Established 1826 — Oldest College Newspaper West of the Alleghenies
OPINION

Will you get the job you want after college?

College is expensive, that is no secret. Students take out tens of thousands of dollars in loans, all to invest in themselves, hoping for a better future. 

That was the idea in the late 20th century that pushed our parents and grandparents to go to college. I’ve heard story after story about how someone’s parents are first-generation college students. By itself, this is great. But the expectation has shifted so drastically that many young adults feel pressured to go to college, or else they aren’t living up to expectations. 

A lot of students, such as myself, enter college knowing they won’t find a career in their desired field without the advancement of higher education. As a public administration major, I aspire to work in state government or go into government relations (sounds interesting, I know). So to reach that goal, I likely have to go to law school and spend even more money in the hope of making a decent living. 

However, recently other career fields have started to loosen the requirements for salaried jobs. Huge tech companies like IBM and Google have dropped the requirement for a bachelor's degree for positions, quoting they want to focus more on the development of the skills for the position than a degree itself. 

Now, that doesn’t mean having a degree is useless and a waste of money. It just means companies are making efforts to create positions for those who aren't financially able to attend a four-year university, as long as they can learn the skills needed. 

This leads to the concerning fact: a degree is not the shining gem of one's accomplishments it once was. If there is a legitimate competition between those with degrees and those without them, why go to college in the first place? Why go through the stress of being in debt when you are no longer guaranteed the promise of finding a great job after graduation?

Of course, not all fields are like this. If you want to become a lawyer or go to law school, you are required to obtain a bachelor's degree. Same thing goes for most STEM degrees. Therefore, with a changing workforce and new industries opening up, higher education needs to change its focus.  

Training the specific skills of students to fit their career field is more important than making sure they reach an hourly requirement before graduating. Time and money would be better spent with career-specialized classes instead of requiring business students to know the different rock types. A liberal arts education is great for making a well-rounded student; however, the job market seems to value actual skills rather than a non-specific degree.  

We as students also need to rethink how we view education. We can’t limit our learning solely to the inside of a classroom. Make yourself the most desirable job candidate by getting involved in extracurriculars and showing you’re capable of learning the skills needed for your profession. 

With roughly 17% of students on the Oxford campus being focused on only two majors, finance (1,464 students) and marketing (1,203 students), what separates you from the crowd? Nowadays, some don’t possess a degree but have the skills you may be lacking. With an ever-changing world and workforce, simply going by the same standards past generations went by is not enough to guarantee you the well-paying job you seek. 

mandzajs@miamioh.edu 

Spencer Mandzak is a senior public administration major with a history minor. He is State Chairman for the Ohio College Republican Federation and Program Director for College Republicans of America. 

Enjoy what you're reading?
Signup for our newsletter




Read More

Trending