Government Jobs Generate Interest Among College Seniors

For years, some college students have turned up their noses at the mere thought of federal employment, citing poor pay, a low professional ceiling and a deficit of interesting opportunities.

Their reluctance, however, may be changing in light of mounting unemployment in the private sector and growing opportunities in the federal workforce, according to college job placement offices.

Although the private sphere has shed nearly 1.2 million jobs since January, the federal government has added more than 20,000 new employees just in the past three months.

Those numbers have some of this year's approximately 1.5 million college seniors taking a fresh look at the prospects for a career in government.

"It's not your grandfather's federal service; there are opportunities for all students," said Katherine Stahl, director of American University's Career Center. "I don't think there's any major that isn't served by looking at the federal government."

According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), federal and state governments have revved up their engines to recruit college seniors this spring semester. The organization's most recent job survey, conducted in October, indicates government officials have increased their class of 2009 hiring targets by more than 19 percent -- the only substantial increase posted by any industry in the survey.

"I know analysts are predicting that [the job market] will probably be flat for 2009 graduates; the unemployment rate keeps increasing," said Andrea Koncz, a NACE researcher. "But governments have a lot of positions to fill. I know they've had those openings for a long time now."

Contributing most to the recent spate of new hires is this year's federal government retirement data, Koncz said. According to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, more than 30 percent of the federal government's current, non-seasonal full-time workforce will be eligible for retirement by 2009. That figure, based on employment numbers recorded this October, could jump to more than 60 percent by 2016, signifying a growing need to start replacing the graying ranks of the federal workforce.

At a time when local and federal employees are cashing in on what is left of their retirement accounts, the trends make current college seniors the perfect, "moldable" candidates for federal jobs, Koncz said.

In that sense, college seniors and the federal government are, to some degree, mutually dependent, said Zach Golden, a senior at George Mason University. New graduates offer the aging federal government new skill sets, and the government offers graduates some much-needed job security amid a tumultuous labor market, he said.

"We grew up with technology," said Golden, who eventually hopes to work for the federal government. "Everyone in my generation grew up using e-mail and things like that, and we can bring this perspective to our jobs. Hopefully we can help things run a little bit more efficiently."

Yet, unlike Golden, some college seniors are still lukewarm about the prospects of federal employment. Among those students is Keely Foutch, an AU senior who said she has no doubt that she would rather practice private law than work for the federal bureaucracy.