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Careers for Jews Jewish professionals faring well; hut outlook dim for social science graduates by Walter Ducat The current economic recession has not been felt alike by all Jewish groups. In most professions save teaching and law, Jewish professionals have generally fared well. In some businesses such as the fur line and those producing other luxury items business has been excellent. But for young college graduates who had prepared for careers in the humanities, especially in teaching, the situation has been virtually catastrophic. In New York City alone over 10,000 Jewish teachers and other civil service workers lost their jobs. Many currently enrolled in the humanities face arP uncertain job outlook. I have counseled a number of college teachers who held doctoral degrees, some with publications to their credit, who were jobless and with scant propects for employment. One young Ph.D. confessed that in desperation he had been forced to tum to one of New York City’s most hazardous occupations—cab driving. Studies have disclosed that over 85 percent of the Jewish college age youth in the United States and Canada attend college. Now, with the current cost of college ranging Whd should go t - person who L 3Cji<r<»nji* ^ ge^jK-eity; S'th^Mesire and should be enabled to T attain hi^MSghest reasonable goal... ejo|b outlook is considered as at ^laiudblb.t l - - from about $4,000 to over $7,000 a year and an uncertain job market, the economic value of a college education is being seriously questioned. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has issued studies ^ suggesting that we are producing jr more higly educated persons than we will be able to absorb at their level of training. Two recent books The Case Against College by Caroline Bird and The Overeducated American by Richard B. Freeman argue that college is not a good economic investment. Kingsman Brewster, Jr. of Yale, in an argument reminiscent of the Talmudic admonition that the Torah should not be studied “as a spade to hew with” but rather for its intrinsic value, defends a college education because it “is culturally enriching,” a view that many observers of the quality colleges would hotly contest. Many college graduates who have abandoned hope of obtaining employment in their field of training have enrolled in vocational courses such as lens grinding, medical technology, cooking, auto mechanics and other skilled fields where the job outlook is deemed fayorable. Who should go to college? Every person who possesses the desire and academic capacity should be enabled to attain his highest reasonable goal. By "reasonable” I mean those goals where the job outlook is considered as at least plausible. Should parents of modest economic circumstances mortgage themselves for years to defray the cost of their children’s higher education of their job prospects are uncertain? Their answer will be governed in large measure by how much faith they have in the economic health of our country and in the intellectual capacity and drive of their children. I have counseled scores of young graduates who had majored in such subjects as art history, film making, dramatics, creative writing, radio and TV broadcasting, library science and other similar fields only to find that there was no market for their skills. Why had they not been informed (by appropriate members of the college staff), prior to their having majored in these subjects, of the highly dubious job prospects in these fields? The most persuasive answer is that many faculty members fear that such information would threaten enrollment in their department and possibly their own jobs. Despite the uncertain economic picture, there are a number of fields where most authorities agree the outlook is favorable or better. For example, it is common knowledge that those students who are able to gain entrance to medical or dental schools face excellent prospects. The following are a number of vocations which are lesser known but where opportunities for qualified persons are good. A profession requiring little emotional strain but which is useful and offers good remuneration is optometry. Only six years of post high school training are required to enter this uncrowded profession. About sixty percent of the 15,000 optometrists in the country practice in towns of under 50,000 population. Incomes of $30,000 a year and more are common for experienced practitioners. A good capacity for math, physics and science is essential. Excellent opportunites beckon for those fond of animals and who are strong in science. There are fewer than 30,000 practicing “vets;" about 3 percent are women. There are about 8,000 practicing podiatrists in the country, about seven percent of whom are women. Interested persons who have earned good grades in science, who possess good manual dexterity and a pleasing personality might consider a career in this profession requiring only six years of post high school schooling. Because of the rising number of aged and infirm persons there has been a sharp increase in the number of nursing homes to accomodate them. This has created a new occupation called the health service administrator. He directs such homes or hospitals. Preferred training is a master’s degree in public health administration or in hospital administration. An often overlooked and uncrowded field is pharmacy. Attainable within five years of schooling after high school, pharmacy offers many opportunities besides employment in retail stores. They include work in hospitals, pharmaceutical manufacturing companies, research laboratories, and in governmental agencies. Close to $20,000 a year is earned by pharmacists employed by retail stores, lower salaries are earned by hospital pharmacists unless they hold a Ph.D. degree. Two professions offering relatively modest financial returns but very formidable emotional satisfaction are occupational and physical therapy. Both require only four years of ! t post high school training, and college graduates can complete the necessary training within eighteen months if they have the necessary prerequisites. Engineering has experiencea dramatic ups and downs. It is currently enjoying an up period for agricultural, chemical, civil, electrical, industrial and mechanical male and female engineers. Salaries begin at about $13,000 to $14,000 and can rise to double those figures for very experienced men or women. We have over a million engineers in our country who are employed in over 25 specializations: Women are especially sought. .. Social service appeals to many Jews. While currently opportunities are tight, it is believed that the picture will improve Substantially under the new administration. Best opportunities await holders of the Master’s degree in social work. Turning to the business area, although there are about 850.000 accountants in the country, good opportunities still await the well qualified candidate. There are about 175,000 persons employed in various phases of advertising which include research, copywriting, artist and layout work, media direction, and production along with a variety of clerical workers. Only the very talented, persistent and those with strong stomachs manage to survive in this most competitive, often frustrating occupation. There are about 110,000 buyers and merchandizing managers who buy clothing and other products for retail stores. About 40 percent are women. There are many applicants for this very competitive, nerve racking field. An expanding field is credit management, which employs about 70,000 persons about a third of whom are women. Their job is to determine an individual's or firm’s reputation for repaying debts. The job outlook is also considered to be favorable in hotel and motel management which employs over 120,000 persons. Courses are offered by Cornell and many community colleges. Law, long a favorite profession among Jews, presents a mixed picture. While some graduates of highly prestigious law schools who were at the head of their class can start at $20,000 a year, many recent law school graduates have been unable to find employment as lawyers. With law schools overflowing with students, only the very bright, highly determined and those with well connected families can be sanguipe about opportunities in this field. The social sciences, which include economics, history, political science, sociology, anthropology and archaeology, have attracted a considerable number of Jews. The job outlook however for these professions save for economics and those with a Ph.D. in that profession and strength in statistics is bleak, since most of the jobs in these fields are connected with universities who are doing more trimming than hiring of staffs. Also dubious for the inexperienced is the outlook in journalism, public relations, radio and TV broadcasting, film production and direction, urban planning, architecture, library science, home economics and guidance (because school budget cuts have been especially drastic in the latter two fields). It should be noted that despite the highly uncertain outlook in these and other occupations, some gifted, determined or lucky persons are hired nonetheless. If Jewish vocational adjustment is to continue to be healthy and thriving, more competent guidance of our youth and of other segments of our population will be necessary to cope with the changes in our economy. 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