college 101
life skills
tips & advice
life skills
trends
the best degrees
resources
•WHERE THE JOBS ARE•
scholarships
parent to parent
tend college to help them achieve their career goals. However, many
recent college grads are facing a harsh reality. Studies show that
around 25 percent of them head back home to their parents after
graduation because they can’t find a job. And why can’t they find a
job? In many cases, it’s because the degree they chose simply didn’t
give them the skills that today’s employers are looking for.
Which majors are best?
About 70 percent of college grads major in one
of about 10 different fields. Currently, the most
popular major for students is business, with over
20 percent of college grads pursuing business
degrees. Luckily for these students, over 60
percent of companies say they search for business grads, making the major a solid choice for
students. But it is not necessarily the best. Instead,
surveys show that engineering is the best major
for getting a job. There is currently a very high demand for engineers, but only about
5 percent of college grads have degrees in engineering
Another field that continues to grow is computer science. Computer programmers
continue to be sought after as the world becomes more reliant on computers. Yet the
challenges of this major cause only about 3 percent of college grads to carry the degree. Other fields that fetch favor from employers are medicine, biology, mathematics
and physical sciences.
Majors losing attention
Some of the college majors that are most popular among students are low on employers’ lists, including history, sociology,
education and visual arts. While these fields all help students
expand their minds, they do not necessarily teach the practical
skills many employers seek. An exception is education, which
does provide skills but is still in low demand due to government budget cuts in education.
It’s great that your teen is
really into pre-1800s Swiss
literature. But can a
degree focused on this
interest help them gain
employment (and get off
your payroll after
graduation? Probably not.
How can
you help
guide
your
teen?
If your teen shows passion for a field with
less-than-promising employment potential,
don’t panic. Instead, encourage them to
make the most out of their four years of
college while still enjoying it. Some students opt for certain minors or double majors to fulfill their academic interests while
also meeting the demands of employers.
For example, your teen could major in business and minor in sociology rather than
simply majoring in sociology. Help them
research double major or major/minor
combinations that provide education in
the liberal arts while providing practical job
skills. And remember that while demand
is low for some fields, it is not nonexistent.
Going for a minor or part of a double major
in a liberal arts field could still help your
teen land that dream job some day.
ILLUSTRATIONS BY HEATHER COOPER
In an increasingly competitive job market, you want your teen to at-
----------------------------------------------------------- Business Administration
- History
The difficult 10: Be aware that simply
graduating with a degree in one of these fields may not be
enough to land a desirable job. These majors have the weakest
job prospects, based on the portion of workers employed in
jobs for which they’re overqualified:
8
- Criminal Justice
- Drama/Theater Arts
- Anthropology
- Liberal Arts/Science
www.potentialmagazine.com
- Psychology
- Biology
- English
- Economics