Graduates from K-State at Salina landing jobs after graduation

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Source: Kristin Magette, 785- 826-2642, kmagette@k-state.edu
News release prepared by: Erinn Barcomb-Peterson, 785-532-6415

Thursday, May 4, 2006

K-State Commencement
GRADUATES FROM K-STATE AT SALINA LANDING JOBS AFTER GRADUATION

SALINA -- As commencement time nears, leaving some college graduates still scrambling for jobs, many students at Kansas State University at Salina can relax.

Of the most recent Salina graduates surveyed by K-State, 86 percent are employed and 7 percent are continuing their education in a professional school or elsewhere.

Joshua Koch, a senior from Madison, is one of those student who doesn't have to worry about his job prospects. Koch already has a job lined up with The Boeing Company near Seattle, where he will work as a procurement agent.

"Basically, Boeing doesn't make all the parts that go into their products, so they need to buy them from other companies -- and that's what the procurement agent does," Koch said.

Koch, who will work with major Chinese and other Asian suppliers in his job at Boeing, will receive a bachelor's degree in technology management, with a minor in business, Friday, May 6, at commencement for K-State at Salina. He previously earned an associate degree in mechanical engineering technology from the school.

Lucy Crowell, coordinator for career services at K-State at Salina, said much of the success students like Koch are enjoying is because of the degrees they're earning at Salina, home of K-State's College of Technology and Aviation. The college offers two- and four-year degrees in aviation, including professional pilot and aviation maintenance, and the in-demand field of engineering technology.

"What we're seeing is that technology degrees are becoming very much in demand," Crowell said. "A tech workforce is becoming predominate in the workplace. Pilot and aviation maintenance degrees are in demand."

K-State at Salina's proximity to a major aircraft manufacturing hub helps, too, Crowell said.

"You're looking at the 'Air Capital' in Wichita, creating a need for aviation maintenance, currently a high-demand field, and highly trained engineer technologists," she said.

And students who earn degrees in technology like Koch, the new Boeing hire, have the flexibility to work for aviation employers, as well. K-State at Salina links its students to both technology employers like Black and Veatch, Honeywell, Kasa Industrial Controls and Phillips Lighting, and to aviation employers like Cessna, Jet Service Enterprises, American Airlines and Spirit Aerosystems.

On campus, career services helps students with their employment searches in various ways, from helping them write resumes and cover letters to offering interviewing tips and assistance, Crowell said. Career services plays host to career fairs and on-campus recruiting, and offers a career resource library. The service also helps students find permanent jobs, internships, summer jobs and part-time employment.