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Most U.S. College Grads Don’t Work in the Field They Studied, Survey Finds

11 points by xqcgrek2 5y ago

garciasn 5y ago
1. Most 18-22 year olds don’t really know what they want to do with their lives at that age. 2. Once they enter the workforce with a degree, they find they didn’t get a degree to necessarily learn how to do the specific set of jobs their degree focused on, but instead are able to do a lot of different jobs. 3. I work in a different field from both my undergrad as well as my graduate degrees. The skills I learned in both are highly sought after in most industries. Too often students aren’t taught how to land interviews in a wide search; they’re convinced they must focus on what their degree was in. This is patently false and schools could do a better job of teaching this to their students.
- notRobot 5y ago
  In many countries, your undergraduate degree won't even teach you anything useful that you can actually use on the job, especially when it comes to CS. You need to get a degree because it's a requirement to land even a job interview, but you either have to be self-taught, or you learn on your first (low-paying) job or internship.
scelerat 5y ago
For most United States folk, a Bachelors degree is the minimum trustworthy certification that one is capable of expressing themselves in writing and doing long division. Sure, most college grads don’t work in the fields they studied. But the reality is that, whether they know it or not, most Americans are going to college just to prove they have these basic skills.
- Geonode 5y ago
  But high school should provide that. What's happening is college is becoming high school, with more gen Ed classes, fewer major credits required, and a great focus on lifestyle and sports. So now the percentage of people that used to go to college for a special focus now get a grad degree. But the problem is that High School part two costs thousands of dollars.
  - scelerat 5y ago
    > But high school should provide that. No argument from me
pyuser583 5y ago
There’s a certain point where you’re just getting “generic college degree” and you should major in what you want. The correlary is we need to take the “general ed” requirements more seriously. It’s fine to major in underwater basket weaving, as long as you know how to conduct research, write papers, analyze complex problems, and acquire new skills.

11 points by xqcgrek2 5y ago

1. Most 18-22 year olds don’t really know what they want to do with their lives at that age. 2. Once they enter the workforce with a degree, they find they didn’t get a degree to necessarily learn how to do the specific set of jobs their degree focused on, but instead are able to do a lot of different jobs. 3. I work in a different field from both my undergrad as well as my graduate degrees. The skills I learned in both are highly sought after in most industries. Too often students aren’t taught how to land interviews in a wide search; they’re convinced they must focus on what their degree was in. This is patently false and schools could do a better job of teaching this to their students.

notRobot 5y ago
In many countries, your undergraduate degree won't even teach you anything useful that you can actually use on the job, especially when it comes to CS. You need to get a degree because it's a requirement to land even a job interview, but you either have to be self-taught, or you learn on your first (low-paying) job or internship.

scelerat 5y ago

For most United States folk, a Bachelors degree is the minimum trustworthy certification that one is capable of expressing themselves in writing and doing long division. Sure, most college grads don’t work in the fields they studied. But the reality is that, whether they know it or not, most Americans are going to college just to prove they have these basic skills.

Geonode 5y ago
But high school should provide that. What's happening is college is becoming high school, with more gen Ed classes, fewer major credits required, and a great focus on lifestyle and sports. So now the percentage of people that used to go to college for a special focus now get a grad degree. But the problem is that High School part two costs thousands of dollars.
- scelerat 5y ago
  > But high school should provide that. No argument from me

pyuser583 5y ago

There’s a certain point where you’re just getting “generic college degree” and you should major in what you want. The correlary is we need to take the “general ed” requirements more seriously. It’s fine to major in underwater basket weaving, as long as you know how to conduct research, write papers, analyze complex problems, and acquire new skills.