Jobs with a bachelor degree in psychology

Ask Jim Connors what he wants to do after graduation and he'll tell you "make a lot of money and have a good job." But until this fall, the Waltham, Mass., high school senior's prospects were not terrific. His grades were so-so, his attendance sporadic and--like three fourths of American high schoolers--Connors wasn't going to get a four-year college degree.

Today, Connors is enrolled in a model apprenticeship program at Polaroid designed to put the good job, at least, in reach. The program, which President Clinton hopes to see repeated in schools nationwide, was developed jointly by teachers and Polaroid executives to integrate classes with on-the-job training. Connors spends his mornings in school, learning English, physics, trigonometry, machine technology, money management and resume-writing skills. Afternoons, he applies the lessons, building filmmaking equipment. If the administration's recent school-to-work legislation passes--which is likely, as the bill haswide support-- $270 million would be granted to states and localities to develop similar programs.

Business's motive is not entirely altruistic. In traditional vocational programs offered either by school districts or by independent trade schools, the coordination between what is taught and what employers really need from their future workers has been notoriously weak. Critics worry that voc-ed students train on obsolete equipment and tend to take only the easiest academic classes. Studies have estimated that as many as 7 out of 10 students who graduate from vocational programs never work in their field of training. Polaroid, like most manufacturers, is very worried about a looming shortage of skilled workers.

Connors and his colleagues are not promised jobs, however. The theory is that upon graduation, their technical and job-hunting skills will be up to the task ahead. Meanwhile, parents and teachers are marveling at the changes the program has wrought. "The transformation we see is remarkable," says Rosemary Vinson, Waltham High's program coordinator. "They show up for class and start studying. Last year, three of our students made the honor roll for the first time."

Into the B's. Connors has yet to miss a morning of school and is bringing home mostly B's. Afternoons, he reports to his mentor and boss, Jim Lynch, supervisor of the Polaroid skill trade machine shop, who is gradually teaching him how to use a lathe and a grinder as well as state-of-the-art computers to perform a sequence of tooling operations. Eventually, he will rotate through other departments, mastering the machines used to make camera batteries and medical laser-imaging equipment, for example. When the math calculations needed to operate a sophisticated measuring device escape him, he can bring up the problem at school, where it becomes a class assignment. Along with his high school diploma, Connors will receive a certificate showing that he has succeeded in his tasks at Polaroid.

Manufacturers are not alone in their desire to create a pool of skilled workers. Besides Polaroid and Hewlett-Packard, other businesses participating in the Waltham program include Baybanks and Waltham Weston Hospital. Elsewhere, some 200 companies--in fields from health care and insurance to telecommunications--have invented programs like those Clinton envisions. Blue Cross/Blue Shield is working with schools in Portland, Maine, for example, to train kids how to operate computer systems for claims processing. The Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, Pa., gives students hands-on exposure to various technical and professional jobs in health care. Tonita Dunn, a senior at Brighton High School in Boston, hopes the 20 hours a week she spends at New England Medical Center will lead to a job as an operating-room technician starting at about $25,000. Dunn is in her second year of a four-year model program, Project ProTech, which preps students from city schools for jobs in health care or banking. (The National Alliance of Business, at 202-289-2925, compiles a list of apprenticeship programs. Any student at a participating high school can apply.)

Dunn's courses, too, are closely tied to work: anatomy and physiology, algebra and English. Every afternoon she dons her hospital scrubs and reports to the operating unit, where she sterilizes instruments, keeps charts flowing to patient care areas and then accompanies nurses and doctors on clinical rotations in radiology, medical-lab technology, surgery and physical therapy. When she and her ProTech classmates were learning about the EKG unit, class assignments focused on the heart's anatomy. The program leads to a high school diploma and a two-year degree from a technical school or community college--though not to a guaranteed job.

The spread of such programs is bound to be slow--although the impetus to launch them will live on even if the legislation dies. Meanwhile, youths not headed for a four-year degree still need to find their own way. Interviews with more than a dozen career counselors nationwide identified the following paths as offering the greatest opportunities ahead for people without a bachelor's degree. (The fields that are expected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics to grow fastest are listed first.) Those with the best income potential often require some post-secondary education or employer training.

Corrections officer. The country's inmate population has more than doubled in the past 10 years, and no one expects a turnaround, sad to say. As a result, the number of openings for corrections officers is expected to increase 61 percent over the next decade, according to BLS projections. As the emphasis grows on returning prisoners to society, officers who have specialized in counseling will be called upon more frequently.

Several three-to-five-month courses stressing criminal law, human behavior and defensive tactics are offered nationally for corrections officers. Starting salaries in prisons range from $20,000 to $32,000, although graduates of programs such as the Corrections Training Institute at Miami-Dade Community College often earn upwards of $30,000 as sheriffs, counselors and caseworkers. Those who pursue a two-year associate degree program in criminology can qualify for jobs as parole officers making as much as $40,000.

Flight attendant. Although airline balance sheets have been tipping into the red, demand for attendants has taken off lately as a surge in business and leisure travel has forced carriers to add more and bigger planes. Since 1989, the number of flight attendants employed at the 60 U.S. airlines has climbed from 86,176 to 101,258 and is expected to soar nearly 60 percent by 2005. A high school diploma is generally required, and four to six weeks of unpaid classroom training on the job. While starting pay is low--about $11,000 to $15,800--the travel perks are great. And salaries have climbed past $43,000 for those flying 17 years.

Dental hygienist. By 2005, the demand for licensed hygienists is expected to grow by 41 percent--right along with the bulge of baby boomers obsessed with hanging on to their own teeth. Advances in cosmetic and periodontal dentistry (75 percent of Americans have some form of gum disease) have created a need among specialists as well as general dentists. Salaries typically start at $31,000 to $36,000.

To obtain a license, a hygienist must graduate from a two-year accredited program and then pass a written and clinical exam. Currently, there are 200 programs offered at colleges, universities and technical schools around the country; for a list, call the American Dental Hygienists' Association at (800) 243-2342. Two-year tuition runs between $5,282 and $24,984, depending on the type of school.

Veterinary-care technician. Ruth Lewandowski, 37, spends her days running lab tests on canine blood samples, preparing microscopic slides of feline tissue cultures, assisting her boss in surgery and counseling grieving humans. "It's a real mix of science and psychology," says the veterinary-care technician for the North Hills Animal Hospital outside Pittsburgh.

The pet population is mushrooming as senior citizens buy companions, and technicians like Lewandowski will be the beneficiaries. Sheer numbers, along with the trend among owners to seek out vaccinations and physicals (surveys show pet owners now visit vets twice as often as they did just 10 years ago), will increase the demand by 38 percent over the next decade. Skilled technicians are also needed to care for animals used in scientific research. Salaries at pharmaceutical firms like Merck AgVet and Rhone-Poulenc Rorer can easily start around $27,000 and climb past $40,000--though the sensitive may find it tough to care for caged test animals. Technicians working for a private veterinary practice can expect to make $15,000 to $25,000.