Graduation raises many questions: How will I pay off my student loans? What will I do next? And most importantly, where will I work?

Some students have made the switch from degrees such as math, philosophy and psychology, to practical degrees such as accounting, business, engineering and science.
 If you are a college of liberal fine arts (COLFA) or architecture major then here is some helpful information. Even though the economy is in poor condition, there are still plenty of job opportunities for students pursuing a degree in music, art, humanities, English and architecture.

Those in the COLFA majors might consider a profession outside of their field. For example, it might be wise to pursue a teaching certification since the hiring of new teachers is on the rise.

According to www.bls.gov kindergarten, elementary school, middle school and secondary school teachers held 3.5 million jobs in 2008.

Of those positions, 179,500 were kindergarten teachers, 1.5 million were elementary teachers, 659,500 were middle school and 1.1 million were high school teachers. The job opportunities for teachers are expected to grow by 13 percent by 2018. The average salary for a teacher in San Antonio is $45,000.

“I think you have to be as competitive as you can be,”  senior political science major Erin Allred said. “Also having an additional language is necessary. You have to be able to market your degree to wherever you’re applying. Any degree is good, but knowing how to express what you learned is a plus.” 

Those majoring in fine arts might want to consider more commercial jobs in advertisement, design, illustration, film or television . Other job opportunities for the college of liberal and fine arts include: painting, sculpture, photography, printmaking and crafts.

Some students are reluctant to enter the job market because of the economic situation. Instead, students are deciding to pursue a masters degree or even a Ph.D. hoping the job market will get better while they are in school. Deciding to stay in school is what students like senior Elizabeth Martinez are doing.

“My plans after graduation are to get my masters in Student Affairs Higher Education Administrations and work with various aspects of the field before I head to work on my Ph.D.,” Martinez said. “I feel the job market is not doing so well for those with higher degrees because it becomes expensive to hire people. However, I plan to work with education, which is fortunately a more secure career path.”  

Some of the best tips for getting a job after graduation are researching the job as much as you can, knowing company statistics and knowing background information on executives, etc.

Companies will be impressed that you have taken the time to find out background information of their company. It is also wise to rehearse your interview. Also cover the most common questions asked during an interview such as your strength and weaknesses are.