How to Make the Most Out of College (No Matter What the Future Job Market Looks Like)

There has been so much chatter about the current value of a college education.  Is a college degree worth the price?  What courses are the best to prepare you for a career?  What are the careers of the future?  Many college grads are taking jobs that don’t even need a college degree, should students just skip college and find a job now?  These are all valid questions that Peter Cappelli tackles in his recent article for The Wall Street Journal.  Why Focusing Too Narrowly in College Could Backfire, discusses the problems that students and their families encounter as they approach college.  A college degree can always be worth the price, as long as you approach your college to career path with intentionality and purpose from day 1.  You can’t select courses and a major based on what you guess will be a “hot” career when you graduate.  Do your homework first! 

The key to making college count in this ever-changing job environment is for a student to know what makes him tick.  Not the subject he loves, or his talent, but the unique lens through which he sees the world.  Once this is isolated, it can be linked to skill sets, passions and ANY job market.  A person with outstanding social skills can use them in multiple career choices, as can someone who is adept at problem solving or building consensus. 

I also agree that college is often wasted on the young.   Being immersed, even for a year, in numerous jobs, internships, shadowing and mentoring relationships can help a student uncover what she loves and what she’s good at so that college becomes a more targeted route to a career.

Helene Naftali, CSW, Founder, oneTRUEzone and Author, Own Your Zone: What Students Need to Succeed from School to Career.