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Thursday, May 22, 2008
Do colleges prepare graduates for evolving market?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Handout
Jim Grattan
I recently read reports indicating that 89 percent of Gwinnett County Public School graduates will seek post-secondary education, although there was no breakdown of the types of institutions being contemplated.
It wasn’t very many years ago when graduating from college was almost a guarantee of a stable, rewarding job, at least financially. But is that still the case?
According to data from the U.S. Department of Labor concerning occupations with the largest projected (numerical) increases over the next eight years, very few will require a college degree.
Some do: registered nurses, post-secondary and elementary school teachers, computer specialists, accountants and perhaps executive secretaries.
But overwhelmingly, the occupations involve jobs as retail salespersons, customer service reps, fast food preparers and servers, waiters and waitresses, general office clerks, home care and home health aides, janitors and cleaners, nursing aides and orderlies, child care workers, landscaping workers, bookkeeping clerks, receptionists and information clerks.
The path toward manufacturing jobs in our country is increasingly being closed, due to increased outsourcing. But the same is true for many jobs requiring a college degree.
If work can be done primarily from a computer keyboard, it likely can be outsourced, as computer programmers, architects and radiologists have discovered. These dynamics - outsourcing and the scarcity of some jobs - are having an impact on wages, even for college graduates. Wages have been flat throughout the 2000s, despite growth of the economy.
Frequent advice given to college graduates is to find a job they “love to do.” Though well-intentioned, the advice is probably unrealistic and may add unneeded pressure. Few people really know what they would love to do and, even if they do, enjoyment is often dependent on the workplace culture in which they find themselves. Add to that the dynamics of the job marketplace, and it is easy to see why college graduates may experience difficulty in finding suitable employment.
There is always the argument that college is not intended for job training; its purpose being to produce well-rounded, knowledgeable individuals capable of being employed in any number of fields. However, most students attend college with job prospects foremost in their minds.
In many ways, colleges and universities are a business. Have they oversold their product? Should any accountability be placed on institutions for the world of work their graduates will face?
A college education requires a huge financial sacrifice. Do graduates and their families get what they pay for?
Maybe it is time to examine in detail the role of colleges and universities in today’s changing economic times.
What are your thoughts about attending college or other post-secondary institutions? How do you see the role of post-secondary education in the future job market?
Jim Grattan is a software engineer and avid bicyclist. He lives in the Grayson area with his wife, Shirley, and four golden retrievers.
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