldn't have had if I had a basic business degree," she said.
Median salary for Tulsa jobs, according to CollegeGrad.com
$34,412
Computer operations
$42,395
Accountant 1
$47,139
Financial analyst
$62,980
Staff nurse
$63,244
Landman 1
Recruitment on the rise
A smattering of recruitment data from surrounding universities points to an upswing in availability of jobs.
- OU's engineering career fair attracted nearly 120 employers this past year compared to 85 in 2010 and 80 in 2009.
- At Oral Roberts University, online job postings are up 16.5 percent compared with last year, and the school's Spring Expo held in February attracted 25 percent more participants.
- The Tulsa Collegiate Job Fair held in April and presented by a consortium of career services from area schools saw 33 percent more recruiters than the year before.
- TU saw a 20 percent increase in employer recruitment on campus this year through career fairs, campus interviews, job postings and workshops. Also, many employers already are booking campus interviews for the fall.
OSU logged more than 5,000 on-campus employer interviews this past semester, up 10 percent from last year. Employer attendance at the school's career fairs also jumped 25 percent over last year, and the career fair held in Stillwater this spring attracted 182 employers, which was the largest seen since 2007.
Recruitment on the rise
A smattering of recruitment data from surrounding universities points to an upswing in availability of jobs.
- OU's engineering career fair attracted nearly 120 employers this past year compared to 85 in 2010 and 80 in 2009.
- At Oral Roberts University, online job postings are up 16.5 percent compared to last year, and the school's Spring Expo held in February attracted 25 percent more participants.
- The Tulsa Collegiate Job Fair held in April and presented by a consortium of career services from area schools saw 33 percent more recruiters than the year before.
- TU saw a 20 percent increase in employer recruitment on campus this year through career fairs, campus interviews, job postings and workshops. Also, many employers already are booking campus interviews for the fall.
- OSU logged more than 5,000 on-campus employer interviews this past semester, up 10 percent from last year. Employer attendance at the school's career fairs also jumped 25 percent over last year, and the career fair held in Stillwater this spring attracted 182 employers, the largest seen since 2007.
Laurie Winslow 918-581-8466
laurie.winslow@tulsaworld.com
Original Print Headline: Bright futures
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