.91& lml 9 S B Wednesday, January 18, 2012/ The Statement THEJUNK DRAWER Wednesday, January 18, 2012 // The Statement7B from last week: youtube stars Do you think people should be able to make money off YouTube videos? random student interview by laura argintar/ illustrations by jeff zuschlag Yes - No Were you awesome today? Duh This day and _ every day --Not enoug Busy vloggin Welcome to the Random Student Interview, where a student's name is just as interesting as her major. Your last name (Nations) is the plural form, like with an "s" at the end? Yeah, like the United ones. h So you're a Classical Civ major? That sounds kind of intense. What does "Civ" even stand for? It's Classical Civilizations, like histo- ry. We basically study ancient Greek and Roman history. lg And what do you hope to do with that? Be a curator at a museum. (Laughs) No, I'm joking - I'm actually pre-law. Well, I'm really bad with politics, but that major sounds like it'll help you learn about democracy. You would know this better than I would. Well, (the United States) got ideas from Roman laws. 7NE So do you have an internship lined up for this summer? Not yet, no. I'm still looking. What kinds of internships are open to pre-law people? Not really anything, because big law firms don't take summer interns unless they're in law school. So you can just hope to get one in Washing- ton D.C. with some politician, which is the most likely route students go with, or you can do stuff in business because there aren't any prereq- uisites for law school besides the LSAT. The LSAT is so brutal - not like I would know personally - but my. roommate took it. As a sopho- more, have you started thinking about it? Well, yes. But I haven't started thinking about preparation for it. I'm going abroad in a year, next win- ter, so probably after that. Do you speak French? Yeah, I'm minoring in French. So that'll help you when you want to be, like,the French ambassador or something. (Laughs) Yeah, exactly. Do youknow whatkind oflaw you want to practice? No, something probably with inter- national relations, but I'm not posi- tive. So something vaguely resembling your name. (Laughs) I have yet to meet another "Nations" on this campus. Well,mylastnameisArgintar,so I never meet anyone withmyname. There's actually only eight Argin- tars in this world. How do you know that? My uncle likes to tell me that - he's a bit odd. You could probably Google it, though. ________ _ |sear > (Laughs) Where are you headed to next? Well, I have every single class except for one in Mason Hall this year. *1- Landing a job 'after gradu- ation is no guarantee. In fact, the job hunt all seems like a big toss-up. A recent study done by Georgetown University's Center on Education and the Workforce found that unemployment rates for recent college graduates was 8.9 percent, with students pos- sessing degrees in architecture topping the list at a 13.9 percent unemployment rate. So what about those people who don't have a traditional four-year college degree? What options are out there for people with associ- ate's and GEDs? Where can one go with an associate's degree? Student adviser of employment services at Washtenaw Communi- ty College Sandra Worrell said it's certainly possible for one to have a well-paying job without obtaining a bachelor's degree first. "At WCC, we've got tons of associate's degrees and certifi- cates (with which) students can go out after they graduate and get a good job," Worrell said. While she said she was unau- thorized to.disclose specific names and information of previous WCC students, Worrell said she person- ally knew of several students who landed jobs in computer or tech- nology fields right after complet- ing an associate's degree. She mentioned a student who'd gotten a job with a local internet company and quickly moved up the ladder. "(The student has) been work- ing there for a long time ... and I think he's a manager now," she said. "He started out as a techni- cal support specialist doing trou- bleshooting over the phone when z 'fA o \f? t Is college worth it? Careers are out there for those without four-year degrees by Christine Chun customers call in." Other students with associ- ate's degrees got jobs as computer support specialists, tier-two and tier-three networking engineers, support desk technicians and network administrators, Worrell explained. Computer and information technology jobs have annual salaries ranging from $41,000 to $72,200, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics website. They also are popular con- centrations for students at Lan- sing Community College. James Woolcock, coordinator of student employment at LCC, said such fields tend to be "a bigger draw in the mid-Michigan area." "We got a lot of opportunities for employment as well as intern- ships or fellowships in (computer and information technology)," Woolcock said. "We're seeing a lot students go into everything from database administration to pro- gramming and web design." A broad spread But jobs pertaining to comput- ers or technology aren't the only options for students, according to Worrell and Woolcock. Both advisers listed many other pos- sible occupations one could have without spending four years at a university beforehand. Among the other jobs Wor- rell mentioned were positions in nursing, web design, welding, culinary arts, physical therapy or technician posts in pharmacy and radiology. "(Students) can all leave here and get a job right away with- out a four-year degree," Worrell said. Woolcock added that General Motors is also recruiting students to go into manufacturing. "We're seeing the manufactur- ing sector pick up here with GM," Woolcock said. "They're starting to hire, bring people (from LCC)." How important is a bachelor's degree? BLS statistics suggest that hav- ing a bachelor's degree is more advantageous for employment. According to a BLS Jan. 6 eco- nomic news release, the unem- ployment rate for all individuals with "some college or associate's degree" is 7.9, whereas for those with "bachelor's degree and high- er," the rate is 4.6. Despite the statistics, Worrell and Woolcock said people with associate's degrees and certifi- cate holders can still land a good job and earn a decent salary. So is a bachelor's even worth the time and effort? Woolcock and Lynne Sebille- White, senior assistant director of employer relations at the Univer- sity of Michigan; said they think students should pursue bachelor's degrees. Though Woolcock acknowl- edged that many past LCC stu- dents were able to earn a good salary with their associate's degrees, he stressed the benefits of having a bachelor's degree. "There are a number of stu- dents who can make as good of a way, (but) just not more so, than somebody in a bachelor-degree field," Woolcock said. According to Woolcock, LCC encourages students to pursue higher education, even though it's common for students to get hired with just a two-year degree. "Certainly, over one's lifetime, they're going to have more earn- ing potential with a higher-level degree," he said. "We're always encouraging people to think about that (idea) and the lifelong learn- ing benefits that come with a high- er degree." In a similar way, Sebille-White explained that while for some jobs, a bachelor's would not be as useful, having the degree is ben- eficial in most cases. "I think a lot of it is definitely industry specific," Sebille-White said. "Certainly, for someone who wants to be an electrician or plumber, a bachelor's degree isn't going to help them, and they can probably still make a good living (without it)." But she said in today's world, employees are more frequently requiring advanced degrees. "There are fewer of the higher- paying opportunities that would be available to somebody who doesn't have at least a bachelor's degree." - t Where do you want to go abroad? That could be good or bad,. At Paris. I've been there before, but not least you get to go through the nearly long enough. Diag all the time and see what's . ' .... up. But I don't get a change of scene, which I would enjoy. I wish I had classes at the new Natural Science building or Pierpont Commons. But being pre-law and a French minor you're probably going to be stuck with alot of classes inthe Mason/Angell Hall cave anyway. - Nations is an LSA sophomore.