1993_03 Insight March 1993

              Page 4
March 10,1993
Credit card offers shower
campus, confuse students
♦ Income, spending
habits helpful guides
for choosing plastic.
By Felicia K. Chayt
Staff Writer
There are many credit and charge
card applications on bulletin boards
around the CSUF campus, but how
does one goaboutdeciding which one
to fill out?
If an American Express charge card
is desirable, the selection is limited to
the student standard, optima, platinum or gold card.
On the other hand. Visa and
Mastercard arc affiliated with many
institutions and organizations that can
make the choice daunung. Thecards'
features, special perks, and annual fee
vary considerably.
A random sample survey of 50 CSUF
students revealed why they chose particular cards. Nine students selected
a card because it was affiliated with
their bank, eight chose cards joint
with their parents to establish credit
history, and four were enticed by low
interest rates. Other inducements were
student privileges, no-fee cards, and
airline discounts.
Of the 50 surveyed students, 27 did
not carry a major credit card; the two
reasons cited were that they wanted to
avoid the temptation to overspend,
and that they did not think
they would be approved.
Budgeting certainly is left
up to the individual, but certain student cards make it easy
to begin establishing a credit
history as a closer look at cards
available around campus will
reveal.
The American Express card
is most differentiated from the
others because it is a charge
card and not a credit card.
There is no monthly credit
limit, but the balance is expected to be paid-in-full each
month. Late payments arc assessed a fee that varies from
state to state and could go as
high as the greater of S20 or
2.5 percent There is no annual income requirement for
the student card, an American
Express representative said.
Credit cards such as the the
Citibank Classic student card
allow payments in-full or in
installments with a 19.8 percent annual percentage rate for purchases.
Thus, once the minimum payment is
made, the balance outstanding accrues at approximately 1.65 percent
per month. The application states that
income is necessary,
although the monthly credit limit is
based on annual income. For students
the limit generally ranges between
S300andS1000.aCitibank reprcsen-
ihat are not paid in full at the end of the
25-day billing statement closing date.
The credit limit is based on income.
The Wells Fargo student Visa card
starts you with a credit line of S700.
tativc said.
The BankAmericard student credit
card from Bank of America requires
a $200 monthly income and has a 19.8
annual percentage rate for purchases
Available spending money beyond
school expenses must be at least S200.
The annual percentage rate for purchases is 15.4 percent
The annual cost for the American
Express student card is S55, the American Express offers a flight
Citibank Classic student card costs plan with Continental Airlines
S20, the BankAmericard costs S18, wherein domestic flights can cost ci-
and the Wells Fargo student Visa costs thcr S179 or S259 depending when
S18 annually, but may be waived the you fly. A long distance telephone
plan will give you 30 minutes free every month for a
year. Value shopping certificates will be offered.
There is a 90-day SI,000
purchase protection plan on
items bought with the card.
The Citibank Classic student card also offers perks
such as a S20 domestic airfare discount on any airline,
a 24 percent savings with
MCI on long distance calls,
and 90-day buyers security
against theft or accidental
damage. The Extended warranty doubles die product
manufacturers warranty.
Citibank Price Protection
helps you gel the best prices
on purchases.
The American Express card
accesses 48,000 ATM's and
is received at 1,700 travel
service locations worldwide.
The Citibank card can access
its credit line from 64,000
ATM's and 191,000 locations worldwide.
An abundance of credit cards makes
the choice seem overwhelming until
you target your needs and see which
card bests serves you.
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first year for overdraft protection.
The American Express card and the
Citibank classic card offer many special perks as inducements to sign on
with them.
Unemployment rising among lawyers
*> Attorneys face
bleak job market;
prospective students
are reconsidering.
By Mike Palmer	
Staff Writer
Baby boomer moms once told their
kids to become doctors or lawyers,
but with demand for lawyers at an all-
time low and career burn out at what
might be an all-time high, law may no
longer be a panacea.
Only 65 percent of 1992 Hastings
College of Law graduates had obtained law jobs as of March 1,1993,
according to Kristin Flicrl, director of
career services at the San Francisco
law school. She said this percentage
compares with 88 percent as recently
as 1989. Hastings is frequently rated
in the top five of California law schools
by various publications.
Flicrl said that the number of law
firms interviewing at Hastings is down
40 percent from the peak years of the
early   '80s. She said that other law
school career directors, from major
California law schools, shared with
her the same or worse numbers.
She attributed the present lack of
demand foratlomcyspartly to today's
market conditions but predicted the
current weak demand for new attorneys with major law firms and public
agencies would continue for the foreseeable future. She said that during
the early '80s major law firms were
expanding at an unrealistic rale.
Even public agencies like district
attorneys' offices arc sharply cutting
staffs. These offices were once a great
training ground for new attorneys
seeking trial experience and an almost guaranteed job for recent graduates of major law schools.
Kcm County District Attorney Edward Jagels offered this advice to
prospective law students: "Don't go
to law school. There are no jobs. "
Jagels said that because of budgetary reasons he has lost 13 deputy district attorney positions in the last three
years, a 20 percent cut. According to
Jagels, all district attorneys in the
State of California have similar budgetary problems. He predicted that
future state funding cuts will further
exacerbate the problem.
Jagels said that the attorney unem
ployment problem in the state is so
severe that in the past year "I have
received hundreds of unsolicited resumes and have even had two attorneys offer to work full-time for free
just to gain experience."
Flicrl suggested that prospectivejaw
students ask themselves their real rea-
down 20 percent from the S70,000
new attorneys could expect to receive
from those firms in the early '80s.
Pam Ramirez, director of placement for San Joaquin College of Law
in Fresno, said that most of the 45
Spring 1992 law graduates from SJCL
that had passed the bar were placed in
Hindi Grccnbcrg is President of
Lawyers in Transition, a San Francisco- based company that helps lawyers find and change jobs. She said
that every year 20 percent of lawyers
are leaving the profession and that 40
percent are changing jobs. The lawyer burn-out rate is higher than in
M Don't go to law school. There are no jobs.
I have hundreds of unsolicited resumes and
have even had two attorneys offer to work
full-time for free just to gain experience."
-Edward Jagels, district attorney
son for considering a legal education.
She said that making lots of money
working for a large law firm may be a
more limited option for future law
graduates. She said that along with
decreased demand for attorneys by
major law firms, starting salaries are
law jobs. She said that SJCL was
"looking at things becoming more
competitive in the future" as more
graduates from the major law schools
seek jobs in the valley.
Another problem facing California
attorneys is burn-out.
many professions, she said.
Grccnbcrg said that the number of
firms doing on-campus law school
interviews is down 75 percent Atone
law school, which she declined to
name, only 100 firms interviewed last
fall compared lo 400 a few years ago.
She pegged the number of unemployed recent law graduates at 50
percent.
In the past, teaching has been a refuge for some attorneys desiring to
escape the pressures of the profession. Today, even jobs teaching business law arc very competitive. Little-
known Hillsdale College in Hillsdale.
Michigan rccendy had 70 applicants
for a business law teaching position,
including a former Illinois Supreme
Court Justice, according to Business
Law Department Chair Ray Van
Eppley. Baylor University in Waco,
Texas had 150 applicants for a similar
position last Spring.
Many people think that there arc just
too many attorneys around and that
society would be better served with
fewer. This opinion was recently expressed by former President George
Bush and former Vice President Dan
Quaylc.
If the current lack of demand for
attorneys continues together with the
number of attorneys leaving the profession, this desire for fewer attorneys may become a reality.
Moms advising kids today may well
consider a profession other than bw.
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