Let’s be honest here. There is no magic ticket to the perfect career anymore. Students ask me all the time, “What kind of job can I get with this degree?” That’s exactly the kind of outdated thinking we need to get our students out of. Career services websites are riddled with those little charts giving a sample of careers that are matched to majors (I’m not against these charts, btw… They just need to be used correctly). The truth is, jobs change, industries change, and people have to change with them — if you want to be employable.
Think about how technology has changed the world of work. The internet has allowed people to work from anywhere in the world. New job titles are popping up all the time. Ten years ago, most people didn’t know what a green job was. Now everyone and their grandma is thinking of ways to go green. Think about how social media has changed the way businesses market their products and all the new skills marketing experts had to learn to stay relevant. How many jobs have you seen that have shown preference for people who speak a foreign language — and many of these are low-wage customer service positions? Take a look at these articles and you’ll see for yourself that it is seems almost impossible to prepare for careers that don’t even exist yet.
10 Jobs That Didn’t Exist 10 Years Ago
Ten Majors That Didn’t Exist 10 Years Ago
So, I’m curious… How do advisors and other community college professionals push their students to prepare for rapid change in the world of work?
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I get that question too. In fact, I had a student come in about 2 weeks ago. She initially wanted to study Early Childhood Education but then changed her mind. She wanted to study Nursing instead. I asked her how she went from ECE to Bursing. Her response: I want to make sure I can get a job and earn money. I told her that was the wrong reasoning. She needed to pursue studies in an area of interest. Basically, I told her she needed to do what she felt would make her happy. Yes, money pays the bills but it does not always guarantee happiness.
In a nutshell: We are not preparing students for change. That is not exclusive to communit colleges. All of us in Education can and should do better at this.
Hi Monise! You hit on my next blog post — nursing is not for everybody! It’s like the only thing our students want to do is be a nurse because they were told they could make money at it.