Companies Show Up in Force for Science
and Tech Job Fair Despite Weak Economy

Christine Clark | November 2, 2009

Almost 1,000 students and alumni attended the Career Services Center’s Science and Technology Job Fair Thursday afternoon.

Qualcomm, Cisco, Amazon, Intuit Inc., Microsoft and Yahoo were just a few of the companies at the Career Services Center Science and Technology Job Fair Thursday afternoon. Almost a 1,000 students and alums crowded the Price Center to explore job opportunities and network with industry professionals.

Attendees were given a free reusable bag from the Career Services Center.

“Fall tends to be a busy time for technical companies,” said Andy Ceperley, director of the Career Services Center. “This is the time of year when they are hiring and making internship decisions. We are fortunate because although the tech job market is not what it was a few years ago, the prominence of our academic programs make UC San Diego a recruiting destination, even during this challenging employment climate.”

A survey of UC San Diego’s 2008 graduates revealed strong job placement and graduate school admissions. Of those responding to the survey, 28 percent are working in technology; 24 percent in business; 22 percent in human services; and 19 percent in life health sciences.

Sorena Rashmanian, a Warren College senior majoring in bioengineering, attended the job fair to explore his career options. “I am going to enter the Jacob’s School’s graduate program next quarter, but I wanted to get familiar with the companies in my area,” he said. “I’m impressed with the caliber of companies; I’m particularly interested in bioptics, Baxter and Illumina.”

Students and alumni explored job opportunities and networked with industry professionals from companies that included Qualcomm, Cisco and Amazon.com.

Throughout the year, the Career Services Center provides a variety of services to students and alums that help them get ahead in the workplace or plan for graduate or professional school. The Science and Technology Job Fair is one of three major job fairs that the Career Services Center is hosting this year. In addition to attending these events, Ceperley recommends that students take the time to perfect their résumé, practice their interview skills, broaden professional relationships, and gain internship experience.

Last year, the center hosted dozens of career workshops, fairs and other events for students facing an uncertain job market. The events helped students target industries and geographic locations with more job opportunities. In addition, last June, the center gave 2009 alums free access to their resources throughout the summer and as a result the center had 1,700 unique visits from the recent graduates.