By Cheryl Calhoun
UHCLIDIAN STAFF

After spending four years working on earning a degree, most senior college students expect to finally be stress free. Yet, for many potential graduates, the stress has only begun.

This is how John Mullins, marketing major at UH-Clear Lake, is feeling now that graduation is approaching. He is jobless in a job market and economy that are both doing poorly.

Mullins had been working for a company while going to school that had promised him a job using his degree; however, due to company downsizing, he was laid off. Then he was offered a job with another company, but it downsized as well and the job offer was withdrawn.

"Everybody wants to start me off in the lower 20s and I was hoping to make much more," Mullins said.

Like Mullins, many soon-to-be graduates have made post-graduate plans, whether it is getting their own place, getting a bigger place or just paying off debts.

The Texas Labor Market promises a better future for job hunters. From 2000-2010, employment in Texas is expected to increase from 9.7 million to 11.5 million. Once again, Texas is likely to outpace the projected national annual average of 176,146 jobs per year during the projected period.

The services industry will account for more than 50 percent of these jobs. Of this 50 percent, business services, health services and educational services will be responsible for 70 percent.

Within business services, personnel supply services will offer the most jobs due to positions in staffing services. With businesses striving to save money, companies are expected to reduce staff and rely on outside services to provide preliminary employment screening tasks.

All major industries are expected to grow, with the exception of mining. Mining is the only major industry expected to decline by 2010. Crude petroleum and natural gas is projected to shed jobs while gas field services stay at a plateau.

The Texas Labor Market forecasts a better future; however, Houston is a city with a lot of crude petroleum and natural gas industries. The collapse of Enron left a lot of experienced people looking for jobs in an industry that is already shedding employees.

The overall job rate in Houston has been declining since 1997.

Rhonda Boyles, associate director in Career and Counsel-ing Services, recommends a few approaches for students to take when looking for a job. First, consider temporary or contract positions to gain experience while still looking for the type of work most desired. Also, internships or volunteer positions can help build a network of contacts and translate into a paid position.

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