High-tech employers hunt for grads with skills

The job outlook is bright for all college graduates, experts say, but people with degrees relating to the high-tech industry continue to be in the highest demand.

“Everything is in high demand now,´ said Laura Norton, a data technician at Aims Community College. “The job market is good. Unemployment is low and has been for the last year.”

College graduates with technical or quantitative degrees have solid job opportunities, especially in Colorado. According to the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment Job Outlook Summary for 1995 to 2005, professional, paraprofessional and technical occupations will be the fastest-growing careers through the turn of the century. Within those categories, systems analysts, computer programmers and computer engineers will be in highest demand. The Outlook Summary reports that systems-analyst positions will add more than 1,000 jobs annually, and by the year 2005, there will be 18,854 systems analysts employed in Colorado.

Many high-tech employers in the area are hiring graduates with computer-related degrees, said Linda Morita, recruiting coordinator at Colorado State University’s Career Center. They want graduates with degrees in computer science, computer information systems, information science and all types of engineering.

The last five years have been strong for the high-tech industry, said Ann Malen, director at CSU’s Career Center.

Other degrees in demand are in areas that support the growing high-tech industry, such as finance and marketing. And with any growing field, plenty of opportunities are available for those interested in sales.

Within the high-tech field, the hardest people to find are those who specialize in information technology, said Herb Zimmerman, staffing manager at Celestica Colorado, a Fort Collins-based electronics contract manufacturer. They are in high demand because of Y2K and other problems, he said.

The Department of Labor and Employment also reports a growing need for secondary- Twenty-two points, plus triple-word-score, plus fifty points for using all my letters. Game’s over. I’m outta here. and elementary-school teachers. Secondary-school teachers will add 1,000 jobs annually, and elementary school teachers will add 800 to 900 positions annually.

Dawn Perrin, a recruiter for Career Connections, a Fort Collins-based career-placement service, said people with liberal-arts degrees hold high value among employers. She finds liberal-arts graduates marketable because they know a little about a lot of things.

“Liberal-arts degrees are transferable because you’re forced to be well rounded,” she said, adding that it’s important for those with liberal-arts degrees to get practical experience and internships.

In all fields, having internship or related work experience helps. Despite what students study in college, employers of today want employees with experience in real work environments, Zimmerman said.

“We don’t have a lot of openings, but we have a lot to do and need people who can hit the ground running,” he said.

Some experts say that in today’s competitive job market, the skills graduates have to offer are more important than the degree they’ve received. Employers want people with skills that can be used immediately, Malen said.

Morita agreed and said it’s not as much the degree as it is the student’s preparedness.

“It’s a job to get a job. You have to focus on what you want to do,” she said.

For students graduating with an associate’s degree, the fastest-growing jobs are in the medical field. The state’s job outlook reports that the number of registered nurses and other health professionals will continue to increase. By 2005, 30,515 registered nurses will be employed in Colorado.

However, a steady supply of radiology and nurse’s-aid jobs, is countered by a shrinking demand for emergency medical technicians, Norton said.

Even though the job market is strong, several fields are saturated with qualified employees. The Outlook Summary reports that bank tellers, typists and file clerks are among declining professions.

Perrin sees many people looking for jobs in graphic design, administration and bookkeeping. Even though they have excellent skills, they’re competing in great-big pools, she said.

Aims has a plentiful supply of graduates in office and secretarial work, Norton said. Jobs in office work can be difficult to find because there are so many qualified people and limited openings.

But statistics on Aims graduates and employment are strong. During the past year, 60 percent of graduates were employed and 25 percent were continuing their education.

The condition of today’s labor market contributes to a bright outlook for college graduates. With the tight labor market, people might find employment opportunities in fields that do not directly relate to their degrees.

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