Winners, to a Degree : Graduates’ Celebrations Tempered by Knowledge That Their Next Test Is in the Tough Job Market

Row after row, clad in the robes of scholars, the new graduates of Cal State Fullerton on Friday night etched a timeless portrait.

The mortar boards and tassels proclaimed the beginning of an annual rite of spring: university graduation. Cal State Fullerton launched the Orange County graduation season, and its staggered ceremonies continue today and Sunday. Chapman University holds its commencement Sunday, and UC Irvine on June 19.

Amid pomp and circumstance--and scores of proud relatives--the new degree holders parade through ancient rituals.

But the stately music of graduation at the county’s three universities this year comes amid sour notes from the economy. The stubborn recession lingers. Job opportunities are starkly limited. And those who are graduating this spring say the future looks anything but promising for them.

“It’s scary,” said Tiffany Iida, 22, of San Clemente. “There are just not many jobs out there. It’s not like we thought it would be four years ago, when we entered college.”

Iida graduated Friday night from Cal State Fullerton with a fine arts degree in graphic design. She was randomly picked by the university to be its symbolic 100,000th graduate. Iida said that it is a nice honor and that she is proud to be an academic ambassador for the university. But she said she wishes that her graduation had come at a better economic time.

“It’s tough out there,” she said. “I’m going to move to San Francisco in June, but I don’t have a job up there. Like all the other thousands (of new college graduates), I’m going to be out there looking.”

Iida is upbeat about her chances of getting a graphic design job because she has work experience in the field “and also because I’m very determined and self-confident.” But many other 1993 university graduates are not so optimistic, college officials said.

Career counselors at Cal State Fullerton, Chapman and UCI said in interviews that many students have been psychologically shell-shocked by the bad economy.

“They’re really discouraged; they’re distressed,” said Anna Garza, director of career development at Chapman University. “Some students aren’t even trying for the available jobs because they just assume there aren’t any jobs.”

Thomas A. Parham, director of UCI’s Career Planning and Placement Center, said he’s seen “a defeatist attitude among some students,” who seem overly pessimistic about job opportunities. Ironically, Parham said, some recruiters have been unable to get enough applicants for on-campus interviews at UCI.

“A lot of students have this perception that there are no jobs, and so they say, ‘Why bother?’ ” Parham said.

Jobs are scarce, but they can be found, Parham and other university job-placement officials said. There are even some encouraging economic signs, the officials said.

Bobbe Browning, director of the Career Development and Counseling Center at Cal State Fullerton, said the number of job openings at small companies is increasing slightly.

“We aren’t getting as many recruiters on campus because recruiters come from large companies, and those companies are downsizing,” Browning said. “But the smaller companies send us job listings, and the number of job listings has increased this year compared to last. In April this year, we had 545 listings for full-time jobs for degree holders, compared to 293 listings in April of 1992.”

Browning said the number of recruiters coming to Cal State Fullerton has dropped about 10% this year compared to last year. However, she said that last year the decrease was about 30%. She said she is thus somewhat encouraged by the trend this year.

“My general feeling is that things have flattened out,” she said.

Similarly, Parham said that while the number of recruiters is down about 12% this year at UCI, there was an 18% drop in 1992. Like Browning, Parham also stressed that small companies, which don’t send recruiters to campus, have jobs for college graduates.

“Opportunities don’t rest with the big companies; they rest with the small companies,” Parham said. “So I’m telling students, ‘You have to be resourceful. You have to find out who these small companies are, especially if you want to stay in the local area.’ ”

Garza said the number of recruiters at Chapman this year is about the same as in 1992. Job listings from companies are “down a little bit, especially in the business field,” she said.

Officials at all three universities said there has been a marked increase in the number of new college graduates deciding to enter graduate school rather than the job market. They noted that this is routine in bad economic times. When times are tough, students opt for advanced degrees, both to wait out the economic bad times and to enhance their hiring prospects later on.

Garza said she does not always recommend an immediate entry to graduate school.

“It depends on what field the student is in,” Garza said. “For instance, I would not recommend that a new business administration graduate immediately enter into an MBA (master in business administration) program. Without work experience, they won’t benefit that much, and the MBA will not command the additional salary they think it will because they still need work experience.”

Concern about jobs showed up Friday, even in the midst of the joyful graduation ceremonies at Cal State Fullerton.

Family members and friends of the 300 graduates of Fullerton’s School of Fine Arts gathered in the Titan Sports Complex. Many carried cameras--still and video--and bouquets for their graduates.

Outside, the graduates, who were receiving bachelor’s and master’s degrees in art, fine art, dance, music and theater, posed for pictures with classmates, laughed, hugged and reminisced.

But beneath the mirth, there was seriousness in both groups. In the best of times finding work can be tough for an artist or performer, the graduates and their families noted. And they added that it will be more difficult now, in a bad economy.

Deidre Jackson, a “30-something” Costa Mesa resident who received a master’s degree in graphic design, said that since April she has sent out 40 resumes with little success. Even the few nibbles she has received from prospective employers have been frustrating, she said.

“There are a lot of (employers) out there who are just ‘window shopping,’ ” she said. “They don’t really have a job for you, but things are slow so they have time to look at your portfolio. But all that does is give you false hope.”

Jeremy Johnson, 22, of Fullerton, who received a bachelor’s degree in theater, had his mug shot and resume hanging from a string attached to his graduation gown. For six months, he said, he has been trying to get an agent and start his acting career.

“It’s very hard,” he said. He added that he knew when he began studying acting it would be a tough career, but it may be even tougher than he imagined.

“But no matter what, you have to keep trying because someday someone will give you a break,” he said. Pointing to the other theater majors, he said, “Here are 45 undiscovered talents just waiting to be discovered. And to me, that’s exciting.”

In the crowd of parents, Cynthia Hobbs couldn’t contain her smile as she sat in the third row awaiting the entrance of her daughter, Heather Martin, a 22-year-old theater graduate. While “very proud” of her daughter, the first in their family to receive a bachelor’s degree, the Lake Forest resident said it is a “difficult time” to be leaving school.

“But I think all of the kids understand that and are firmly grounded and realistic,” Hobbs said. “It’s not easy out there, but all you can do is hope for the best.”

Cal State Fullerton’s three-day commencement ceremonies this weekend will see 6,200 people receiving degrees, including Iida, the university’s symbolic 100,000th graduate.

Iida said getting her diploma was a great event, even thought it means advancing into an uncertain economic world. She said she remains optimistic.

“The only way you’re going to get a good job is with a good attitude and persistence,” Iida said. “That’s what I plan to do.”