All and Every

Posted on May 19, 2013 // Leave a Comment

The current discussion about the value of learning is entangled in a very public debate about college and degrees.  To begin with, colleges and degrees are way too narrow topics when it comes to your future.  What we are talking about here is you: not everyone – all – only.

Buzz TodaySource:  Aspen Ideas Festival   “Is College for Everyone?”   Source:   Brookings Institute   “Should Everyone Go to College?”  Source: Jobs.aol.com   “Has the MBA Become a Worthless Degree?”  Source:  Washington Times Book Review:  “Is College Worth It?”  The first thing that has to change is the belief that we are failing as a society if everyone doesn’t go to college.  Source:    CNN Money    defying history and stereotypes by proving that a bachelor’s degree is not, as widely believed, the only ticket to a middle-class income.

Unfortunately, the sweeping headlines do not help you make the decisions that are right for you. You are not all or everyone. You are who you are.  What you need is specific information to make the choices that create the future that fits who you are.  Careers matter.

Even when it comes to careers choices there are lots of skeptics. There are some who believe that it is not possible to accurately predict what jobs will exist five years from now. It is true that those forecasts will not be perfect, but there are some good data sources that give a lot of valuable information even if it is not perfect.

The best of those sources in my opinion is the US Department of Labor WEB site called O*NET.  The design of the WEB site is especially valuable for finding key information about careers and jobs.  Your job is to explore that data to find what best fits who you are.  The road map for using the data is clearly spelled out in my book Your Future is Calling.

Filed Under: Adult learning, Career, Money, Uncategorized // Tagged: , , , ,

One Reason Where You Decide to Get Your Degree Makes a Difference

Posted on April 28, 2013 // Leave a Comment

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.  Buzz Today 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”.

Filed Under: Adult learning, Career, College degrees // Tagged: , , , , ,

What Is Your College Degree Worth?

Posted on February 21, 2013 // Leave a Comment

Academics debate North Carolina governor says The Wall Street Journal.

The Issue? What is the value of an education?  The debate feels like a riot at a European soccer match.  Lots of people have an opinion on the subject.   Buzz Today  Source: The Wall Street Journal Students can get a minor in “Social and Economic Justice” without ever taking a course in the economics department (at UNC – Chapel Hill). Businesses aren’t lining up to hire them. U. S. colleges and universities aren’t immune from criticism.  .

The real issue is who gets to decide what is valuable to you?  The answer is you do. Value to you starts and ends with you.   Value depends on “who you are”. “Who you are” is something I explore in great depth in “Your Future is Calling”.

To create value you have to make good choices.  This is true whether the value is your personal value or what employers are willing to pay you. If you want to study whatever, you are free to do so.

The rub is between things you value and what the rest of society values.  If the two align you are blessed to be able to do what is valuable to you and get paid for it.  This result is ideal.  If they don’t align, you can still be happy, but if society doesn’t want what you learn you don’t get paid for it (no job) or get paid very little.

Professors are little help.  They are subject matter experts.  They know a lot about their subject.  They hope you like their subject too so that they have a job.  The unfortunate truth is that most know little about who you are, especially if you are an adult learner.  They know less than you think about the over 950 careers listed by the Department of Labor on O*Net.

The bottom line is that you well may value subjects in school that have little economic value in today’s global economy.  If that is what you value, more power to you.  The problem is in the expectations – both yours and others.

So even though you may hold a diploma with your name on it from an Elite American University, it is no guarantee of value to either you or potential employers.   Value is first about your knowing who you are, then learning what society is willing to pay for.

In the end the best outcome for you does not depend on the debate between the governor and the professors.  Real value is for you to decide.  But decide you must.

Filed Under: Adult learning, College degrees, Elite universities // Tagged: , , , , , ,
« Previous Page