How Much Impact Does College Really Have on Careers?

Everybody has that one dream college he or she strives to get into. In reality, the colleges students choose do not hold as much value as they may think.

Many people also strive to be successful in their career. This could mean they are in a position of power or are making a lot of money.

Many students view this success as only being attainable through a rigorous college education.

When it comes to colleges many students have a very black and white approach. They believe they must get into a certain college or else their lives will fall apart.

Junior Isabella Amorine said “I am very excited for college,” but she has a uncompromising view on its effects.

Amorine said, “College does affect a person’s career”.

Some of the staff at the school have different views on the effects of college on a person’s profession.

Jennifer Evans, a counselor at the school, said many students enter high school with this mentality. She claims this is not good, and students should “live in the gray.”

What Evans means is students need to look at the big picture and realize college is just a small portion of
people’s lives, and there are so many opportunities they will have later in life.

Another way that students can look at the big picture is by looking at trade schools.

Trade schools focus specifically in a certain field. Evans said there are jobs that are high paying that can be acquired by going to a trade school. This also requires students to focus in on what they want to do in life.

There are many opportunities students have that will allow them to prepare for life after college.

One way students can prepare themselves for their future in the workforce is by participating in Work-Based Learning, which is run by Career and Technical Education (CTE) teacher June Yarrington.

Work-Based Learning allows students to get a job, possibly their first, while still in school.

Yarrington said, “Students get to have a real world experience that is supported by a teacher or employer.”

This gives students the opportunity to learn real world skills like how to handle customers in a business situation and how to act when interacting with a boss.

It also allows students to get experience with interviews.

CTE teacher Russell Gray has worked in the business world, runs a real estate company and leads the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA).

Gray stressed the importance of the interview process when searching for a job.

He said the interview is very important because it shows the person’s character, and the college the person applying for the job went to does not matter as much as people think.

“I wouldn’t care if they went to Harvard or some backwater college,” said Gray.

Gray said in a work environment, managers want people who are able to interact appropriately with others, and who are honest and trustworthy.

One issue is the possibility that a person could be overqualified for a job.

Gray said if a person is overqualified an employer is less likely to hire him or her because the employer thinks her or she will leave the company.

For example, a college like Harvard could possibly lead to someone being overqualified. While this shows the person is intelligent and a hard worker, an employer may look at that, think the applicant will get other offers and not bother with interviewing the applicant.

The colleges people go to may not impact their career prospects as much as they think. When it comes to being successful in a career, what matters is the person’s morals and character.

A person’s character can show hard work and dedication, and those characteristics are something employers look for when they are hiring.