SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA JOB MARKET : PART ONE: GETTING AHEAD : Moving Onward--or Upward--by Degrees

At Rockwell International, a master’s degree in one of a number of specialized engineering fields is the key to career advancement and high pay.

At computer giant Hewlett-Packard, fully 35% of the Palo Alto firm’s college recruits have master’s degrees or better.

And at Los Angeles-based First Interstate Bank, an MBA from a top school is still the surest entree to the fast track.

People with advanced degrees are increasingly in demand, especially in business or technical fields, experts in industry and education say. Yet whatever your educational background, the experts advise, success also can depend on recognizing an employer’s needs and honing your skills to meet them.

“What we’re really looking for is flexibility, initiative, teamwork skills,” said Barbara Waugh, recruiting manager at Hewlett-Packard. “A highly motivated BA with these qualities will advance further than someone with a master’s or Ph.D. who lacks them. A degree can be important in becoming part of the pool of people that we look at, but once you’re in the door, everyone forgets about your degree.”

Gloria Myklebust, college relations manager and assistant vice president at Union Bank in Los Angeles, agreed. “We pay for performance, not just the degree. I’ve seen cases where, while the MBA is going to school, some hotshot BA is working his tail off, developing a track record and moving ahead.”

June Millet, senior analyst and career counselor at UCLA, said: “You have to look at what you do well, the fields for which you have a passion. “Then prepare to be the best in that field. The most important learning occurs on the job, but you have to have the equipment to begin with. That means a bachelor’s, at least, but not necessarily a master’s. It depends on the degree of concentration that you want.”

With no more than a high school diploma, she added, even an entry-level position can be hard to find. “The exception might be a young high school graduate who has gotten on-the-job experience . . . in a specialty skill through an apprenticeship or internship program,” Millet said.

Career focus, as well as education, helps lead to success at Los Angeles-based food maker Carnation, said Judy Wagner, manager of staffing and recruiting.

“When we look at candidates, we really look at those who understand packaged-goods marketing and know that’s what they want to do,” she said. “A lot of undergrads don’t understand what marketing is, but we do have a number of good BA candidates every year who move up in the same track as our MBAs, although their training period is longer.”

Although an advanced degree may not be essential, a recent master’s graduate will command a higher starting salary. Robert Bruce, career planning and placement director at Claremont Graduate School east of Los Angeles, said that someone with a bachelor’s degree in business from a top-ranked school, for example, can expect to enter the Southern California work force at a salary of about $30,000 a year. With an MBA, that person’s initial earning power jumps to $40,000.

Bruce also noted a renewed acceptance of the undergraduate liberal arts degree among executives. “Now many CEOs are saying they want the Renaissance man, the educated person, and the company will teach them the specialty skills they need,” he said. “But that thinking has not filtered down to the recruiter level yet.”

In many technical fields, advanced training is still key. For the most part, this means a master’s degree, although a Ph.D. is often required for a career in research or higher education.

“Everything is very specialized now,” said John Wilhite, manager of corporate college relations for Hughes Aircraft Co. “Many technical areas in today’s high-tech industries require advanced training beyond a bachelor’s degree.

“If you come out of college with a BA, you’ll find that you’ll need to get advanced training in some field. Someone with only a BA will probably advance more slowly,” he said.

Opportunities are expected to expand in the near future for those with advanced degrees in the education and health-care fields.

For instance, in teaching at the college level, “Many teachers and professors are reaching retirement and starting second careers, and the replacements are not there,” UCLA’s Millet said. “What most people don’t know is that, particularly at the community college level, the salary and benefits are much better than they used to be. Starting salary is $30,000 for nine months, and it is past $55,000 for a full professor--plus the benefits are excellent.”

In the health-care field, an advanced degree, particulary in nursing, will be desirable, said Vance Grant, a specialist in education statistics with the Department of Education in Washington. “Growth looks very good in that field due to the aging of the population,” he added.

In business, “the MBA is still the ticket,” said Gretchen Thompson of First Interstate Bancorp. And the degree should be from a well-regarded school, she said, such as UCLA, Stanford, Harvard or the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Several recruiters noted a rise in popularity of “executive MBA” programs, through which mid-career managers update their skills or augment their non-business undergraduate degrees to improve their management techniques or change careers.

“It is preferable to have had some (work) experience before getting an MBA,” said Waugh of Hewlett-Packard. “It gives you a maturity factor.”

UCLA’s Millet urges career planners at any stage of life to keep their decisions in perspective. “Everybody can be whatever ‘successful’ means to them,” she said. “A person can develop a decent life style, make a living, provide for their future and grow if all they have is a BA. You have to find out what you really have a passion for. If you do, you will do