College is a journey that offers growth beyond
academics. You learn about maturity (Mom and Dad not there to protect you
from every fall), develop interpersonal skills (we all had THAT roommate or
THAT professor), build character (do you do the right thing when parents are
not there), understand the realities of relationships (and the drama of break
ups and crushes and “the one that got away”), strengthen and deepen friendships
that will last a lifetime (how we love to hear from our college buddies three
decades later), improve time management skills (term papers, sleep deprived,
8am lab, football on the green, study for Econ, etc.), learn your purpose and
passions (the protests, the opinions, the like-minded friends with causes,
etc.) AND learning the realities of financing your life (I spent all my money
on Panera on Tuesday and I do not get paid until Friday).
So here we are … what school, what major, what
activities? According to a recent article in Forbes (by Ashley Stahl),
“82% of 2015 graduates researched their field of choice before determining what
major to pursue in college. When you look at this statistic through the lens of
student loans and the 2008 recession, it comes as no surprise that students
want to pursue careers that will enable them to pay off their hefty debt.
If your degree alone guaranteed a job, this kind of strategic long-term planning
would make sense. And yes, there are certain jobs that require the
skills affiliated with specified degrees, such as engineering, architecture,
and computer science. But by and large, your college major is unlikely to have
any bearing on your career success.”
I have learned in life, that my most successful friends were
those that found a career that supports their lifestyle and supports their
passion. Successful, in my mind, is not defined by dollars, but by
happiness. Think of the teachers we all know and love – they are not
jet-setting the world. They are making a difference every day in shaping
the future of this country. What a rewarding experience it must be when
students come back ten years later to thank their teachers for course correcting.
Or the shout-outs at a grocery store from someone who graduated years earlier and
now wants to show their new baby! And what about the hand written note
when a hard-working student gets into their college choice! That is
success.
That said, here are some of the
facts. A NerdWallet study of college graduates’ employment, industries
and salaries from more than 240 top-rated undergraduate programs found that
those who obtain technical degrees and attend specialized schools enjoy high
employment rates and salaries. They also found that only around half of
students found employment in their field of study right out of college.
Financial services, consulting, education/service, and information technology
were among the most popular industries. Recent graduates of specialized
schools, such as engineering, nursing and business, were the most likely to
find employment. And finally, the engineering and business students
earned the highest starting salaries.
From The Atlantic (White), “Economists agree that going to
college matters a lot for future earnings. But does the college logo on that
degree make a difference? That depends—for certain majors, going to
a top-tier institution is invaluable says much of the research. But for many
career paths, it just doesn’t matter where our son or daughter
got his or her education, according to a recent study from Eric Eide and Mark
Showalter of Brigham Young University and Michael Hilmer of San Diego State
University. The researchers compared the earnings of individuals from schools
with different selectivity rankings, controlling for their majors and their
level of degree attainment (e.g. those with solely bachelor’s degrees were
compared to other’s with solely bachelor’s degrees) 10 years after they
completed undergrad.”
According to their results, school choice matters the most
for business majors. Those who attended top schools earn 12 percent more than
their peers who went to schools that were in the middle of the pack. And grads
from those mid-tier institutions earned 6 percent more than their peers who
went to the least-selective schools. For social science and education majors
there was also a significant boost that came from attending a better-ranked
school.
By contrast, engineers who went to the most selective
schools enjoyed only a marginal earnings benefit over their peers at mid-tier
institutions. And while humanities majors at the most elite schools enjoyed
higher earnings than peers at the least selective schools, there was virtually
no difference between top-tier and mid-tier earnings. For science majors,
the prestige of a school mattered least of all. The authors found that the
sciences exhibited the “statistically weakest earnings differences for a given
major across college selectivity types."
Guess what, a hard working employee who moves up in an
organization because they have all the leadership qualities will get one or two
promotions vs their peers and offset that 6-12% differential in a few short
years.
Assignment Masters, a popular essay-writing
service, aimed to discover the answers to our questions. The results were
interesting. They found that most young leaders (greater than 56 percent)
hold degrees in social sciences or humanities disciplines. A specific
degree doesn’t lead to greater success on the job market. Successful
individuals have important leadership, technical and teamwork
skills. And most importantly, more than two-thirds (67 percent) of
respondents who built successful careers within five years after
graduation said they did well on academic writing projects.
Ok, what does all this mean for us and our kids? Well,
what the research suggests is to be smart in your choices, but know that only
about one quarter of college graduates end up in a career in their field of
study. This goes back to where we started today, send those “I know
everything”, “I have no fear”, “I got this”, “I am nervous”, “I may fail” kids
off to a school they love, with love from their parents, and encourage your
kids to learn life and leadership.
Also, encourage your kids to understand that what
really builds success in life is talent and drive. Hard work still pays
off. Preparation and knowledge set you apart. Critical thinking, writing and
communication skills propel even the smartest scientist or mathematician to
higher levels. Encourage your kids to find a major that will challenge
them to understand the value of hard work and one that will present them with
opportunities to learn from the best teachers, professors and mentors. They
should not focus on majors that are trendy or very narrow in their scope.
Also, there is value in studying in majors that are focused on fixing
things (engineers, welders, electricians) or fixing people (nurses, physical
therapists) says Jeff Selingo of the Washington Post.
Remember a degree program is structured and builds a
foundation. From my vantage point, when we hire newly minted graduates, I
like to see strong drive for results, great interpersonal skills, strong
writing skills, the ability to collaborate with others, organizational skills,
and enthusiasm (a positive “can-do” attitude goes a long way).
I will leave you with this, one of my mentors once asked me
if I could only choose two traits in hiring employees for my
company, what would they be? My answer was simple and has not changed in
thirty years:
Intelligence and Enthusiasm.
Together. We. Win.
Dave Harmon
People Division
“Kindness is Currency”
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/davidharmonhr
Look for us on: LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, The Muse, Glassdoor and Gannett Careers
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