The job outlook for new graduates can vary from college to college, depending on a school’s location and its rankings in certain industries. The University of Texas at Austin undergraduate school of business, where approximately 70% of college seniors find jobs within the state, 75% of seniors have received job offers so far, on par with last year. With oil prices hovering near historic highs, the university is seeing strong demand from energy companies in Texas, who typically hire undergraduate business students for positions in marketing, supply-chain management or corporate finance, says Velma Arney, director of undergraduate career services at UT’s McCombs School of Business. College juniors, meanwhile, are anticipating tough times ahead. “It’s probably going to be a lot more difficult” for next year’s graduating seniors, says Karim Hemani, 21, a business honors student majoring in finance at the University of Texas at Austin. Mr. Hemani, a junior, says that when he tried to find an internship in investment banking for the coming summer earlier this year, recruiters warned him that the labor market would be tighter for his class. He eventually landed an internship at Tudor, Pickering, Holt and Co. LLC, an energy investment firm in Houston. Among college juniors, “the sentiment is a lot more negative right now,” he says.
The Wall Street Journal
For Class of ’08, A Scramble for Jobs
(April 8)
