It’s not a bad time to be a recent college graduate looking for a job in Indiana – if you’re in the right field.
A new study from Georgetown University analyzed data from online job ads. It finds employers advertise more than 60 percent of openings online, and up to 90 percent of those require at least a bachelor’s degree. The findings do not reflect market competitiveness, or the pool of actual job seekers.
Overall, Indiana ranked 37th for online college labor markets, with about 25,000 jobs posted.
Rick Farrant of WorkOne Northeast says if you’re going to invest time and money on college, you should pick a major that’ll pay off.
“Hopefully when people went to college they were choosing a career track that looked like it was going to be promising not just in 4 years, but ten years, fifteen years," says Farrant. "And I think that’s something that all people going to college need to pay attention to.”
In Indiana, those payoffs are largely in STEM jobs. And the Hoosier State saw one of the biggest national increases in finance jobs in the past few years. But manufacturing remains Indiana’s biggest employment sector. The sector is still growing, and needs employees, especially in machining and welding. Farrant says the other biggest needs are for registered nurses and truck drivers.
Meanwhile, the Georgetown study found Indiana to be one of the worst for those seeking jobs in education. . Farrant says that industry has the biggest group of employees near retirement age, so those jobs don’t need to be filled – yet.
Farrant reminds recent graduates and all job seekers that besides browsing online job ads, in person networking should be a priority.