Accounting Among Hot Jobs

Accounting Among 'Hot' Jobs Awaiting College Seniors

"Blogger" may be the hottest of hot new jobs, but there's something about the work-in-your-underwear gig that's chilling college seniors.

Lack of a regular paycheck.

So for the likes of Jonathan Taylor, who will earn a degree in business and finance at Middle Tennessee State University in May, it's going to be shirts, ties, jackets and wingtips.

Financial jobs are in the "hot" category — and they pay.

"About a month ago I took a job with an insurance company," said Taylor, 22, a Murfreesboro native. "I started looking online in December and applied online. They've already sent me the training paperwork. I have friends who are unsure what they'll be doing after graduation, though. They're a little pessimistic."

Actually, there's reason for optimism. According to a new report by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, U.S. companies expect to hire 17.4 percent more new college graduates in 2006-07 than they hired in 2005-06.

The five "hottest" entry-level jobs, as projected by the U.S. Bureau of Labor, are accounting, computer science, education, finance, nursing and sales.

CPAs, nurses in demand

Accounting, once again, is the hottest job — and it will probably continue to be for the next decade, as a large number of certified public accountants reach retirement age.

Major accounting firms like Ernst and Young, Deloitte and Touche and KPMG — all three have Nashville offices — began wooing promising accounting majors during the fall semester.

"We have seniors who were offered accounting jobs way back before Thanksgiving, and some of them won't even start their jobs until August," said Lisa Shacklett, director of career development at Lipscomb University. "In fact, we had 18 accounting firms come to campus in September and October to talk to and recruit students. It's really a hot area."

Bigger firms have started to use new avenues to find and recruit promising college seniors. Ernst and Young, for example, created its own page on the popular college social networking site Facebook.

Nurses continue to be in demand nationwide, and colleges have responded by adding nursing programs and students. Middle Tennessee colleges have begun partnering with other colleges to produce more nursing grads.

Catie Hunter, a nursing student at Cumberland University, began her studies at Volunteer State Community College. She hasn't decided on a specialty, but is leaning toward surgical or cardiac care.

"There are a lot of options for students," said Dr. Jeff Kent, Volunteer State professor of biology. "The starting pay for an R.N. is not bad. Then, they can go to a four-year program for a B.S.N. and they have a much better chance for advancement, and to be a supervisor."

Outlook good for seniors

A sketchy economy, high gas prices, a war in Iraq and an unstable stock market don't seem to be affecting the job outlook for graduating seniors.

The reports of a strong entry-level job market "paint a very promising picture for the Class of 2007," said Marilyn Mackes, executive director of the National Association of Colleges and Employers. "During this time, many factors — such as organizational growth, employee retirements, business needs, and more — have converged to strengthen hiring projections."

Average salary offers to new college graduates continue to climb, too, the report showed.

For instance, the average starting salary offer to marketing graduates rose by 14 percent to $41,323. Business administration/management majors will see their average starting salary offer rise 9.2 percent to $43,523. The average salary offer to accounting graduates is $46,508, up 1.7 percent over last year's average of $45,723, according to the association. The average salary of a working accountant is more than $50,000.

Meanwhile, the average salary for liberal arts graduates is down 1.1 percent. But that's not to suggest that liberal arts colleges are having trouble placing graduates. Eddie Pawlawski, vice president for enrollment management and student affairs at Cumberland University, said a lot of companies are coming to the Lebanon campus to interview graduates of all makes and models.

"We're in an age when a lot of students do job hunting on the Internet, but we try to arrange for as much face-to-face contact as possible," Pawlawski said.

Adjusting can be hard

About 1 in 5 new college graduates will ignore the healthy job market and instead choose to stay in school. A smaller percentage will leave the job market and return to college.

"Nashville has a very good job market, but there's a certain reality that hits recent grads when they land a job," Lipscomb's Shacklett said. "Companies in Middle Tennessee expect their new hires to work hard and work long. I think some new grads have a hard time adjusting."

Brandy Moorer, who earned a bachelor's degree in business administration at TSU, took a job in retail management. She's now at Cumberland, working toward a master's in public service management.

"It wasn't for me," Moorer, of Antioch, said of her brief retail management career. "I wanted to help people."

MTSU senior Taylor, whose internship with an insurance company last summer paved the way for his new job, said he chose a career that would allow him to help people.

"Everyone needs insurance," he said.

One of the newest and hottest jobs that really isn't a job is blogger, the Bureau of Labor reported.The percentage of people who make a living at it is so small that it doesn't even register on the bureau's list.