An article that appeared in the April 27, 2008 edition of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Help Wanted: Soon-to-be college grads find economic climate makes job hunting tougher, by Ann Belser, talks about how the U. S. economic status has some graduating seniors nervous about their job prospects. Others are not so concerned because they've already secured jobs in their major.

Steven Ramirez of Carnegie-Mellon University is one of those who isn't worried. He got a job with Procter and Gamble in their product development department. The 22-year-old mechanical engineering major has had his job waiting for him since November 2007.

Other students are not as lucky as Ramirez. They're facing graduation - for University of Pittsburgh students, that's May 3 - and they still haven't found jobs. News of a recession has many feeling discouraged, but according to Besler, they shouldn't. The National Association of Colleges and Employers(NACE) reports that employers expect to hire "eight percent more new college graduates from the Class of 2008 than they hired from the Class of 2007." That's an eight percent drop from what they were predicting last fall. So, the pickings are slimmer than anticipated but that doesn't mean good jobs can't be found. More importantly, recent college graduates will enter the job market earning hire average salaries than last year's graduates, according to NACE.

• "Accounting graduates - $47,429 - no change from last year
• Business administration/management graduates - $44,195 - 0.3 percent increase
• Finance graduates - $48,616 - 1.5 percent increase
• Marketing graduates - $43,328 - 4.9 percent increase
• Computer Science graduates - $59,873 - 14.7 percent increase
• Liberal Arts graduates - $35,378 - 12.9 percent increase
"

With such promising salaries available, it's no wonder those graduating seniors without jobs already waiting are feeling a bit anxious. Brian Heddleston, employment services manager in the University of Pittsburgh's Career Services Center, encourages students to "take advantage of career opportunities while they're still in college." Like so many others, Heddleston stresses the importance of internships. Considering the number of employers who hire from within through their internship programs, it behooves any student hoping to land a good job after graduation to do at least one internship if not more. Heddleston went on to say that belonging to clubs and organiziations helps and that maintaining good grades is essential. Finally, he advises students to attend Career Services events and network, network, network every chance they get. After all, "Seventy percent of a jobs are unadvertised," Heddleston said.