The statement concerning professional opportunities for Alabama graduates being confined to the south are absurd
One example:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marillyn_Hewson
Who said they were confined to the south?
These days no one is ever confined to jobs near their college. National job searches are easy. Most jobs applications are done on the company’s website, even when recruited on campus (which I think will soon be a thing of the past anyway). Interviews are initially by phone, often followed by skype. Larger companies routinely fly candidates in for face to face interviews.
I didn’t major in business, and I graduated over 20 years ago, so… I found my first job (as an IU grad) the old-fashioned way - networking with friends’ parents, and looking at the help wanted ads, and blindly sending out resume and letter to places all over the Midwest…
Now we have indeed.com, monster.com, jobs.com, online classifieds from local and national newspapers and periodicals, etc. With all of the opportunities to upload your resume to companies all over, it seems like it would be easier than ever to graduate in one part of the country and move to another for work (granted that you are not in 80k worth of debt and you can afford to travel for interviews, that is…)
With all of the resources above, do current college seniors really sit around and wait for companies to come to their college campus and recruit? I mean, that is definitely one very good option - but just one.
The number one issue in higher ed. is cost: costs are out of control, student debt is ruining lives, some are caught in the financial aid “doughnut,” etc. Everybody is flailing around, all talk and no action.
And all 'Bama does is come up with an astoundingly simple solution: here’s a chart; where you fit in, that’s your scholarship. And not tiny, meaningless scholarships for in-state only…no, they are significant, out-of-staters are welcome, and if you finish in 3 years you can use the money for grad school. And these scholarships aren’t for a third-rate school nobody would want to attend if not for the scholarships…no, they are to a big, beautiful university with solid academics across the board, mild weather, and the best football team in the country. Surely, with an offer that good, there has to be a catch, right? Like they are screwing over their in-state folks to climb the US News ladder? No, they’ve increased out-of-state enrollment and kept in-state enrollment fairly steady. Like they must be really snotty to applicants, right? No, they are warm and welcoming, and even when you tell them you are going elsewhere they are one of the few schools that sends you a nice letter thanking you for considering them and asking you to keep them in mind if things don’t work out at the other school.
So I hope everybody will get off the backs of the 'Bama boosters…their school (which I have zero connection to, except my kid applied there) is a breath of fresh air in the higher ed. swamp, and the 'Bama backers are just trying to make sure that these confused and stressed-out students are aware that there is a heck of a nice option in Tuscaloosa.
Or look up Tim Cook, another graduate of a lowly Alabama college.
Seniors don’t wait around and wait for companies to come, but it’s a good way to network and find jobs. As you noted there are many national clearinghouses for resumes, but there are millions of resumes in there. Getting your resume noticed is the hard part.
Amen @moooop!
True re: the millions of resumes… but networking and internships/experience can balance that out.
And we were always told to follow up, via phone call, second letter, etc., on resumes/letters we sent out, even blindly, and bring attention to ourselves as a candidate.
Somehow, I think that Alabama would get more respect on CC if they kept the same amount of scholarships, but did away with the public charts and instead offered them to a “select few” students that were chosen “holistically.”
I realize Glassdoor stars are self reported but you’ll see a high percentage of graduates working in the same city or region as their university so even with all these online resources people do stay local for the most part.
Two graduates come to mind: John Hendricks, UAH graduate (UG in History) that founded Discovery Chanel and its parent company.
First woman to run a major oil company, May 2015 announcement, CEO of Occidental Petroleum Corp, Vicki Hollub who graduated from UA in 1981 (BS in science in mineral engineering, petroleum option, which had a concentration in fuels and mineral resources).