Rising Economy Works to New Grads' Benefit

By Patrice Apodaca

June 26, 1997 12 AM PT

A recent national survey found that an improving economy is helping recent college graduates land positions right out of school. That’s certainly the case at UC Irvine, where a total of 235 companies recruited on campus this year.

That’s up from 211 companies that recruited at UCI last year, and 170 in 1992, said Bruce Riesenberg, director of UC Irvine’s Career and Life Planning Center.

While the attention has been focused on the red-hot information and computer science fields, Riesenberg said, liberal arts graduates also are receiving more offers to fill management trainee programs and sales and marketing positions.

Those jobs typically have starting salaries of about $26,000 to $30,000 a year, he said. The caveat, Riesenberg said, is that companies are requiring liberal arts students to have some technical and business background.

Patrice Apodaca covers economic issues for The Times. She can be reached at (714) 966-5979 and at patrice.apodaca@latimes.com