B.Mallet
This blog was created to be used as a course exercise. My instructor and classmates in EDM 510-801 (Microcomputing Systems in Education) at the University of South Alabama have created this as an assignment for my classmates in my group. My group is to come together and collaborate on constructing and developing each other’s opinions in higher education. We will be trying to develop each other’s ideas and try to better understand how to incorporate blogs in higher education.
In my exercise, I would like for my classmates (Group D) to participate and give their opinion on if they feel higher education is delivering jobs to students after graduating from a program. Attached is an article that I found fascinating from the New York Times. Kevin Carey believes they are not delivering on their end of the bargain on what they are promoting to students. No opinions are stupid. I am open to any opinions. I look forward to hearing all of my group’s ideas. After you read the article, post your opinions using the comment box.
Link of the Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/
Brennen, this is a valid argument you bring up here. I have often thought the same thing during both my career as an undergrad and now as a graduate student.
ReplyDeleteIf we want to point the fingers though, I think they go in both directions. I’m so thankful to be in my graduate program now because my English degree from my undergrad institution would’ve left me jobless. I didn’t complete any internships as an undergrad and how aspirations to be a writer at that time. I had wanted to double major in English and Education but a bad clinical experience made me avoid teaching at all costs. Luckily higher education was a viable option for me. Luck being key. I had many connections that put me where I am today however many of my close friends and classmates were unable to find jobs after graduation and needed to either return to school or find work in a field unrelated to their prior studies.
For one, I think the university, as a whole, needs to really emphasize the opportunities and information present with Career Services. Too often this service, paid for in part by tuition dollars, goes unused by many students. Meanwhile, they graduate and are jobless because they didn’t seek an internship or job as a student related to their field. This is where I think we can point fingers in both directions: at the university and the student.
First, the students need ambition to seek out all the information/resources available to them whether it’s through their own department or an additional service on campus, like Career Services for example. However, the university itself needs to do a better job advertising it’s services to students. Too often I feel that rituals and traditions like homecoming are blasted to the student population like there’s no tomorrow while plenty of resources go unused that can help students with job placement post graduation.
I’m a big fan of the “first year experience” courses at different universities. The structure varies from school to school but the best structure I’ve seen so far was at my undergrad institution where students were placed in a small “cluster” of the same classes with other students during their first semester. This cluster was usually comprised of a first year experience course and two courses related to their intended or declared major, or plain university required courses. This structure allowed students the chance to see the same faces for about half of their classes during the first semester, build bonds, network, and ease into college level work as a cohort almost. However, there is no “last year” course at the universities I’ve attended; at least nothing with the structure or emphasis placed on first year experience.
I’ll close by saying, graduation rates are great figures that colleges love to define themselves by, but, perhaps colleges should instead pride themselves on the rate their students find post-collegiate job success instead.
Alex, this is so true. A lot of my friends who graduated with me ended up going into fields they did not even have a degree in because their student loans were about to roll out of deferral and they had no way of paying them. I think this is how some people get stuck in careers they are not satisfied in. It took me almost a whole year to find my job and I was so devastated not being able to find a job, but I was being picky and knew where I wanted to work and who for. I was one of the lucky ones, though, because I already had my foot in the door because of working for the university as a student worker. I would have to agree that most students do not know about career services. It’s one of those hidden treasures in the university.
DeleteIf I get enough people to type "career service" into their blog posts I may actually be able to get people attention at the university! Haha.
DeleteBrennen,
ReplyDeleteI think you raise a good question in your blog! Much like Alex stated above, it is up to the university and the student. I believe that I have to side more that it is up to the student. Yes, there are many jobs all over the country, but the "perfect" jobs are hard to come by when completing college. Because many students know that it is hard to receive a job directly after college, they should work hard to make themselves more marketable. This means that the students must be two steps ahead of the University and the job market; completing many internships as possible, steady passing classes, and building long-lasting connections with people within their fields.
Brandon, that is a really good idea. If students do feel passionate about their career field they are going into, they need to know, beforehand, that it might be a struggle getting there. If they work ahead of the game, it will be well worth it. We have a co-op program for our nursing students, which I always strongly suggest to students to get involved in. Our Co-op program is where students, during nursing school, go into hospitals and do simple tasks for the nurses while getting paid. Normally, our nursing students who join Co-op, 96% of the time, get hired on with that hospital because they know their process and they have gone through orientation so they can begin immediately. They also know their work strategies.
DeleteThis is something that I have questioned ever since starting undergrad four years ago. Will I be able to get a job with just a bachelor's degree? We are also constantly told that the job market is not what it used to be and finding a job is a stroke of magic right now. However, I also believe that our generation is the instant gratification generation and, like Brandon said, are only looking for the "perfect" job. Which right out of college, does not exist. Students have to be more willing to start small and put in the time and hard work to move up to where they eventually want to be. So I do believe that jobs are out there for college graduates, but it is important to put in the time to make yourself the best possible candidate and be willing to humble yourself and start at the bottom.
ReplyDeleteBrennen!
ReplyDeleteThis was a great topic to do have a blog on, I feel just like others- this is an issue that hits home. When I first picked my major in undergrad- I picked it (Biology) because I was convinced that if nothing else, I could get a good job off of having a biology (science) degree if I chose not to go into a health profession. Fast forward four years, I am clearly in a higher education program- I am lucky that I found what I love to do and my passion in life. However, I often look back and wonder what I would've done with just a bachelor's in biology, if I wouldn't have found my master's program. In today's world, a bachelor's degree does not hold the merit that it once did- I've even heard some people compare it to that of a high school diploma. I can't necessarily say that I agree with that; however, the point is very valid. Just like Jenna said, our generation wants instant gratification, but we have to learn that hard work and time has to be put in, in order to be successful one day.