University of Virginia Library

Placement Sees Teacher Need

While University graduates entering
the job market this spring are experiencing
the effects of the tight national job
market, they are finding a few bright
spots, including the teaching field.

Although the demand for humanities
and science teachers has drastically
decreased, many Virginia school systems,
such as Fairfax, Prince William and
Portsmouth, still indicate a special need
for teachers in special education, industrial
arts, mathematics and elementary
education, says Lawrence A. Simpson,
director of placement at the University.

His office is seeing an increased
number of students interested in teaching.
For example, on recent interview
trips to the University, recruiters from the
Fairfax county school system saw 37 students.

Thirty-nine students interviewed the Alexandria
school system representative, 34 the
Albemarle representative, 31 the Richmond
representative. This increased interest in teaching
may also be related to the draft deferments,
Mr. Simpson says.

One result of the tight employment market
may be a larger job pool for community college
teaching positions, Mr. Simpson suggests,
noting that he encourages students to consider
this possibility. With three new Virginia
community colleges due to open next fall, their
teaching needs are in all areas, he says.

Industrial openings in many areas, on the
other hand, are fewer. This year 65 out of 544
organizations, excluding educational systems,
cancelled interviews at the University. Eleven of
those were Virginia-based firms, 14 were federal
government agencies.

And while the University graduate is finding
the national trend of increased job opportunities
in accounting and business fields also holds
here, he is finding that over all employment
requirements are becoming more stringent, Mr.
Simpson notes.

"School systems which in the past have
taken people with only undergraduate degrees
this year are requiring master's degrees or
master's degrees with teaching experience," Mr.
Simpson says.

The job cutback, he says, is "across the
board" but is especially heavy in such technical
areas as engineering, physics, chemistry and
particularly in the aerospace industry.

On the national level, openings for technical
bachelor's degree holders are down 24 per cent
from last March. This reflects a slowdown in
the aerospace industry which has in the past
employed heavily.

"There are plenty of students who have no
prospect in the aerospace field as of now," says
Mr. Simpson.

He also cites one well-qualified University
Ph.D. candidate in physics who has not received
one interview offer after more than 125 letters
of application. Doctoral candidates are having
an easier time in such fields as business
administration, mathematics, drama, psychology
and education.

As one consequence of the job shortage,
many companies are finding that they are
interviewing more students than in the past.

One major Richmond-based company ended
its interviews the second week in December
because since October 1 it had already
interviewed more applicants than during the
entire interviewing season last year. The peak
interviewing periods normally are November
and February.

"We have tried to indicate to the students
what this tight market means for them
personally, telling them that they must be
organized, that they must be aggressive in
selling their skills and talents to employers,"
Mr. Simpson says.