Contact:	Suzanne Trimel				For immediate release
		(212) 854-5573
		smt4@columbia.edu


Wall Street Is Number One Choice
For New Columbia Graduates

Computer Technology, Consulting, Engineering and Law 
Complete List of Top Five Employment Opportunities

	More members of the Columbia College Class of 1997 will begin careers on 
Wall Street and with financial institutions after graduation than any other 
industry, according to preliminary job figures compiled by Columbia's Center for 
Career Services.  Starting salaries for the new graduates average $42,000.
	Financial institutions offered the largest number of jobs to Columbia's 1,082 
graduating seniors, providing employment in investment banking, mergers and 
acquisitions, bond sales and trading, and municipal finance, said Eileen Kohan, 
executive director of the Center for Career Services.
	The next most frequent job offer for Columbia students came from 
computer technology firms, followed by consulting firms, engineering firms, and 
lastly, law firms (as paralegals), said Ms. Kohan.
	Smaller numbers of graduates will work in public relations, marketing, 
non-profit institutions such as the Peace Corps, Teach for America and religious 
organizations, in publishing and journalism, in the music and film industry, and 
as teachers in the United States and abroad.
	Columbia's seniors, who receive their bachelor's degrees May 21, found 
they were very competitive in a strong job market this year, Ms. Kohan said.
	She said students who participate in the College job recruitment program 
land jobs on average within two or three months.  "This has been an excellent 
year for our graduates," Ms. Kohan said.  "The economy has been improving for 
the last three years and with internships that allow our students to take 
advantage of the New York employment scene, our graduates are in a very good 
position in the job market."
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