Colleges find a new way to get grads hired

One of the realities of the world we live in today is that it is changing faster than ever before in history.  The challenge for you is to make good decisions about what to study.   Source:  CNN Money.   Based on real-time labor-market information, the Lone Star College System in Houston will close three programs next fall, in aviation management, hospitality management and computer support.  The community college found that employers prefer four-year to two-year degrees in the first two cases, and were outsourcing work in the third in order to lower labor costs. But the school is adding programs to train oil and gas drillers and CT-scan technicians, for which there is burgeoning demand.

Some of the debate about what to study is between the academics.  STEM vs. liberal arts is a long running battle between professors.  There are good points to be made on both sides of this debate.  One of those arguments made by the liberal arts professors is that there is more to life than simply making more money.  They are right.  I agree, there is more to life.  And there is some great information that a broad liberal arts can prepare one to be a good decision maker.

The challenge you face is not what others think about what to study.  What is important is for you to make your decisions based on “who you are”.  This is a topic we explored in an earlier blog post and is further developed in Your Future is Calling.

The labor market data clearly shows that STEM programs pay higher wages than liberal arts degrees on average.  But it may be far more important to you to take a lower paying career that fulfills “who you are”.  Jobs that are in green industries may be such a choice. For details on green job choices see Chapter 7 of “Your Future is Calling”.

But this conversation is not just about you and the career choices you need to make.  As the title of this blog implies, this is about how the college you select relates to job placement.  Not all colleges are equal on this issue.  Universities can be very slow to change when it comes to terminating degrees and programs.  Professors have personal interest in what is taught.

Some colleges are slow and reactive.  Others are proactive and aggressive at changing what they offer.  The information in today’s BUZZ Today shows how program decisions can be a part of some colleges.  The challenge for you is to know which colleges and universities are offering new programs that fit a rapidly changing world and most importantly, “who you are”.