Tech career fair draws recruiters, students
By LAYLA ASLANI, DMG WriterArticle Photos
HOUGHTON - Michigan Technological University students ditched their comfy sweats for business suits and dress shoes Tuesday.
The students dressed to impress recruiters from approximately 290 companies on campus for Career Day, a biannual event held to connect students with internships, full-time positions and cooperative education programs.
Career Center Director Jim Turnquist said the career fair continues to grow each year, with Tuesday's event setting a record for the number of companies present. Originally, 340 to 350 companies registered for the event, but later, some canceled due to the current economic troubles, Turnquist said. He said the companies don't have room for new recruits because many of the employees who planned to retire have decided to work longer for financial reasons.
Despite this, Turnquist said the demand for Tech students is still high, especially in the engineering fields.
"The U.S. is graduating only about 70,000 engineers a year, and the demand is in excess of 100,000, so you have a huge demand and a short supply," he said.
The U.S. Department of Defense was also on campus looking for students with a variety of talents.
"The Department of Defense is looking for all majors because they anticipate 50 percent retirement in the next few years," he said.
Recruiters from Caterpillar Inc. said they were looking for a wide variety of academic backgrounds including those in engineering, technical writing and marketing. Caterpillar Recruiter Jeremy Hammer said the company will recruit 500 students this year, with a large portion coming from Michigan Tech.
"Because of the success hiring Tech folks and how they do in Cat, we're asked to come and get more and more each year," he said.
Senior Ashley Roffe said the career fair last year helped her land a summer internship. This year, she was back to look for a full-time position.
"Something in the mechanical or manufacturing-related field," she said.
Roffe said she was looking for decent pay, good benefits and a company that supports innovative ideas and lean manufacturing, a production method that focuses on reducing waste and increasing efficiency. Roffe, who is originally from Warren, Mich. said she did not mind where her future job will take her.
"I'm pretty open, the Midwest would be preferable, but I'm looking for a new adventure as well, I don't mind where I end up," she said.
Tech's next Career Day will be Feb. 17 and is open to the public, Turnquist said.
Layla Aslani can be reached at laslani@mininggazette.com.
