Graduation ‘96 High School Graduates Preparing To Enter A Technology-Driven World

Members of the Class of 1996 may not know exactly where they’re going, but they know it’s going to take more than a high school education to get there.

From all sides, they hear predictions of savage competition: They will vie for jobs with workers around the world.

Their diploma doesn’t guarantee a living wage.

They may be forced to switch careers in midlife if their company falters or “re-engineers” itself.

Their high-tech peers already show up at international science fairs with patents on their inventions.

The Baby Boomers won’t begin to retire until 2010. Even then, developments such as automatic bank tellers mean companies will not replace all retirees.

“It’s more important that you’re good at what you do as competition gets fierce and the rate of change gets faster,” says Howard High, spokesman for computer chip maker Intel Corp. “That’s the downside of the world tomorrow.”

It’s beginning to make sense to 19-year-old Piper Walters of Spokane.

Walters graduated May 16 in a cap-and-gown ceremony with 70 others who received General Educational Development certificates through Career Path Services, a private, nonprofit company receiving tax money to teach dropouts.

Last year, Walters held a $5.60-an-hour job at Taco Time. Her mother persuaded her to try Career Path’s free program.

“I saw my life going nowhere. I probably would be working in fast food my whole life if I didn’t graduate,” she says.

Walters now works 29 hours a week for $6.75 an hour at New Horizons Computer Learning Center, scheduling classes for new clients. Her boss promised her full-time work starting this summer.

Plus, she gets to learn computer programs that may help her.

“I want a new car and I want to get my own apartment,” she says. “I’m becoming an adult and I’m still a child. It’s the most confusing stage in a person’s life, I think.”

What should Walters and other graduates consider as they plot their futures? Industry recruiters and others watching work trends offer this advice:

Consider a trade. The average graduate of a skilled apprenticeship program can expect to earn more per year than someone with a bachelor’s degree, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“We see a lot of people with college degrees who can’t find any work, so they come to us,” says Paula Holbrook at Spokane’s electricians’ apprenticeship program.

“It was the way out for me,” says Randy Loomans, who was a 30-year-old single mom when she became an apprentice ironworker in Seattle. “I was able to build a brand-new home and have a standard of living I wouldn’t have otherwise had.”

There are earn-and-learn programs in Spokane for asbestos workers, bricklayers, plumbers, roofers and many other trades workers. Call the Apprenticeship and Journeyman Training Center at Spokane Community College at 533-7178.

Be a team player. In February, the Boeing Co. began measuring some job seekers’ reactions to interpersonal problems and ethical decisions, says spokesman Bob Jorgensen.

Applicants for assembly mechanic jobs now take a four-hour test. The first three-hour segment is a paper-and-pencil test to gauge applicants’ mechanical aptitude.

During the last hour, job candidates watch a videotape of hypothetical on-the-job scenarios and then tell how they would respond.

Flexible, tolerant people who solve problems without throwing blame around score well, Jorgensen says.

“We’re looking for the kind of person who has some sense of give and take,” he says. “While they have strong values, they know which battles they can lose and still win the war.”

Boeing gets hundreds of resumes a day and hires thousands of people each year. The company plans to design similar pre-employment tests for other jobs during the next few years.

Be ready to compete. Young people interested in careers in the computer industry will compete against the rest of the world, predicts High of Intel.

“You may be able to work at home, but if you can dial in from Spokane, somebody else can dial in from Singapore,” High says.

Intel scouts young brains each year at the International Science and Engineering Fair, which attracts 12,000 of the world’s brightest high school kids. At this year’s fair in Tucson, Ariz., 150 of the entrants held patents.

Intel representatives visit the fair with scholarships they can offer on the spot.

“Some companies like to sponsor Little League,” High says. “At Intel, we’re looking for the next scientists.”

Change the rules. One in four American workers is employed by a female-owned business. Those firms now provide more jobs than Fortune 500 companies.

Woman-owned businesses - some started by women fed up with the traditional workplace - are flexible, informal and successful, says Pamela McCorduck, co-author of the justi-published “The Futures of Women: Scenarios for the 21st Century” (Addison-Wesley, $24).

“I think of them as the furry little mammals running around under the feet of the dinosaurs,” McCorduck says.

She tells young women to consider entrepreneurship.

“Do not take it for granted you will be promoted on your merits, that you will be recognized for the job you do,” she says. “There’s a lot of evidence that discrimination prevails. An alternative is to set your own rules.”

Keep learning, says Carol D’Amico, who projects employment trends for the Hudson Institute, a Midwest think tank.

“Constantly upgrade your skills in your field to stay ahead of the curve,” D’Amico says. “You may have to invest in your own training.”

The Hudson Institute believes continuing education is so important to the U.S. economy that it recommends that government give tax credits to workers who go in for an education retread.

“Corporations have the ability to take jobs offshore, so we’ve got to be smarter here,” D’Amico says. “The key to job stability is education, not building a wall around our country.”

Follow your heart, says Buddy Nadler, 62, who left a career in TV and movie production to study art and culture at the University of California in Los Angeles.

“Look around for something you think needs doing,” he says. “Then find out who’s doing it and ask if you can help. If nobody’s doing it, that’s your job.”

Nadler’s senior project focuses on the uncertain future of work as robots and computers ease humans out of jobs. He solicited e-mail on the subject from UCLA students through his website (http://www.campusweb.com/students/FutureWork).

“I found great concern among students about leaving the university and entering the business world,” Nadler says. “They’ve lost a considerable amount of faith in the ability of industry to deliver the jobs.”

Nadler swam against the tide to leave a successful career and go back to school. He says he’s happier than he’s been in ages.

“I’m not rich, but I giggle a lot and I have wonderful friends,” he says. “I sleep like a pussycat.”

Nadler’s niche, he says, is developing audiences for art.

“There isn’t the audience to match the extraordinary talent that’s out there,” he says. “I’m going to see if I can create a job for myself as a strategic dreamer.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 3 Photos (2 Color)

MEMO: IN Life section headline: Heading out

This sidebar appeared with the North Side Voice story: CONGRATULATIONS CLASS OF ‘96! High school graduation is a time to celebrate. The North Side Voice is happy to print the names of the students from north Spokane schools who have reached this important milestone this spring. Each name in this special section represents many hours in classrooms, much learning, much effort and so much growing up. Now it’s time for some recognition. If it really takes a whole village to raise a child, today is a time for all of us in this village - family, friends, neighbors, teachers and all others who helped along the way - to celebrate with the graduates and share the pride in their accomplishments.

This sidebar appeared with the Valley Voice story: CONGRATULATIONS CLASS OF ‘96! High school graduation is a time to celebrate. The Valley Voice is happy to print the names of the students from Valley Spokane schools who have reached this important milestone this spring. Each name in this special section represents many hours in classrooms, much learning, much effort and so much growing up. Now it’s time for some recognition. If it really takes a whole village to raise a child, today is a time for all of us in this village - family, friends, neighbors, teachers and all others who helped along the way - to celebrate with the graduates and share the pride in their accomplishments.

This sidebar appeared with the IN Life section story: GOOD FOR YOU, NEW GRADUATES! Congratulations to the Class of ‘96! High school graduation is a time to celebrate. The Spokesman-Review is happy to print the names of the students from South Spokane and southern and western county schools who have reached this important milestone this spring. Each name in this special section represents many hours in classrooms, much learning, much effort and so much growing up. Now it’s time for some recognition. If it really takes a whole village to raise a child, today is a time for all of us in this village - family, friends, neighbors, teachers and all others who helped along the way - to celebrate with the graduates and share the pride in their accomplishments.

Another sidebar also appeared with the North Side Voice story: GRADUATES ON-LINE This special edition of the North Voice features the names of all graduates from the high schools in north Spokane. Full lists of graduates, valedictorians and salutatorians from all high schools in Spokane County are available on the Virtually Northwest on-line service, http://www.VirtuallyNW.com.

Another sidebar also appeared with the IN Life section story: LOOK FOR GRADUATE LISTINGS ON-LINE This special edition of the Community News section of IN Life features the names of all graduates from the high schools in South Spokane and southern and western Spokane County. Full lists of graduates, valedictorians and salutatorians from all high schools in Spokane County are available on the Virtually Northwest on-line service, http://www.VirtuallyNW.com.