Post-Graduation Success
An insight into the process of the transition from high school to college and post-graduation.
“Stay in school kids,” is a common phrase that we’ve become accustomed to hearing in movies, television shows, and from the people around us. Children all over America are regularly made to believe that a college degree will bring them a successful and promising future. Education programs like Early College High School, allows students the opportunity to earn their high school diploma and 60 hours of college credits. According to the Texas Education Agency, there are 169 ECHS programs in Texas alone. A 2016 report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, showed the college enrollment rate for recent high school graduates in October of 2016 at 69.7 percent.
As each semester comes to an end, several university students are preparing themselves for life post-graduation. The idea of not having to rush assignments or balance work and school can bring a sense of relief to many. But that feeling may be replaced with stressing over finding a job that utilizes the degree they earned.
Starting College
Year by year, college orientations across the nation bring in new waves of hopeful students who are excited to begin their college careers. While the start of freshmen year seems so promising and bright, many students can get sidetracked by the “college experience” rather than focusing on their future after graduation. In fact, a recent article published by CNBC said that the first job recent graduates accept after college can impact the rest of their lives. The article is based off a 2018 study published by Strada Institute for the Future of Work and Burning Glass Technologies that 40 percent of college graduates have positions that don’t require a degree.
This information reflects on something that many students do not realize whenever they start college — the second they set foot on campus is the second that their career begins, and the jobs, internships, and professional experiences that they work toward throughout their years at college make a direct impact on what they will end up doing once they finally graduate from school. Something that ends up being an obstacle for many to achieve post-graduation success easier is when a student comes into freshman year in one major, but ends up graduating in a complete different major or field that they began college in. According to statistics posted by the National Center for Education Statistics, about 80 percent of college students throughout the United States change their majors at least once. In addition, another statistic they provided stated that college students change their major at least three times throughout their time in school.
“In today’s society, you don’t necessarily need a degree to find a job,” biochemistry senior Jose Torres, 22, stated. Torres says that society implies that people should earn degree, so it gives younger generations a perspective of falling into the status quo or choosing happiness.
Preparing for Post-Graduation
A common tool that many colleges provide to help students is called the University Career Services. Specifically, the University of Houston offers this resource in order to further students’ college careers and help them prepare themselves for their professional life after graduation. Through resume building, career workshops, and teaching workforce skills, the university gives students a variety of different ways that they can formulate a plan for their own futures. For example, a professional internship class is offered for all different types of majors and it encourages students to go out and find themselves an internship to gain professional experience in their field of study. Classes like this are sometimes the push that a student needs in order to start thinking of how they can prepare themselves for landing a job after they graduate.
On the other hand, a recent study done by McGraw-Hill surveyed 1,000 college students on whether they felt they were prepared for their future careers and the results showed that 59 percent of students were not. This showed a positive change from the previous year where the same survey was done, in which 71 percent of students said they were not prepared. The difference in results after a year showcase how colleges have been increasing their career resources in order to help their students succeed after they graduate.
“My dream job is a commodity trader in the oil and gas industry,” finance senior Kevin Taheri, 21, said. “… and throughout college, I’ve gained multiple internships that have laid the foundation for me to get there.”
Life After Graduation
The reality of a college student’s future kicks in right after they receive their diploma. Many students do not even end up finding a job in the field that they spent their entire college careers working towards. The University of Houston Employment Data Services provides a significant amount of statistics that showcase the percentages of their students who find jobs within their fields after they graduate. For example, only 36 percent of University of Houston students who studied communications received full-time jobs in their field of study.
“I’m not stressed at all for what will happen after graduation,” Taheri said. “I already have a job lined up and I feel ready for what’s to come.”
