Why are there so many unfilled jobs when there are so many looking for work? In brief, it is because so many learners are not studying what is required in our global economy.

Source: CNN Money 72% of educators believe they’re doing a good job of preparing students for the workforce, while only 45% of graduates and 42% of employers think so, a McKinsey & Co. survey found.

Clearly graduates and employers have different opinions about how well higher education prepares graduates to meet employer needs. While all of this is going on, jobs are going unfilled. Only two-third of recent graduates were employed six months after graduation, yet there are 3.6 million jobs sitting empty nationwide. Ironically, this is especially true for coveted manufacturing jobs.

So what are you supposed to do in the face of these facts? The answer is that you have to rely less on what your professors are saying and more on yourself and labor market data when it comes to what you study in college.

The bottom line is that while professors are smart and well educated, they do not necessarily connect to job opportunities employers are creating. You need a third party source that can help you link what you study to where the jobs are. The choice of the university and the degree should come last, not first. Knowing who you are match job opportunities need to come first.

I write about exactly these issues in my forth coming book:  Your Future is Calling.