On the Job: College students no longer dream of Silicon Valley

Do college students still dream of landing an Internet job, wafting up to stock
option heaven and cruising Silicon Valley in a top-of-the-line BMW by age
25? Well, the BMW may still be part of the vision, but the path to it has
swerved sharply.

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER STAFF AND NEWS SERVICES

Entertainment and media are now the top choices
for job-seekers, according to the latest Universum
Undergraduate Survey of more than 6,000
students at 56 universities. Given the recent
scandals involving accountants who couldn’t
count, it’s not surprising that auditing/accounting
was well down the list, after management/
consulting, advertising/public relations and
investment banking. When students were asked to
name a single company they’d like to work for,
though, they picked PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Not only is the firm seen as offering real
opportunity, the survey noted, but it has a
reputation for high ethical standards and stability.
It surely didn’t hurt that it has been one of the top
campus recruiters this year. Students want to be
wanted.

EMPLOYEE VALUES

Healthy jobs: With women and men facing more
challenges in keeping work and home separate,
some companies are finding ways to ease the
burden and combine the two.

Health Magazine, in its July/August issue, found
10 companies that focus on creating a work
atmosphere that caters not just to women, but to
their concerns.

"Recent research shows that on average, men
worry about three things: their immediate families,
work and money," said Alice Domar, director of
the Mind/Body Center for Women’s Health at
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.

"But women worry about an average of 12 things,
including the extended family, friends, their weight,
the dog and more. These competing
characteristics can make it difficult to stay focused
from 9 to 5."

Health Magazine consulted with the Wellness
Councils of America to find the top 10 companies
whose perks for women create an atmosphere
that makes it easy to work and reduces anxiety.
They range from excellent health insurance to
adoption assistance and onsite child care.

The companies the magazine ranked on top
include: The Hartford Financial Services Group,
Hartford, Conn.; Discovery Communications,
Bethesda, Md.; New York Life Insurance Co.,
New York.; Tom’s of Maine, Kennebunk, Maine;
Freddie Mac, McLean, Va.; The Mitchell Gold
Co., Taylorsville, N.C.; Abbott Laboratories,
Abbott Park, Ill.; Patagonia, Ventura, Calf.;
Merrill Lynch & Co., New York; and Conoco
Inc., Houston.

On merit: Fewer than half of Americans believe
merit is what counts most in job advancement,
according to a nationwide telephone survey by J.
Howard & Associates.

The survey of 1,010 Americans found that while
39 percent of employed Americans think merit is
key to promotion, more than half cite other
factors, including seniority (26 percent),
connections (17 percent) or luck (6 percent).

"The workplace meritocracy has always been a
belief held dear by Americans," said Mike Hyter,
president and chief executive of J. Howard. "For
years it was a matter of faith that merit will be
rewarded. But trust in the meritocracy is losing
ground."

As a result, he said, "more people now regard
merit promotion as a myth, or at least secondary
to who you know or how long you’ve been
around."

The survey found that younger workers are more
likely than older ones to think seniority is most
important, while trust in connections is consistent
whether a worker is 18 or 65.

And though there was no significant difference
between blacks and whites in their trust in merit (42 percent and 40 percent,
respectively), 25 percent of blacks credited connections for their promotions,
while 15 percent of whites felt that way.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/82088_onthejob12.shtml