College and Career Planning

Choosing what to do with your life is not easy so in a previous post I listed eight options for life after high school. Currently, nearly 70% of U.S. high school graduates are choosing to immediately enroll in a 4-year or 2-year college.

But that decision does not work out well for everyone. About a quarter drop out in their first year of college. In subsequent years more drop out, bringing the total percentage of those who do not complete their degree within six years to about 40%. And many of these students have spent years and thousands of dollars in the process. This is a major problem.

And there’s more bad news. After earning their degree 52% of recent graduates (ages 22-27) find themselves underemployed or unemployed: 39% are working in a job that does not require a college degree and 13% are unemployed. (These numbers are regularly updated.) This is another major problem.

So only six out of ten complete their degree and of those only half find a good job after graduation. In terms of immediate employability, then, choosing to go to college only makes sense for three out of ten students.

If you have chosen to go to college, how should you navigate this treacherous terrain?

Let me begin by qualifying the statistics above. The data varies significantly for different schools and different majors. For example, the first-year persistence rate is 90% in 4-year private schools, 88% in 4-year public schools, and 70% in 2-year public schools. And the six-year completion rate varies from 77% in 4-year private schools to 67% in 4-year public schools to a mere 43% in 2-year public schools. (For more general information see the reports here and here.) Employability also varies depending on the major. So the 30% success number is not a universal constant. Nevertheless, the percentage of those who complete their degree and find a good job is much less than 100%.

What should you do?

Have the right mindset before going to college.

• Don’t go to college because “everyone” else is going. Of course, if you are determined to become an engineer, doctor, lawyer, or teacher, you must go to college.

• Think about your career path. 

• • Scroll through this list of top 100 jobs to get ideas of careers with good prospects. 

• • Reach out to people who are doing jobs you would like to do and ask them for advice. 

• • Check job openings at companies you would like to work for and read their list of qualifications.  

• • Read the 13 Modules on the ETC College to Career Planning System. That resource challenges some conventional wisdom. For example, the idea that “a person with a college degree will earn $1 million more over their career than a high school graduate. That actually was true in 1990. The reality today is that comp sci, healthcare and engineering grads are on track to earn about $2.5 million more over their careers than most high school grads. However, 60% of college grads with soft degrees are employed in the same service sector and retail jobs as high school grads.” Again, this emphasizes the importance of technical or hard skills as opposed to a soft degree (e.g., humanities.) Also check the ETC College Rankings Index.

• Choose your major wisely and be committed to completing your degree. What is the point of starting if you don’t finish? And although many schools do not require you to enter with a declared major, it’s best to go to college knowing what you want to study. Decide on a major and have a plan B if you decide to switch your major. Whatever you do, do not wait until the end of your second year and then thoughtlessly choose a major because you are required to.

• • Your choice of major should fit with your career(s) of interest. To browse more than 900 career options as well as to see which careers match your interests use My Next Move.

• • See this list of the top 44 majors linked to schools.

• • For insightful graphs on key majors along with additional resources to help you choose a major see here.

• • Not all degrees are created equal and this study shows the importance of majors to lifetime earnings. (Two insights: business has been the most popular major for several years and nursing is a highly versatile major.)

• • Consider this: “unless you’re attending an elite university, the goal should be to avoid paying more for anon-STEM bachelor’s degree than you absolutely need to” (Craig, Kindle, 461). Why? Non-STEM (science, engineering, technology, math) majors are not as in demand in the current job market. 

• • And yet, “Majoring in one of the STEM fields might increase your chances of landing a job after graduation, but not if you don’t also gain the soft skills” (Selingo, 136). Soft skills are social skills: cooperation, communication, empathy. Moreover, “only 22 percent of graduates with degrees in science and math actually get jobs in those fields and utilize their training” (Selingo, 243).

• • While choosing a major is an important decision, many graduates do not end up working in a field related to their major. According to this article, only 27% of college graduates work in a field related to their major. Although individual careers often take various twists and turns, that study found the journey for many led to “sales, marketing, management and business, and financial analysis.” 

• Wrestle with this advice: For the most part, “the only individuals who should be attending a university are the ones who have the aptitude and yearning for work in the various fields of engineering, medicine, law, computers, biology, science, math, and . . . teaching” (Goodmansen, Kindle, 2277). Based on the statistics, Goodmansen concludes that eight out of ten students who go to a 4-year college, should have chosen another option. Likewise, some countries have begun discouraging students from earning a bachelor’s degree. In 2013 a government official in Singapore said, “If they cannot find jobs, what is the point? You own a degree, but so what? That you can’t eat it. If that cannot give you a good life, a good job, it is meaningless.” Do you agree? Are too many going to college? If so, is Goodmansen right that eight out of ten should not be going to college? Why or why not? (Answer below.)

• Check employment data for college majors you are considering. Use the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and PayScale. If the school provides this information that is even better, but schools rarely publish employment rates after graduation. If they do publish it, it will probably be under a general heading of “employment” or “full-time employment,” which does not indicate if graduates are underemployed and earning much less than expected. (Here is an example of a school that publishes this data.)

• Reflect on this question: What is the point of higher education? Do universities primarily exist to prepare students for specific careers?

• • The origin of modern universities stems from three ideas that do not easily mesh: practical training, research, and liberal arts—passing on a body of knowledge from previous generations and improving students’ ability to think and communicate (Carey, ch. 2). (Notice that helping students find their purpose in life is not one of the three primary purposes of higher education.) Kevin Carey says these three ideas have merged into a three-headed monster creating confusion for schools and students. Regarding practical training, “U.S. colleges and universities today continue to have a strong bias against combining education with relevant work experience” (Selingo, 109). This means you will need to take initiative and look for internship opportunities. With that said, certain programs have practical training built-in nationwide, such as nursing and teaching.

• • Some argue that the real purpose of higher education is to get a social signal. “You don’t go to college to learn. Abundant evidence shows that learning doesn’t really happen . . . You go to college to get a signal” (Skip College, Kindle, 921.) What is the signal? The degree. What is the problem with this? About two million graduate with a bachelor’s degree every year, causing the signal to lose power. If every job applicant has the same signal, it cannot work in the same way. The author argues that young people must now create their own signals by showing what they can do—make something, do something—even if that means working for free for a period of time.

• Choose a school that has a good track record. Look up your schools of interest and check their retention and graduation rates. (First-year retention means staying at the same school after freshman year. Graduation rates are often categorized as 4-year, 6-year, and 8-year completion rates.) Knowing what percentage return after their first year and what percentage graduate in four years will give you a good idea of what to expect if you enroll. You can find this information and compare data from similar schools using College Results. If you want to know more about a school’s data, reach out to an admission officer.

• Choose a school that is a good fit for you. A #1 ranked school does not mean it is #1 for you. Plus, college rankings have been repeatedly criticized as being arbitrary and unrelated to students’ actual experience. There are many factors to consider, such as cost, size, location, and programs. For instance, “If you’re sure of your major or future career, look for the cities where professionals in that field live. Start your college search around those places or be sure to intern in them” (Selingo, 92). Of course, make sure that your school is regionally accredited. That will give you the best chance of having your credits transfer to other schools. Regional accreditation is not the same as national accreditation. Finally, there are currently more than 4,000 4-year and 2-year degree granting institutions in the U.S. In recent years, many schools have started to see a decline in enrollment. With the pandemic this decline is expected to increase leading to school closures. In fact, some schools have already closed and hundreds more may soon be following. What does this mean? You may want to make sure that the school is financially viable.

• Use online resources. For example:

• • Niche (includes student reviews)
  • CollegeBoard (strong search feature using many variables)
  • College Transitions (clean data charts with helpful information)
  • CollegeData (I like the Admission info. charts here)

• Think about your finances. The top reason for dropping out of college is financial pressure. Moreover, that pressure continues after leaving school because one out of five are behind on their student loan payments and more than 5 million have defaulted on their loans. To know the total cost per year, make sure to look for the cost of attendance (COA) or average annual cost and not merely tuition. Most importantly, use the net price calculator on the school’s website or the personal net price calculator on College Scorecard to get an estimate of what you can expect to pay per year after aid has been deducted. Also, check the average debt at graduation (Selingo, 13). So how much debt should you accrue? As little as possible. Why? Loans are not free money; you will eventually have to pay them back with interest. Here are eleven tips that may help you avoid student debt.

• Seek financial aid. There are two main types of financial aid: need based and merit based. (Here is a list with more detail on types of financial aid.) For need-based federal aid make sure to complete the FAFSA as soon as possible. It opens October 1. Your school may also require you to complete the CSS Profile. For merit-based aid at specific schools do a Google search for “merit aid + name of school” and use services such as Scholarships360 and myscholly. Be aware that searching and applying for scholarships can be time-consuming, but if you need financial assistance it is worth your time.

• Contact an admission officer. If you cannot find information, make sure to reach out to an admission officer at the school. You should be able to find contact information on the school’s website. I recently had a student who was struggling to decide between two universities. His goal is to become a doctor so he asked both schools about the percentage of graduates accepted into medical school. He was surprised to learn that one school was much more successful in helping students get into medical school so that is the one he chose.

*For more advice on finding the right college see The College Search Simplified.

Have the right mindset in college.

• Be focused on your academic and professional growth. “Where students went to college didn’t matter two years out, . . . as much as what they did while they were on campus. ‘The most important choice students can make is whether they are on the party-social pathway through college . . . or are investing sufficient attention and focus on academic pursuits'” (Selingo, 27).

• Practice effective study skills. For example, don’t simply reread the material multiple times. Instead, frequently pause and quiz yourself on what you have just read. Here is a fantastic book on effective learning strategies.

• Think about your career path by looking for internship opportunities. “Early on in college, you must find internships and secure as many as you can before you graduate. This factor should be taken into consideration when deciding on a college’s location, because you want the flexibility to add internships during the calendar year . . . Choosing the right internships may be the most important decision you make in college” (Selingo, 115-18). Why? “Today, employers hire as full-time workers around 50 percent of the interns who worked for them before they graduated” (Selingo, 112). What is the right internship? In general, paid internships lead to more job offers than unpaid internships.

• Build your professional network. Create an account on sites such as LinkedIn. Take initiative in talking to your professors: “Undergraduates don’t seek out professors or advisers nearly as much as they should to talk about life and careers” (Selingo, 165).

• Nurture your interests. Although you will have many external requirements, it is important that you also find time to do things you enjoy and keep your internal drive strong. Read for pleasure, pursue things that you are curious about, etc.

You can make it through college and into a good career. But you will need knowledge, foresight, and determination. 

*When you are ready to begin applying to colleges, read the list of steps here.

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Answer: 

Goodmansen appears to be using a total average and not differentiating as we did above. In 4-year private schools, for instance, almost eight out of ten (77%) will graduate (within six years), not the aggregate six out of ten. We must also dive into the details of the unemployment or underemployment rate for specific college majors. Consider the following examples below based on current data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

For elementary education, we see a 1.7% unemployment rate and a 15.4% underemployment rate, resulting in a total of 17%. So majoring in elementary education in a private 4-year school gives us these numbers: 23% will not complete the degree in six years and 17% of those who complete it will be unemployed or underemployed. Let’s call that total percentage the unsuccessful rate, which stands at 40% in this case, or a 60% success rate, meaning six out of ten should pursue this degree. But even that is not detailed enough because the data varies for individual schools.

I deliberately used a major with a low underemployment rate to make the point. There are, however, several majors with underemployment rates of 50% or higher, resulting in unsuccessful rates of 73% or higher for graduates from private 4-year schools. If you knew that your chance of making it through the program and starting your career within two years after graduation was 25% would you do it? Should you do it?

One more example. The underemployment rate for leisure and hospitality majors is currently 60% and let’s round down to a 20% dropout rate for private schools. Goodmansen’s eight out of ten number, then, is accurate for certain majors at certain schools.