When seniors at the University of Utah stopped by the bookstore to pick up their caps and gowns this year, they left behind a clue about the rest of their lives.
The school's Career Services Department always distributes a short questionnaire, asking soon-to-be-graduates what their primary activity will be once the melody of "Pomp and Circumstance" has stopped echoing in their ears.
Most of them likely filled out the form without so much as a twinge of worry — more than 80 percent already have some type of employment.
Never mind that for half of the graduates, this is not their dream job. Never mind if the job doesn't pay much.
If there's one thing the Class of 2000 has on its side, it's time.
And options. The kind of options that come with a strong economy.
"I've thought seriously about taking one more summer off before I work for the rest of my life," Aimee Smith said with a laugh.
The U. graduate with a degree in speech communication has an internship this summer with the Salt Lake Organizing Committee — unpaid.
But her steady college job for the past five years, working in catering at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, pays well enough that she's not worried about parlaying her new diploma into a high-paying career right away.
"I don't know, I guess I'm a little more realistic," said Smith, who lives in Bountiful with her husband, another U. student. "I know my dream job isn't going to be the first job I get. I have a lot of education, but I don't have a lot of skills. I feel like this internship is a way to learn a lot, and that's really important."
Smith's casual attitude about job hunting is typical of other graduates in the state this year, says Sam Morrison, director of career services at the U.
"Some students at graduation day haven't even looked yet," he said. "But they're busy, and they're not unemployed. They've been working their way through school, and they're comfortable continuing at those jobs while they concentrate on making some choices. They're taking the time to look at their options because they have a lot of them."
Some graduates are already basking in the glow of being sought after.
"(A good economy) has transferred some of the control from the employer to potential employees, to our graduates," said Craig Oreschnick, acting director of career services at Weber State University.
A good example? WSU graduate Travis Jensen, a marketing major with a new diploma, a new baby and several attractive offers.
"I've been offered one job in Georgia, a sales position for a contract flooring company," he said. "It would pay $36,000, plus I'd get a car and an expense account."
Jensen is also in the running for job at an Idaho Falls pharmaceutical company, a $40,000-a-year position with the perks of a vehicle, expense account and laptop computer.
Not bad for a 24-year-old who worked through school as a journeyman plumber.
Oreschnick says the competition among companies for the best graduates is fierce. The number of companies offering signing bonuses has risen nationally from fewer than 15 percent in 1990 to more than 56 percent in 1999.
Bonuses, profit sharing and stock options are all more common, agrees Morrison. "About half of the MBA graduates at the U. are expecting some kind of signing bonus."
Graduates who can expect the biggest salaries this year hold the same degrees as the top new employees of a decade ago.
"Not a lot has changed. It's still accounting, computer science and engineering degrees that equate to the best starting salaries," said Morrison.
What has changed since 1990 is the type of companies that are hiring.
"Ten years ago, a Web master was someone who herded ducks," said Scott Greenhalgh, manager of alumni placement at Brigham Young University. "So many computer-related jobs today didn't even exist a few years ago."
And the demand for these computer graduates seems to be outpacing the supply.
"We have about the same number of computer majors, but . . . we're losing ground," Greenhalgh said.
Corporate hiring is stronger than it was a decade ago, according to Morrison, but a plethora of small companies make impressive bids for the U.'s top graduates, too.
Most of the U.'s and WSU's graduates are looking for — and finding — jobs in Utah, say career services personnel at both schools.
"People are finding the jobs where they want to live because the economy is that good," said Morrison.
BYU students are slightly more likely to be actively seeking jobs out of state — students like Jon Lamoreaux, who just graduated with a degree in communications last month.
"Even if the ideal job asked me to stay in Provo, I probably wouldn't take it," he said. "Moving is what I want to do."
Lamoreaux is considering job options in San Francisco and Denver. He'd like to be a journalist but hasn't ruled out public relations. At one point, he's also considered teaching.
"I don't know, I think the world is wide open to me, to all of us, really. I feel like I could go anywhere, do anything. I would be remiss if I didn't try."
E-mail: mtitze@desnews.com