Journal Entry #1

Aaron Tejada

English 201

Professor Matyakubova

03/05/20

Journal Entry #1

 

 

       The skills college graduates get a hold of are the fundamentals they need and use while on the climb to their career and expected success. Life is not that easy though, and there’s a challenge every step of the way to the top. “When Hayley Hanway graduated from the University of Michigan in 2013, she expected to quickly land a job in her desired field of ecosystem management” (Halpert, 2018). This is a statement all college graduates can relate to, expecting to find a job immediately after entering the job market is a big aspiration but it is very challenging to do so. Grads are too desperate to get a job right away that sometimes they take any position they get offered, even if it’s a bad one. A lot of, or most college grads are dealing with student debt, college is expensive so it’s understandable as to why they would take any offer, but they should not be settling for bad jobs. “Some students are not using college effectively; many show up in the career office for the first time in their senior year, without immersing themselves in experiences throughout their college years that prepare them for the job market” (Halpert, 2018). College grads must take advantage of the opportunities presented to them while in school in order to find the success they are looking for professionally. Without doing this they will definitely struggle a lot more in the post-college world because they will feel unprepared for it. Students should be going to career fairs and career centers as much as they can throughout their time in college to learn what employers look for in candidates in terms of skills and qualifications. Employers are just looking for someone to do the job, so grads must be resilient because it is a very competitive job market.

 

      Students can become successful professionals by attending a traditional college that focuses on your education and success more than anything else, one that makes money by raising capital from wealthy alumni and donations. There are for-profit colleges that run like a business, it is literally in the name, “for-profit”. These schools get their money from investors and stockholders, they use tons of their money to invest in advertisements to get more people to attend the schools. “For-profit tuition is 5 to 6 times the cost of a community college and as much as twice a four year State University” (College, Inc., 2010). Grads should avoid schools like these because it will leave them floating in debt for years to come because these are schools that are putting more money into advertisements instead of their education. They will enter the job market inexperienced and unprepared, most likely won’t get their dream job, and will most likely have debt until they are retired. “You are spending more on getting me to come to this school than you are on the service you are providing once I’m there” (College, Inc., 2010). Students can not be successful in an environment where education is not the top priority, for-profits are more concerned about getting people’s attention. In order to succeed professionally, students and grads should stay away from for-profits. They should also try internship programs in their field of study to get a feeling of what the job market is like, what is required for their career, and if this is the right choice for them. Not taking out any outstanding student loans unless you absolutely need to is another way to succeed professionally, but college is expensive.