The Art of Competition for College Students

Why Focusing Too Narrowly In College Could Backfire by Peter Cappelli was very detailed about the author’s points in today’s society. I enjoyed reading this passage, because I agree with the author that there are not enough guaranteed jobs out there for students after they graduate. I have been experiencing this first hand because I will be graduating in May, and the job field is tough and very competitive. The author’s thesis in the passage is clear, “The economy is still shaky, and many graduating students are unable to find jobs that pay well, if they can find jobs at all.” I believe that professors need to tell their students more and prepare them more that the economy is very unstable at all times, and no job is ever promised or promised

    In discussions of Charles Murray, he expresses his opinion on the thoughts and feelings that are being transferred to students before college, claiming them to be misleading. Murray brings to light the problem that exists in the constant pushing of guidance counselors, teachers, and even politicians to aspire for a college degree no matter what, “treating every failure to go to college as an injustice” (Murray 48). Yet, by doing so, parents and students are often blindsided by the overwhelming cost of college that many cannot afford, or the sheer amount of education students would put themselves through for no reason at all. Murray observes that “one aspect of this phenomenon has been labeled misaligned ambitions, meaning that adolescents have career ambitions that are inconsistent with their educational plans” (Murray 48). Convincing students that college is the only guiding light to a better life forces students to see college as such, an intellectual heaven where they can become anything, such as a doctor or an attorney “without understanding the educational hurdles they must surmount to achieve their goal” (Murray 48-49). They then attend a four-year university with the depiction of college as a “place where B.A.s are handed out” fresh in their minds, thoughtless as to if that particular college they are attending even has the educational requirements needed to complete their career goals (Murray 49). Unfortunately, as Murray reminds us, this is the system that  is in place. For “a brutal fact

Throughout the essay, Charles Murray stresses the idea that college is the wonderland of finding oneself and to find the career that one would want to follow for the rest of their lives. “College is seen as the open sesame to a good job and a desirable way for adolescents to transition to adulthood. Neither reason is as persuasive as it first appears.” Murray, C (2008) Practically spoken, this is not normally the case. College is a fair amount of work, much more work than one would normally acquire through any course of a high school or secondary school setting. In no way saying that the average student cannot meet the requirement and achieve success over the amounted work, it would also be ridiculous to expect every graduate to pursue going into higher education with the expansion of work that will be given.

To many high school students, college seems like a far away land, a mysterious place where everyone wants to be yet not many know how to get there. As children, our parents tell us how much time we have to think about college, and that it is too far down the line to think about. The truth is it is never too early to think about your future. I, like many people, put little thought into my future career and now am lost in an unfortunate mix of indecision and anxiety. Not knowing where you want to be in the future is a hard burden to bear. Many of us tend to find out that we only know what we do not want, not what we actually do want. Do we want to be poor? Absolutely not. Do we want a boring job? Of course we don’t. We all want our

Student need to do what they love. Find something that they will want to study or risk never being successful because they’ll be bored with their job. College has a huge variety of programs that can be studied so chances are there is one out there for everyone. If students find something they love to do then college really won’t be too difficult and they will like their job afterwards. “Education is about finding out what form of work for you is closest to being play” (Edmundson), jobs should be something enjoyable, almost like having fun doing a hobby. People need to do what they love so they won’t be bored or held back by their lack of enthusiasm and excel to and move up in the workplace being more and more successful.

More often than not, young students are taught to believe that they must go to a prestigious university to obtain a Bachelor’s degree or higher in order to have a fulfilling and satisfying career. This may hold true for some people, but others do not need to follow this same path. For students who choose a career that isn’t considered conventional or isn’t high in pay, they tend to be looked down upon which pressures them into choosing career paths that they do not have a passion for, or the skill set to actually accomplish which makes college a waste of time and money. While everyone should be encouraged to get an education beyond high school, people should be encouraged to get the education that is relevant and proper for them to make sure they are getting their money’s worth.

Many students have aspirations about attending the college of their dreams, but many people lack financial support and are not able to go because of high tuition payments, such as housing, and other college expenses. U.S. Student Loans Debt Statistics for 2017 indicate that “the cost of attending college is becoming a growing burden for a huge portion of Americans.” (Student Loan Hero). Students are left with the option of dropping and leaving school. Even after receiving some financial support, such as scholarships and grants, students have limited amount of money to pay off their expenses. At the start of their college career, students apply for the colleges they would like to go to, and many forget about the financial decision that is required to pay for college. “A 2010 study on more than 200,000 freshmen at four-year colleges, more students rated themselves as below average in emotional health than ever before. The financial stress of worrying about their college loans and whether they’ll find a job after college and the day to day stress of making decisions for themselves in all aspects of their lives.” (Allianz). Unfortunately, freshman students are the main group of college students that go through financial conflicts, leading to stress about how to pay for college. Some students choose to work their way through college. “Others decide they’d rather be making money working full time than pursuing a costly degree. Still others become discouraged at the prospect of incurring loan debt” (College View). According to Public Agenda, “Work is the top reason young adults give for not returning to college once they leave. More than a third (36 percent) of those who left school say that even if they had a grant that fully paid for tuition

We really don’t know if we will end up likely the career we choose to study for. Students spend so much time working towards a specific career that some of us will end up sticking with the unhappiness that we feel towards that career just because we spent so much time and money on that degree. It’s like buying a ticket for the wrong movie. Somehow you mix up the titles for a movie you want to see and one you don’t. If exchanging that wrong ticket isn’t an option, wouldn’t you rather sit through that movie and hope it entertains you rather than wasting the money by throwing that ticket away?

College students are often worrying too much about becoming wealthy in the future rather than worrying about funding a career they love to perform in the future. Many students feel they need too have their entire life figured out and only take classes that will advance them. While these classes are important, taking elective classes are also necessary to experiance new things and open their minds.too In “College Pressures” by William Zinsser, Zinsser uses pathos to explain how students are stressing out about planning their futures.

Bok states, “According to one survey, 60 percent of Arts and Sciences professors do not even think that preparing for a job is a particularly important goal for undergraduates” (Derek Bok, 36). Bok is quite puzzled since about three-fourths of new college students presume preparing for a job is the key component of attending college. According to Bok, Liberal arts professors believe that once they integrate some aspect of a vocational program students will become more concentrated on learning the competent skills necessitated by the jobs. Bok also provides background information on vocational program in which he states that, “Since the average length of time people stay in their first job has shrunk dramatically, more and more employers want their employees to “hit the ground running” without having to receive costly training before the company” (Derek Bok, 39). Students are already being pressured by employers to have these skills needed for the job perfected by the time they graduate so the companies won’t spend resources on training. With the pressures employers place on the arriving college students they feel as if they have to choose a career and prepare for it as

These days it's hard to find a good paying career without at least an associate's degree. This leads many people to college. People are different, and although they all came with the same goal they pursue it differently. College students can be organized into these three groups slackers, average students, and the overachievers.

Nowadays, all students should perform well in high school, apply to many universities, and attend the most prestige universities they can get accepted into to eventually end up in thousands of dollars’ worth of debt and a better career for their future families, or at least that’s what students are told. Students are going into higher education because they’ve been told all throughout their school years that college will lead to more happiness, money, and stability after their college careers are over. With the mentality of success and happiness after school has ended, students attending higher education seem ignore what would be coming their way during their college years. Even though there is the common mentality that higher education leads

Whether students think they will get a good job out of college, most of them drop out.

Ever since I started to seriously think about my future, I had aspirations of getting a degree and becoming a professional. Specific careers have changed constantly, ranging from becoming a teacher to an engineer. As I got older, I began to assess my strengths and weaknesses as well as my likes and dislikes. I know a college education is essential in today’s economy and society. Doors are opened to those with college degrees and a better lifestyle is guaranteed. A college education is not only economically beneficial but intellectually as well, for it provides a unique learning experience as it caters to an individual’s interests

Why you will fail to have a great career Imagine being a professor at a well-established university who spends most of your teaching career to help and coach college students to find and develop the career of their dreams. Imagine hearing from most of the students you have helped coach, give up on their pursuit to find the career they love. You hear the same set of excuses from students who’ve decided that it’s not worth their time to look for their passion and build their ideal career around it. Imagine doing this for over 30 years.