Is College Worth It?


Is College Worth It?

by  on July 17, 2013 

This is the big question today.  The news media is painting a picture that is beginning to scare students and their families as they look at the cost of a college education.  We see news reports highlighting the number of college students who are unemployed, and I’ve seen it personally in my position as a Career Counselor.  But is it really as bad as the media wants us to believe?
I don’t think so.  But the key to personal success after college is YOU.  Earning a college degree does not ensure that you will get the job of your dreams after graduation, in fact, simply doing enough to get by in college may not open the doors you seek.  You get out of it what you put into it – and it takes more than that.
Let’s start with what you accomplish in school.  GPA is important.  A 2.0 GPA means you earned a C average.  Let’s focus on the word “average”.  What employer wishes to hire someone who has “done enough to get by”?  Look at the people you admire, whether they be businesspeople, celebrities or athletes.  Are they “average”, or have they found a way to distinguish themselves within their industry?  That’s what it takes at all levels.  Learning in class, engaging with the university environment will allow you to get the most out of your tuition dollars, but no one can do that for you but yourself. 
 The next important step is to PROVE that you can apply the skills you’ve learned.  Find a way to get practical experience through an internship, organization, volunteer work or a part-time job.  Employers want to know that you can perform in the workplace.  During interviews they want to hear specific examples that outline your skills and successes.  This is a critical step in your strategy to make the most of your investment in yourself.
Finally, many students I have counseled have struggled to find jobs in their field, not because the jobs weren’t available, but because the jobs weren’t available geographically where they wanted them to be located.  In a perfect world we would all get to decide exactly where we will live and work, but in reality, that rarely happens.  Even large urban areas with many job openings are a challenge, because so many people are living there and looking for employment.  Flexibility is the key.  You may want to live in your hometown, and perhaps you can move back there after your career is established, but moving home, living in the basement and waiting for a position to open us is not the best strategy.  The longer you stay out of the workplace the harder it is to get that first position.  This may mean you skip spring break and work to save money so you can afford to relocate, but wouldn’t you rather sacrifice now to have the future you seek?
*Originally posted on the Career Skillet website (Permission granted by Jill Bowers).

Popular posts from this blog

The Power of a Handshake

Image
The Power of a Handshake by   Lisa Brooks   on   August 13, 2013   What does your handshake say about you? Does it convey that you are confident and self-assured? Or, does it suggest that you are insecure, an emotional bully, or overconfident? Research shows that not only will you be judged by your handshake, you will be forming an impression about the other person when shaking hands. During my etiquette training at the Protocol School of Washington, I was taught to see the right hand as a sensor for discovering the type of person with whom I was dealing. Once you understand the subtle messages of a handshake and learn how to deliver the correct handshake, you will have a significant advantage in mastering your professional image. This article provides guidelines for delivering the correct handshake, as well as it will help you interpret (and avoid) some of the most common types of undesirable handshakes, such as the “dead fish,” the “fingertip holder,” the”glo...
Read more

The Art of Self-Disclosure

Image
The Art of Self-Disclosure by   Jill Bowers   on   June 30, 2013   How much information will  you  disclose in an interview or professional setting? It was Abraham Lincoln who said, “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.” This does not mean you should have to feel insecure that everything you say might be stupid or offend someone. What it does mean, however, is that you should think before you speak. In doing this, you can avoid disclosing  too much  information about yourself. In fact,  what  or  how much  you disclose can influence how others’ perceive you and how much they trust you as a potential employee or colleague. For example, “too much disclosure” may cause an interviewer to think you have “issues” or cause them to question your ability to keep information about their company or clients confidential. Not enough disclosure, on the other hand, can make you appear “c...
Read more

Omnipresence of Sugar

Image
                                                                    Omnipresence of Sugar By Shaun Hurdelbrink and Natasha Cole, MPH, RD on April 28, 2015 Are you aware of sugar’s omnipresence in your life or how much you truly consume? Added sugar is found in many foods: breakfast cereals, fruit juices, granola bars, ketchup, BBQ sauce, soymilk, energy drinks, protein bars, etc. You get the idea. Unsurprisingly, Americans consume “an average of more than 500 calories per day from added sugar alone.” 1  Not only do added sugars themselves contribute several hundred calories daily, but sugar’s low nutritional value makes people “continue to feel hungry” after consuming them. 2  Sugar not only contributes to obesity around the world, but it is also linked to other health problems such as: hypertension...
Read more