THE DIAMONDBACK | CAREER GUIDE | MONDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2009
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Surveys offer option to make quick cash BY MARIE LINDBERG For The Diamondback
Have you ever thought to yourself, “If I could just get a hold of $20, I can definitely make it through the rest of this week?” There is an easy way for students to do just that right on this campus. Students interested in earning an easy chunk of change can sign up for a study through the linguistics and sociology departments. For each hour you work, you can make $10. Many experiments take 90 to 120 minutes, translating to a payoff of $15 to $20. Setting up a time to participate is simple. Students need to create a username and password for the SONA website, the system used to track students’ hours. Students can select a time that works for them, and after completing the study, they are given cash on the spot. “People just don’t know about it,” said freshman communications major Hillar y Wilk, who said she would probably do a study after finding out she could earn money. “And at the same time, it’s like, ‘What am I getting myself into?’” she added. Jeffrey Lucas, director of graduate studies for the sociology department, said their studies usually involve group interactions. Experiments posted on the linguistics SONA website involved listening and identification tasks, reading sentences and responding to questions and brain wave recording with non-invasive EEG and MEG. Lucas said all studies must follow certain guidelines to protect subjects: Experiments have to be approved by the Institutional Review Board that oversees issues such as participant compliance and anonymity. Students interested in participating in a study on the campus can log in to www.umlinguistics.sona-systems.com or www.umsociol-
ogy.sona-systems.com, or they can feel free to e-mail groupslab@socy.umd.edu. Students interested in earning a little more cash should also check out the corkboard in McKeldin Librar y.
Off-campus researchers often use it to advertise their own studies, which pay more than some on-campus opportunities, but are still just simple exams, inter views and sur veys. For example, the National
Center for Health Statistics is offering $40 for participating in an hour-long sur vey. Stephanie Wilson, a sur vey methodologist at the center, said their department alone will call in about 150 paid participants a year.
“We advertise in the newspaper, like The Washington Post, and they give out that free newspaper, called The Express, and the local library,” Wilson said. ga@umdbk.com
MONDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2009 | CAREER GUIDE | THE DIAMONDBACK
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‘It feels like there are more job opportunities now’ BY KATE MCGONIGLE For The Diamondback
David Simon graduated from the university in spring 2008 with a degree in mathematics. He took a month off, started working at a moving company he’d worked for during past summers, and when the summer ended, Simon began looking for a full-time job. He has been looking ever since. Although Simon graduated before the recession caused millions of workers to lose their jobs, he is experiencing the same frustration of laid-off workers and 2009 graduates
who can’t seem to find a job. “I wanted a break between college and work, which was a bad idea,” Simon said. “You have to get a head start on it. It was relaxing, but I feel like I might have missed out on some good job opportunities that got filled. And by the looks of things, they were the last ones remaining.” Simon worked for the same moving company again this past summer, but even it is too short on resources year-round to hire him full-time. He has also helped out with his father’s business. “The work I did paid for them
supporting me while I’ve been searching for a full-time job,” Simon said. The economy has forced Simon to keep his job searches very broad, rather than focusing on a certain field. He said he has used job-search websites such as Monster.com, CareerBuilder.com and Usajobs.gov to land six or seven interviews since he began his hunt for a job more than a year ago. “Those sites have a lot of good leads, but I’ve realized you can’t rely too heavily on them,” Simon explained. “It’s a good idea to branch out and search for individual companies, go to
their websites and search their employment opportunities sections for openings. It’s also a good idea to e-mail a résumé and cover letter to their human resources representative. I’ve gotten a few interviews that way.” Simon acknowledged the fact that companies receive hundreds of résumés and said he is careful not to set himself up for disappointment by expecting an interview every time he applies. He also recommended that students enroll in computer science classes because he has found employers are looking for someone with that background.
The good news, Simon said, is that the job market seems to be improving “Actually, it feels like there are more job opportunities now compared to when I got out of college,” Simon said. “I’m constantly hearing about government jobs looking for people, especially the Census Bureau. The 2010 census is coming up, so they will be hiring like crazy.” Simon is interviewing with the Investment Company Institute, which is the national association of U.S. investment bank companies, on Thursday. ga@umdbk.com
THE DIAMONDBACK | CAREER GUIDE | MONDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2009
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Five majors SKYROCKETin student popularity BY LEYLA KORKUT For The Diamondback
According to an article released by The Chronicle of Higher Education, five undergraduate majors are rising in popularity and are expected to develop at more universities: ser vice science, health informatics, computational science, sustainability and public health. While some of these majors are already offered as classes at the graduate level, there is growing student and employer interest in the undergraduate level due to many different factors. According to Blakely Pomietto, director of student ser vices at the the public health school, the federal government is looking for students with majors such as public health due to a shortage of workers in the field. The federal government estimates it will need to fill
54,114 positions in the medical and public health categor y by 2012, said Stacey Brown, a program director at the University Career Center. Positions in demand include occupational therapists, doctors, nurses, pharmacists, medical technicians and industrial hygienists, Brown said. According to the Chronicle, bachelor’s degrees in public health increased from 1,322 in 2003 to 2,639 in 2007. Pomietto also attributes the growing interest in Public Health to a change in perceptions about health in general. “Socially we are seeing more of a focus on health improvement and disease prevention. We see a lot of students who interested in a healthy and helpful prevention” Pimietto said. Health informatics, a related field, though projected to increase in the future due to economic
stimulus funding of $19 billion, is currently at a standstill. The more technologically based field involves training workers to use health care databases. However, the only currently related public health informatics field that the university of fers is the 12 credit public health informatics graduate cer tificate. Computational Science is similarly limited to only graduate study in scientific fields like atmospheric and oceanic sciences. While skills in computational science are not required by private companies, federal organizations like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration require that workers have experience with the field, says professor of atmospheric and oceanic Sciences Da-Lin Zhang. In addition to federal interest, private companies are
also a major motivation behind the growing trend in majors such as ser vice science. According to marketing professor Roland T. Rust, the ser vice sector of the U.S. economy has grown from 30
percent to more than 80 percent in a span of 100 years. “Ser vice science is a hugely important topic in the
see MAJORS, page 11
MONDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2009 | CAREER GUIDE | THE DIAMONDBACK
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Helpful tips to avoid the stress of new internships BY BILL BRAUN For The Diamondback
With great internships come great responsibility, and because the university is only nine miles from the nation’s capital, it is only natural to seek out a coveted Washington internship.
This could be a multitude of things, from lobbying, to assisting a Congressman to writing for a magazine. Though the actual internships differ greatly, the amount of stress a Washington internship can cause always remains the same. However, it is easy to avoid the
stress as long as interns remain on top of their responsibilities and know how to plan accordingly. Things that normally seem so simple, such as dressing properly, taking the Metro and time management can all seem like difficult problems unless you know how to avoid them.
If an internship requires a certain dress code, it never hurts to observe and ask questions. If you are one of those people who can’t quite understand what it means to be business casual or business professional, look at the people around you. If you find that you are over- or under-
dressed compared to your coworkers, perhaps a wardrobe adjustment is in order. For those students who are too busy to iron their clothes, an alternative solution is in sight. There are dry cleaners in College Park, including ZIPS Dry Cleaners, which guarantees your clothes can be “in by 9, out by 5.” Most students at this university have taken the Metro into Washington at least once. However, what seems like an easygoing trip on the Metro can easily turn into a down-to-the-wire anxiety attack if not planned properly. The easiest way to avoid this is to plan ahead. At any time, multiple parts of the Metro can be under construction. This can lead to extensive delays, which are definitely not welcome when one is in a rush. The Metro’s website, www.wmata.com, gives real-time updates about delays on each of the different lines. Check the website each day, and your commute will be much easier. If possible, try to plan an alternative way to reach your destination. Having a backup route if one line has heavy delays can be a lifesaver under tight time constraints. When planning your route, give yourself an extra 15 to 20 minutes to get to your destination. It’s always better to be 10 minutes early than 10 minutes late. Students make their spring semester schedules before winter break. Remember to keep in mind the internship hours you hope to get when scheduling. Nothing would be worse than having to run to Washington for an internship after completing a three-hour biology lab. Plan your schedule smartly and, if possible, try and keep afternoons free. Internship advisers would be pleased to know you considered these details when making your schedule. Going to the university and being so close to Washington provides students with a great opportunity when it comes to internships. The worst thing one can do is to pass on or mess up a great opportunity. So don’t fear the big, bad city. All it comes down to is keeping a level head and knowing how to plan ahead. ga@umdbk.com
THE DIAMONDBACK | CAREER GUIDE | MONDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2009
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Job-search sites offer options for students, recent grads
CareerRookie.com is a job-search website with opportunities geared toward students and recent graduates. SCREENSHOT BY JACLYN BOROWSKI/THE DIAMONDBACK
BY KATE RAFTERY Staff writer
When the unemployed or underemployed research job listings, the first place most of them will go, the Internet, presents almost endless possibilities, leaving students and recent graduates with no obvious guidance on which website to use. National employment websites, such as Monster.com and CareerBuilder.com, have designed search sites to help students and recent graduates looking for internships and entry-level jobs. CareerBuilder.com career adviser Allison Nawoj said her company’s newly opened CareerRookie.com is a good resource for young people to find jobs well-suited for students and require less experience than those listed on the main site. Carol Monical, program director for career resources at the University Career Center, said students often told her that the national sites’ job listings were aimed at people with more experience. She recommended websites like CareerRookie.com as well as MonsterCollege and CollegeGrad.com as places geared toward students and recent graduates. Career web links is one of the most popular sections on
the center’s website, according to Monical. It includes about 350 career-related links that enable students to define their job searches by field, location and level of experience. Careers4Terps, an online service providing students and alumni access to listings from employers seeking workers from this university, is another search tool and networking resource. However, some students said they would continue finding and applying to jobs the old-fashioned way. “[Job websites are] really convenient and a great idea,” said sophomore civil engineering major Russell Phillips. “But it’s no comparison to walking in and getting your face out there,” he added. But even if students and graduates have no intention of applying online or are overwhelmed by the amount of information they can access through these websites, Monical suggested they still look at online job listings to get an idea of what skills and experience they should highlight when speaking to employers. “If you want to know more about a career field, you can look at actual job listings to see what real employers want,” Monical said. kraftery@umdbk.com
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MONDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2009 | CAREER GUIDE | THE DIAMONDBACK
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Facebook gives employers a look into applicants’ lives BY ALLISON LYONS For The Diamondback
When it comes to Facebook and other social networking websites, it’s helpful to remember grandmothers and potential employers have similar values. “If your grandmother would-
n’t like to see that on your account, your employer wouldn’t either,” said Wil Jones, special assistant to the director for public relations at the University Career Center. According to Jones, about 44 percent of employers use social networking websites, such as
Facebook, to screen prospective employees. This means students who are seeking employment need to be careful about their online image, Jones said. “Facebook has changed,” center Assistant Director Linda LeNoir said. “ It is becoming a place for people to connect to people on there who may one day be your coworkers.” But this isn’t new to students. “When you create an account, you’re putting yourself out there,” said Susie Huang, a senior communications major.
The key, Huang added, is to maintain privacy and discretion when constructing profiles on social networks. “I don’t let anyone see my pictures, and I keep Employers use Facebook to check obscene stuff out applicants’ personal lives. SCREENSHOT BY of it,” she added. JACLYN BOROWSKI/THE DIAMONDBACK Other students, according to Jones, are not as look at their account [during nearly as careful. career information sessions],” “We ask a student if we can he said. “If they are squeamish, that says a lot.” Privacy settings can prevent some problems, but aren’t foolproof. Some government agencies are able to look at all profiles, regardless of settings. Also, Jones said that a company will often ask other students to conduct reconnaissance on potential employees’ profiles. “Employers are becoming younger and bringing with them the technologies that they used as students,” LeNoir said. “They are aware of what is out there.” Another thing to be careful with is finding jobs online through websites like Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace. LeNoir recommends using Linkedin, “the fastest growing network,” she said. “It was developed as a professional network. That’s the one students have a good opportunity to use.” ga@umdbk.com
THE DIAMONDBACK | CAREER GUIDE | MONDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2009
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STUDENTS LOOK FOR THEIR DREAM JOBS BY BEN PRESENT For The Diamondback
As the job market shifts to accommodate the digital era and social networking websites such as Facebook and Twitter are finding their ways into the workplace, new opportunities have emerged for students to strut their tech-savvy stuff. Students are looking forward to a new line of positions in different fields where they can combine skills they already use on a daily basis with those they studied in school. The result could mean a match between a welldeveloped pastime and a successful career in business. Rosemar y Dorsett, a junior journalism major, was a junior team member focusing on fashion at StyleCaster. Her experience granted her the opportunity to work with guest stylists, contribute to the website (www.stylecaster.com) and edit articles. “StyleCaster is a fashion discover y platform,” Dorsett said. “It’s a hybrid between Facebook, your favorite online shopping website and your choice fashion magazine.” Dorsett said StyleCaster, which started up last July, has succeeded because it brings the community, content and consumer to one central location. She discovered the opportunity on www.ed2010.com which provides students and young professionals interested in magazines with internship opportunities. “It’s good for rising talent,” she added. “I would kill for a job there.” Other students know that social networking tools can help advance their careers. “Promoting is a lot easier when you have a thousand friends,” said sophomore Alexia Smith, who eventually wants to own a nightclub that hosts live music. “You can get your message out that much faster.” The international business and journalism major has already started using social networking to promote nightlife in downtown Col-
lege Park. When dietetics major Ilana Fishof was looking to open up a yoga studio in College Park, which she planned on naming Proud Posers, she immediately looked to Facebook to get the word out. She also created a sur vey on www.surveymonkey.com to gauge student interest. “Facebook was ver y useful
in spreading our word and ideas, especially because we planned on incorporating a social network feel to our company,” Fishof said. “People were even finding out about it through friends.” While the project never materialized, mostly due to lack of venture capital, Fishof said she will look to the Internet again to promote her
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future business ideas. Fishof, who currently teaches yoga at the Eppley Recreation Center, added that nutrition and fitness will always be at the forefront of her goals. And while the competitiveness of the dietetics field has
forced Fishof to keep her career options open, she will never rule out the idea of eventually opening her own yoga studio. “Now that’s if we’re talking dream,” she said. ga@umdbk.com
MONDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2009 | CAREER GUIDE | THE DIAMONDBACK
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THE DIAMONDBACK | CAREER GUIDE | MONDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2009
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SHRUTI
RASTOGI
A
s Tyler “Brad Pitt” Durden of Fight Club said: “You’re not your job. You’re not how much money you have in the bank. You’re not the car you drive. You’re not the contents of your wallet. You’re not your f–––ing khakis. You’re the allsinging, all-dancing crap of the world.” Unfortunately for Durden, society doesn’t agree. It judges us by our economic value instead of our scholarly quests and humanity. Ironic, since society’s job market is abysmal. And on top of student loans, we’re also inheriting a national debt we didn’t create, but that’s a separate issue. Take a good look around. This is your competition. Are you prepared to compete for the same lower-level, underpaid positions as everyone else? FYI: You can’t put indie critic, vinyl purist or late-night porn enthusiast on your résumé. So let me help you get to that place where you’re sunbathing on your yacht in your Underroos while Warren Buffett whispers sexily in your ear: “You make me look like a pauper.” It’s simple, you just need to ... er, um ... OK, maybe I lied. I can’t help you get that far. But I can pretend there’s a silver lining to this situation. Trust me, I’m a journalism major. I know jobs are limited. Want to know a fun drinking game? Take a shot for every newspaper with staff cutbacks and two shots for every newspaper that shuts down. To the person who found me in my vomit after that Saturday, you
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Finding jobs: A race to the finish line can keep my dignity. I lost all need for it when I declared my major. Where’s the faux silver lining? We have a simpler plan of action than our parents had. OPTION 1: Move back home and leech off Mom and Pop, collect unemployment benefits and
enjoy. You’ll just have to relinquish all freedom. Say hello to Knitting Tuesdays with Gran. OPTION 2: Beg for a job. You’re indebted to someone, but you get to keep your independence. OPTION 3: Apply to graduate school or programs such as
the Peace Corps or Teach for America. Warning: Competition will be fierce. OPTION 4: Actually apply for a job. Go to a career fair, job hunt online, see your adviser and prepare a résumé. There’s still hope. Good luck, my fellow Terps,
and Testudo-speed. Don’t worry, I wouldn’t dream of competing with you. I’m aiming for that glorious victory lap as a fifth-year senior. Shruti Rastogi is a senior journalism major. She can be reached at rastogi@umdbk.com.
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MONDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2009 | CAREER GUIDE | THE DIAMONDBACK
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MAJORS from page 4 business world and they need to hire students who are knowledgeable about it,” Rust said. “The vast majority of jobs are towards service; a lot of large companies like IBM are pressing universities to have more training.” The university does not offer an official major in ser vice science. However, the Center for Excellence in Service, which was established in 2000, aims to educate students in the ser vice science sector with workshops, conferences, research and other projects. Furthermore, the business school offers curricula that are directly involved in ser vice science like ser vice marketing, customer equity management and ecommerce. Rust added that business classes have accommodated the growing need for knowledge in ser vice science by
including relevant topics in their regular curricula. Student interest is not solely guided by employment prospects, however. In majors related to sustainability, the interest can be attributed to an overall change in behavior toward the environment, said Mark Stewart, university sustainability coordinator at the office of sustainability. In fact, the department of environmental science and technology has seen a boost in enrollment. “There’s a lot of interest in sustainability — students year by year are becoming more interested in this. We were talking about data … student participation in sustainability are all trending in the right direction, people are more conscious of these things.” Though the university does not have an official “sustainability” major, colleges do offer majors that are heavily involved with the environment. The majors are applied and range from agricultural studies to biochemistr y to environmental science and
policy. There are also a wide variety of minors and certificates that students can apply for if they are not interested in pursuing a full-time major. All of the majors that are projected to increase in development and student enrollment are applied majors and offer workers with degrees in these fields an additional advantage in the hiring process. “Employers are looking for entry-level hires who possess skills that match their organization’s needs, regardless of major,” Brown said. “Many employers have shared that their minimum qualifications for positions is holding a bachelor’s degree. However, employers are willing to train new hires for the job that they would like for them to do. Students who possess an open, flexible mind and who recognize their transferable skills place themselves in positions that are marketable to employers.” ga@umdbk.com
THE DIAMONDBACK | CAREER GUIDE | MONDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2009
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Career fairs give students a ‘leg up’ against competition BY EMAUN KASHFIPOUR For The Diamondback
Career fairs are a great way for students to get their names out into the professional world. Each year, the university hosts two large all-major career fairs: one in the fall and one in the spring. This semester, the Fall Career Fair is a three-day event starting tomorrow and ending Thursday. During the fair more than 270 employers will be looking to hire students for internships and full-time positions, including more than 50 government organizations and more than 30 nonprofit organizations, according to Wil Jones, special assistant to the
director of the University Career Center and Fall Career Fair co-chairman. “Students who participate in our fairs report higher job offer numbers than those who do not as indicated by the UM Graduation Sur vey that the Center conducts each year,” Jones wrote in an e-mail. Students can research the companies that will be present at this semester’s fair at the Career Center’s website for the fair, www.careercenter.umd.edu/fairprep. “The No. 1 piece of feedback we receive from employers about our students being prepared is the need to research the company prior to the event,” Katie Ryan, public relations and market-
“Students who participate in our fairs report higher job offer numbers than those who do not.” WIL JONES FALL CAREER FAIR CO-CHAIRMAN
ing advisor, said in a letter to students. Ryan also advised students to bring many copies of their résumé, dress for success, not be discouraged if the employer asks for an online
application instead of a résumé and relax because students who participated in the fair get a “leg up” in the competition. For students who are looking into finally finishing college and joining the workforce, applying for intern-
ships or just learning more about their fields, the fair is a great place to get started. Jones said he encourages “all students to prepare for the career fair because you can’t stay in school forever.” ga@umdbk.com
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