Most valuable majors: Green jobs on the rise, medical field remains secure

The question on every college grad's mind: "Now what do I do?" Nursing majors have the luxury of their infamous job security, along with others in the medical field. Journalism majors have the burden of knowing they are boarding a sinking ship, as the big changes at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer can speak to.

But do the famously "job friendly" majors translate to secure careers during life after Seattle U? According to faculty at the Career Services Center, that question is difficult to answer.

"The exact number is difficult to determine," says Daniel Pascoe, executive director of Career Services. "The extent to which we can help students is limited. We give them the tools, but the hiring itself is up to the student and potential employer."

With the recent economic turns, Pascoe says, careers in the more global employment fields have emerged as the strongest. ‘Green' jobs such as careers in environmental engineering or environmental science are currently on the rise. Classically, careers in information technology and medical services have the most security in the job market.

According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, BLS, the construction field lost the most jobs in 2009 with an 18.3 percent loss. Education and health services each went up by 1.8 percent and governmental careers went up 1 percent. Those three fields had the highest gains in number of positions available.

According to several Career Services counselors, a "black hole" in one job sector affects the sectors around it. As the construction field weakens, so does the real estate field, making business students less inclined to pursue careers as real estate agents and in turn causing the related majors to become less attractive.

Counselors in both Career Services and the Albers Placement Center point to management and entrepreneurship as the hottest business majors.

"We recommend [entrepreneurship] due to the post recession period we're in right now," Pascoe says. "People are getting more creative. A field like journalism is more substantial but also more competitive."

The distribution of major studies at Seattle University sees nursing majors at the top. Out of 4,490 declared undergraduates, 446 are nursing majors. Business finance majors are at a distant second with 254 and psychology majors are at third with 233 in that field of study.

On the low end of the spectrum, film studies, clinical lab science, string performance, theater and music are all fields of study with less than 10 registered students.

As several Albers Placement counselors described it, a major is not simply a way to get somewhere. A student who thinks of it in such terms will miss many meaningful choices along the way.

"We seldom think about what will make us get up to go to work with a smile every day," Pascoe says. "We provide students with the criteria to make well-informed choices.

Fernado may be reached at fsioson@su-spectator.com