Practicality Over Passion? The Job Market is Saying Yes

I

The girl moved swiftly across the floor, spinning so many times it seemed as though if she suddenly stopped twirling, her momentum would launch her across the room. Her black skirt made a beautiful design as it hung to her body tightly and then was released as she pulled away from herself, launching her body another foot forward. Her Russian teacher was clapping on a two-four beat screaming “no, no, no!” The girl stopped, caught her balance, and looked up.  Her disappointment covered the giant mirror in front of her, reflecting back the pain that was so evidently clear: she wasn’t doing well enough.

She wiped her head of sweat and walked over to her gym bag where she pulled out a bottle of Evian, she took a long swig, “I can do it. I got it. Give me one more try and I’ll get it, I always do.” Jacques Offenbach was suddenly playing again in the background and sure enough she finished with a smile on her face. “Good, great, Alexandra!” her teacher said in her thick, Russian voice, “I’ll see you tomorrow again.”

This girl loved being in the spotlight. She craved it. She had made it clear that musical theater is what she wanted to do for the rest of her life. She refused to settle for anything less than her one true passion, even knowing that she’ll probably never make any money out of it, especially in this job market. “There is plenty of time to make money in my life, but only so much time to follow my dreams and passions. Once those doors are closed, they may not reopen, and to me, it’s not worth the risk of never giving this a chance,” explained Alexandra Levine, 19, a musical theater major at Marymount Manhattan, in an interview conducted a year ago.

This, a promise she had made to herself while still a senior in high school.  Like Levine, her friends vouched to never choose practicality over passion while entering college, a choice that remained hard for some of them, as it turns out arts-related majors are falling drastically.  Some of them remained loyal to their passions while others made one of the hardest decisions of their lives.      

However, the job market is actually getting better; according to a report done by the Center for Economic Opportunity, employers plan to hire almost 20 percent more recent graduates this year from last year. However, while the job market is showing some signs of getting better, it's not even close to being healthy.

While a big improvement year-over-year for those looking for work, the job market is still significantly small compared to the spring of 2008. At the time, in some areas of the country there was only a three percent available job rate (this may sound like a bad thing because successful job markets have a high percentage in available jobs, however, more jobs doesn’t always mean that they are jobs that people want, IE: part-time cashier jobs ).  Because the job market still isn’t fit, even high school students are starting to pay closer attention to their future majors in college.

II

The increase in open positions means employers have half as many applicants for jobs than at this time last year: roughly 20 applicants this year versus 40 in 2011, according the the Center for Economic Opportunity.

 “What we’re seeing this year is that some of our students are getting multiple offers, which we’re thrilled about,” said Janice Schwartz, director of career services at Northwestern University.  Daniel Zuccari, a journalism major who graduated with Northwestern’s class of 2011, hunted for a year before landing a job this month, “It felt great to get that offer, although it wasn’t exactly what I was looking for,” he said of the communications position at a global professional consulting firm in Pennsylvania. Zuccari says his friends who graduated in 2009 had an even more difficult job search. “Some of them are just starting to jet jobs,” he said.

“It seems clear to me hiring is picking up, and we're going to add more jobs in 2011,” than in 2010, said Forbes economist Mark Wagner.

“You still can’t just walk out on the street, hit up a couple of employers and get a job opportunity lined up,” said Schwartz, whose daughter graduated a semester early from Berkley California, as a biology major, and is still looking for employment. “She graduated at the top of her class, it shouldn’t be this difficult for her to find something. She’s clearly intelligent and qualified for many positions.”

III

Jennifer Schwartz sat looking at the newly budded trees in central park. She crossed her legs in her light blue jeans and scuffled with her light pink tank top. She pulled her fingers through her blonde hair and looked over at me with freckled cheeks and green eyes. She wasn’t from New York, that much was clear. “I came here in order to find work,” she said, “but nothing is available. I’m becoming really frustrated with the situation. I didn’t bust my ass in college to be here, jobless and withering away my graduation money in lattes.”

Sadly, Schwartz isn’t the only one having troubles finding jobs in this seemingly better market. In her home region of Chicago, while there is a large improvement year-over-year for those looking for work, it's still significantly less compared to the spring of 2008, when her region had 3,950 open job positions, according to the Center for Economic Opportunity. In fact, after cashier positions, the job positions with the most open positions in Chicago last fall were retail salespeople (96 vacant positions), food cooks (66), landscaping (65) and orderlies (60). A registered nurse, typically a job in high demand, was way down on the list, with 28 vacant positions, according to the Center for Economic Opportunity.

“I looked for jobs in the Chicago area with no luck,” Schwartz said. “When I see this data, it infuriates me. Not even nurse’s are in demand anymore?” These numbers show just how difficult it is for local residents to find full-time work, as compared to part time positions which require little if any educational experience.  People want jobs in which their degree will go to use.   

According to a report called the Vacancy Survey Report, Washington State Employment Security Department said of the 2,137 vacant positions in the US, only 21.1 percent were newly created, and more than half of those new positions were in the part-time cashier category as retailers geared up for the holiday shopping season this past year. It's also an indication that the jobs left vacant, for the most part, aren't because it's a specialized position requiring a unique skill set.

IV

“We can see high school students even making more cautious decisions about college majors now,” said Betty Amatangelo, Human Resources Director at New York University. She explained that students are choosing more practical majors like business and education while dropping majors such as English, visual arts, dance and theater.  Double majors have also become popular among students, too. “Double majors allow students to mix practicality with passion,” Amantangelo explained.

Some students will never budge, though. “Art is my life. I’ve been told to pursue something you enjoy, therefore I will stick with it [fine art]. I’m an artist not a practical person,” said Jamey Hart an ingoing freshman at Tisch, NYU’s art school. This is exactly what Levine, the musical theater major from Marymount Manhattan, thought while entering college, but it turns out her plans drastically changed.

Levine comes to her interview in jean shorts and a long-sleeved shirt, baggy enough to cover up her still-small frame. Her hair is down and her makeup is done with precision. She looks drastically different than our first meeting, where she sported her dance clothes and tight bun. She also looks a bit darker, like she hasn’t slept in days. “Oh, I guess I’m still just a little sad over my decision,” she said.

Levine switched her major at the beginning of her sophomore year to Business. “All my teachers begged me not to do it but I need a job. I can’t graduate and not get a job.” Although it pains Levine, she’s sure she made the right decision. She excused herself and left the interview early, in hopes of catching up with a study group to help with her economics exam on Friday.