Friday, June 13, 2014

Are Career Colleges Still the Way to Go?

The education world is changing rapidly.  Students are graduating in record numbers from universities, yet the statistics regarding job placement are grim.  Many graduating from college today do not find a job in their chosen field.  That means student loans are not getting repaid because the college grads cannot find work in their fields and are having to settle for minimum wage jobs, or worse, no job.  Many are moving back home to live with their parents.  What went wrong?

Take a look at what has happened historically in the United States in the past two decades and longer.  Manufacturing jobs have all but disappeared from the USA.  Manufacturing provided jobs in all sectors offering new graduates opportunities to grow and be promoted up the ranks within large corporate cultures.  The banking industry has become a fiasco.  Banks are merging and are being closed in record numbers.  Corruption is rampant and bale outs have become the norm.  The service industry consists mainly of minimum wage jobs or jobs that are dependent on businesses that can disappear overnight.  What is this generation of new high school graduates to do?

Focus.  Focus should be on researching the up and coming fields of employment.  That is not to say that those fields can't change over the four year college degree pursuit, but blindly following your heart no longer leads to getting a job in this terrible economy.  Two year colleges can offer courses that focus on the specific goal a student has in mind.  Four year colleges come with "filler" courses.  It's great to be well rounded but how many of us really remember the French or Latin we took in college?  If you don't use it, you do lose it as the saying goes.  It is much better to do some research into two year career colleges today to see what they are offering, look at the economic trends, and research the employment possibilities they offer before making a long term, 4 year commitment.  If you are a multi-tasking genius, that would be the exception.  You can major and minor in a four year university and possibly still come out ahead if you major in math, science or healthcare related curriculum.