Before you choose a college degree you might want to think twice. A new report out of West Liberty University is taking a different look at what jobs will be available for new graduates.
Dr. Serka Catma, a senior fellow at West Liberty’s Institute for Innovation and Education, has put together a report on jobs and education. He says instead of just looking at employment projections, his report also takes into consideration supply and demand.
Catma breaks down which careers are viable here in West Virginia and which ones you might as well be prepared to move out of state to find a paying job.
For example, Dr. Catma says if you’re thinking about majoring in nursing you can work just about anywhere you choose within West Virginia.
“A lot of people say medical-related fields are going to be ‘hot’ and nursing is,” says Catma. “If we include only graduates from public universities in the state of West Virginia, we have about a 200 percent shortage.”
He says if you add in graduates from two-year programs and private institutions in-state, nurses will still be needed.
Catma says jobs in the medical field, period, are a good bet for West Virginia students. But he stresses, you don’t have to have a masters or even bachelor’s degree in the medical field to land a job.
“Some of the medical-related degrees that will be in high demand require only two-year degrees. For example: radiology technology, paramedic sciences, medical transcription, medical laboratory technician and dental technicians,” explained Catma.
On the other hand, if you get a degree in engineering, you may have to look beyond West Virginia’s borders for a job.
“Based on our research, we find that except for computer engineering, almost all the engineering degrees are going to have some sort of labor surplus,” Catma said.
Jobs in the chemical industry, which used to be a dime a dozen, now nearly impossible to find according to the data in Dr. Catma’s research.
“If 92 students [in West Virginia] graduate with a degree in chemistry, there are only 14 jobs that will be available.”
Catma says those are the cold, hard numbers.
Catma was a guest Monday on MetroNews Talkline.
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Comments
Keefe
Good internet research by the Dr. No engineering jobs are just a sign of no industry in the U.S.A. There are not many out of State Jobs either in the field of engineering unless its a Gov job. Medical is always needed in WV because we are so unhealthy and fat. We need School teachers. No mention of pharmaceutical.Maybe that is because that is a saturated field,but Universities continue to lie about that demand as well as engineering to dupe students into believing they will have a job when they graduate. My advice is learn IT, telecommunications and electronics in a trade school. HVAC is a good one too. Colleges are only interested in money to keep afloat not in the interest of the student. Skilled people are needed in WV not college nonthinking mutton heads. Most can not think for themselves and are basically taught what to think not how to think on their own from grade school on.
February 19, 2013 at 7:22 am | Report comment
Levelheaded
If you're willing to work, you have a leg up on 80% of the population. If you know how to think, now you're at 95%. Education or not.
February 19, 2013 at 8:55 am | Report comment