Keith Reed
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The University of Iowa held its semiannual Career and Internship Fair on Feb. 24. I have attended these fairs since I started at the UI, which comes up to six at this point. One thing I have to say is that the jobs presented there have not changed one bit; there is purpose and fault with this. Specifically, a liberal-arts majors focused in the arts would find themselves in a peculiarly sticky situation.
I am not trying to imply that the fair was not a success, but it just did not benefit my demographic. People in the constantly booming fields often look down on those interested in the arts. The employers and internship providers featured were looking for numerous employees and interns, and these companies included staples such as Target and PepsiCo, the local West Liberty Foods, and Hy-Vee.
The problem is that those companies looking for interns in the arts field usually are looking for a few people sporadically. This makes inviting them to career and internship fairs difficult to lock down.
The Association of American Colleges and Universities published a report in 2013 titled “How Liberal Arts and Sciences Majors Fare in Employment: A Report on Earnings and Long-Term Career Paths.” The report describes the importance of a liberal-arts education and long-term career paths.
Three hundred-eighteen employers completed the survey, and 80 percent of them agreed that, regardless of major, every college student should have a broad knowledge of the liberal arts and sciences. Having a liberal-arts education has exposed me to a wide variety of topics and issues that I would not have known otherwise. Fifty-six percent of employers express satisfaction with the job that colleges do in preparing their graduates for success in the workforce. I am only in my third year, but I feel that an internship and a final year would prepare me for the job market.
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The job market seems to be favorable for liberal-arts majors, but this does not correlate to actual job prospects when we graduate from college. In a December 2015, a chart created by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on job openings based on major occupational groups, it states that there are approximately 770,000 job openings. These numbers were projected for 2014 to 2024 and specifically for occupations in arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media. This number is a culmination of new jobs and others created by replacement.
Compared with other occupational groups in the chart, arts and entertainment is on the lower end of the spectrum. Office and administrative support is on the higher end of the spectrum with 5.5 million jobs, roughly seven times higher than the number of jobs estimated for arts and entertainment.
This information only adds to the disheartening that ensues when attending job and career fairs because there is a shift away from the arts to those logistical- and business-minded. For the artists of the world, this could lead to unhappiness in the workplace, because many cannot connect with the office lifestyle.
For all the liberal-arts and science majors alike, do not fret. Whether the job market is booming or not, we will make a way where there is none. I, too, have become disheartened when applying for jobs and internships, but the drive that my education has instilled in me has given me the power to keep moving in the face of rejection. These college and career fairs may not cater to us specifically, but that sure would not stop us from attending and putting our best foot forward.
