The new graduates entering the workforce from programs taught in Spokane are in high demand. Students and faculty from each of the programs highlighted below are available for interview. Contact Barb Chamberlain, 509.358.7527, 509.869.2949 (cell), chamberlain@wsu.edu.
Construction Management
A recent column in the Spokesman-Review pointed out the red-hot marketplace for construction management graduates, most of whom have multiple job offers — or jobs — well before graduation. Most graduates from WSU Spokane stay in the Pacific Northwest, working in
Pharmacy
Pharmacists are entering an excellent job market, with average starting salaries of $72,000 to $75,000 per year in a highly competitive market. Given the national shortage of pharmacists, they’re often offered signing bonuses and student loan repayment benefits.
WSU has been expanding its enrollment in the Doctor of Pharmacy program, and this spring will graduate 73 new pharmacists.
Speech-Language Pathology
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, speech-language pathology is among the 30 fastest growing professions nationally. The number of SLP positions is expected to grow by 39 percent through 2010.
In
The shortages hit both school districts and health care providers. The Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction reported at the January 2005 meeting of the Professional Educator Standards Board (PESB) that there were 187 advertised vacancies in the 2003-2004 school year. According to the Hode’s Health Care Metrics Survey for 2004, 15.6 percent of vacancies for SLP’s in rehabilitation go unfilled. SLP’s are in the “hardest to fill” category for open positions.
Health Care Administration
Health services administration is a rapidly growing profession in the
Navy Health Officers
Some students will graduate this year from the HPA program with a guaranteed job, full medical and dental benefits, and 30 days of paid vacation a year for the next eight years of their lives. They will be commissioned as naval officers when they graduate through the Health Services Collegiate Program, a highly competitive national program.
During their studies, they receive $2,000 to $2,400 a month during the last 24 months of the program, as well as full medical and dental coverage, along with earning 60 days of paid vacation while in school. In October 2003, 11 students across the nation applied and only four were selected for the program. Three of the four selected applicants were WSU Spokane HPA students.
HSCP student James Moss available for interview. He will be commissioned the morning of May 6, as an officer with the U.S. Navy Medical Service Corps. emoss@spocom.com, 509.624.0564
Hospital/Health Care Administrators
Other HPA graduates are local health care administrators who find the degree serves to advance both their knowledge and their careers. They often work fulltime and attend school part-time, balancing work, family, school and life demands.
Available for interview:
Sean Douglas, director of finance for Rural Health Care for Providence Health Care. Sean oversees three rural facilities, all critical access hospitals:
Dan Simonson, managing partner and chief anesthetist, The Spokane Eye Surgery Center. 509.456-8150, dsimonson@mac.com.
Alex Town, chief financial officer,
School Psychology
The Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction reported 167 school psychology vacancies in 2004 — a 17 percent vacancy rate. An additional estimated 15 percent (148) will be eligible to retire over the next five years.
The post-master’s school psychologist certification program, taught jointly by WSU Spokane and
Of the 19 students who will graduate in June 2005, nine have jobs lined up for next year, most in the districts in which they are completing their internships. School districts make a job offer and ask for a decision within 2-3 days; students attending job fairs are invited directly to interviews.
There are five school psychology programs in the state and of the 50 new certificates granted in 2004 (which included those who move in from out of state. Twelve of the graduates — almost 25 percent of the total — will graduat
e from this program. This year, 60 students are expected to graduate from in-state programs, 19 of which (30 percent) will graduate from the WSU-EWU program.
Nursing
Nurses are entering one of the highest demand professions in the nation and this trend is expected to continue for the next decade. This spring, 161 WSU Intercollegiate College of Nursing undergraduate and graduate nursing students statewide will enter the workforce. Nursing students typically receive multiple job offers prior to graduation and have the opportunity to work in specialty areas such as the emergency room, intensive care unit, labor and delivery, cardiac care and oncology, and as nurse practitioners and instructors.
Each year the college educates more than 780 graduate and upper-division undergraduate students and prepares more entry-level nurses than any other
