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Students’ High-Tech Skills in High Demand by Companies
October 15, 2012
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology's Fall
Career Fair brought 184 companies and more than 500 representatives
coveting students to fill full-time and summer positions. The next
day resulted in more than 1,000 interviews with
students.
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Packed Field House: A total of 184
companies and over 500 representatives filled the field house of
the Sports and Recreation Center for the Fall Career Fair --
showcasing the high demand for college students having high-tech
job skills.
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"People with high-tech degrees are in high
demand, especially as companies seek to develop new products and
streamline operations to remain competitive in this challenging
economy," Todd Hubbell, vice president of logistics for
Endress+Hauser, a leading supplier of industrial manufacturing and
automation equipment.
The problem-solving skills of Rose-Hulman
students and graduates are key assets for startup companies, like
ChaCha Search, Inc. The Indiana-based company launched its mobile
answers text service at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. Now, the
service answers millions of questions each month -- thanks to the
development of algorithms that tag key words to decipher requested
information quickly and accurately.
"As a startup, we're looking to find
people that can make a difference for us. That's why we keep coming
back to hire Rose-Hulman students," stated Mark Stetzer, ChaCha's
director of engineering. "Rose-Hulman graduates thrive in our
fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment. They can hit the ground
running, with little supervision, and have the ability to make a
difference in many areas of our operations."
Those abilities are also demanded by large
corporations. Among companies seeking prospects at the Fall Career
Fair were General Electric, Caterpillar, General Motors, Texas
Instruments, Northrop Grumman, Microsoft, Archer Daniels Midland,
Chrysler, Marathon Petroleum, Raytheon Company, Halliburton,
Rockwell Collins, Toyota, Rolls-Royce, and
Shell.
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| In Demand By Employers: Rose-Hulman
Institute of Technology students were lined up to learn about
career opportunities available at companies from throughout the
nation that attended this year's Fall Career
Fair. |
The Job Outlook 2013 survey from the
National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) projects
upcoming college graduates may have slightly better job prospects
than those entering the workforce during the past five years.
NACE's survey found that employers expect to hire 13 percent more
people from the Class of 2013 than they did from this spring's
graduating class. (Rose-Hulman's Class of 2012 currently has a 97
percent placement rate, with a median starting salary at
$64,300.
The NACE survey reports double-digit
hiring increases are expected among employers in computer and
electronics manufacturing. Early projections show employers plan to
target those earning bachelor's degrees related to engineering and
computers during the 2012-13 college recruiting
season.
That certainly has been the case at
Rose-Hulman, according to Kevin Hewerdine, director of career
services and employer relations. He reports that companies like
that most students have resumes filled with multiple work
experiences, completed hands-on academic projects, held campus
leadership roles, and participated on competition teams during
their collegiate careers.
Even before taking their first exams of
this school year, Rose-Hulman students were receiving and accepting
offers for post-graduate, internship, and co-op opportunities from
employers throughout the country.
"Recruiting activities seem to get earlier
every year. If given the opportunity, employers would be here the
first day students move back on campus from the summer," he said.
"Throughout this fall, we have had companies hosting information
events in the middle of campus, hosting campus social activities,
and hosting tailgate events before home football games. They're
doing anything to get themselves in front of our
students."