Employment stats

Educated Nation has a post up about employment opportunities for college [university] graduates in the US. According to the report, graduates have higher salaries, less unemployment and their salaries are rising faster than workers who do not have degrees.

Some of the top ranking jobs in terms of pay are Physicians and Surgeons, Chief Executives, Dentists, Airline Pilots/copilots/flight engineers and air traffic controllers.

All of those occupations earn a median salary of over $100,000 per annum.

Some art and writing occupations pay less than half as much. For example, Editors have a median salary of $43,890 and 84% have bachelor's degrees or higher. For writers and authors, it is $44,350 with 83% graduates.

The continuing privileging of medical, technological and high-level managers over the humanities is probably one of the factors behind the current poor state of the humanities in universities. Universities, after all, reflect the societies in which they are situated. Today at the University of Melbourne, there was a small protest of perhaps 15 students sitting down and talking about the cuts to the Faculty of Arts. The administration building was locked down, with at least one security guard at the doorway, allowing approved people to enter and leave, another three security guards on the stairway and balcony and another 5 security guards on the ground. The protester:security guard ratio is quickly approaching 1:1. This shows that either the protesters do not have popular support or that having a second action within about a week of the first is not a good idea.

But in other news, the latest Honi Soit features stories on the continuing problems with the Academic Appeals changes as well as the results of the elections for Union Board. Big surprise, the Liberal finished last and was therefore the only one not elected. Voter turnout was low, at only 2190 (33 informal).