Should you go to college if you don't know what you want to do? (skills, degrees)
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She is about to graduate high school, and has absolutely know idea what to do with her life. She doesn't have anything she's really passionate about and wants to study, and she doesn't want to spend time in college if she doesn't have a focus.
I don't want to tell her to go or not to go, because I know that college can help you find interests, but I know that she does not want to get a "useless" degree in English or Liberal Arts though that is what she is interested in. She is worried about the economy, and how difficult it is to find jobs even for college grads. She doesn't want to come out with debt if she can't get a job to pay it off. I guess she's really questioning the worth of college, and I can't say that I blame her considering how many new grads are without jobs and in debt.
Should a person go to college if they don't know what they want to do, or does not have a clear career path for themselves?
Last edited by musicislife.glee; 03-05-2014 at 08:28 AM..
She is about to graduate high school, and has absolutely know idea what to do with her life. She doesn't have anything she's really passionate about and wants to study, and she doesn't want to spend time in college if she doesn't have a focus.
I don't want to tell her to go or not to go, because I know that college can help you find interests, but I know that she does not want to get a "useless" degree in English or Liberal Arts though that is what she is interested in.
Should a person go to college if they don't know what they want to do, or does not have a clear career path for themselves?
I would recommend starting out at community college. Everyone has to take core courses across disciplines, and that may help your friend realize where her interests lie (of course she should do as much research and exploring as she can outside of school as well). As long as the credits are transferrable, they should apply to almost any program. Remind her that most people don't declare a major until they are a junior.
And tell your friend to relax. I don't know anyone who knew what they wanted to do with the rest of their life at 18.
Has she applied to any colleges? How much would she have to pay if she did go? I don't agree that going to a community college is a good idea at all. That is not a good representation of what college is like at all. 80+% of all college students change their major at least once. I don't know that you have to know what you want to do with the rest of your life by 18 years old. Yes, it's nice to have a general idea like "I enjoy my science classes" but to say I want to be a molecular biologist isn't necessary.
I say if she can go for a semester to start, depending on where they are financially, see how things go and then take it from there. Live on campus, see what others are doing, grow up a bit, take some classes that interest you, explore your options.
I also think taking 2 or 3 career interest surveys is a good idea..they give you a general idea of career paths. I also think that most 18 year olds have no idea the range of careers out there and it exposes them to some areas to consider.
Not sure how close of friends you are but what do YOU think your friend would be good at--maybe suggest that as something to consider because maybe she hasn't thought of that before.
If after a semester or a year she doesn't have more direction, take a year off to refocus...
she does not want to get a "useless" degree in English or Liberal Arts though that is what she is interested in.
You might suggest that she do a little more brainstorming about what exactly she likes in those areas and then look into related jobs that are hiring. For example, if she "likes to write" (most people don't -- it's "having written") and she can handle technical topics, she might look into technical writing internships or volunteer positions. That's just an example! She might find that becoming an office assistance where she can do company newsletters is right up her alley.
And given the high cost of most four-year colleges, there's nothing wrong with taking some courses at a good community college. Just do some research ahead of time to make sure the class is worthwhile.
But I'm a great believer in starting with the jobs one likes to do first and then considering what education is needed to advance in the field. There's nothing wrong with being able to work in two-three fields, either! That allows one to remain employable.
Historical perspective: at one time, many women were first taught typing and "secretarial" skills. From there, many went on to do other things, but being able to fall back on those skills was a plus! Today, men and women do well learning some basic office assistance skills. These jobs don't pay well, but they are meant to be a starting point or stop gap in a bad financial situation.
Community college may not give the full college experience, but I think that's OK for someone not sure if they even want to go to college. CC allows you to explore different subject areas without racking up a ton of debt or draining Mom and Dad's bank account. As long as you make sure the credits are transferrable to specific 4-year programs, there's no harm in taking classes there first. I transferred something like 36 CC hours in my undergrad program, but my degree is still the same as everyone else I graduated with.
Unless you are going into engineering or medicine, you have time to take a wide range of classes while you are deciding what you want to major in. If you can identify your areas of interest and your strengths and weaknesses, that can help you narrow your choices. You don't need to know exactly what occupation you will have when you graduate but you should have an idea of what you can do with certain degrees. With a degree in English you can go into journalism, teaching, publishing, marketing, PR, business, law, etc. It is certainly not useless, there are lots of options.
Should a person go to college if they don't know what they want to do, or does not have a clear career path for themselves?
I find it rather strange that a person can go to school for 12 years, having the guidance of their teachers, counselors and parents during that whole time, and yet cannot decide on a career path by the time they reach college age.
Unless you are going into engineering or medicine, you have time to take a wide range of classes while you are deciding what you want to major in. If you can identify your areas of interest and your strengths and weaknesses, that can help you narrow your choices. You don't need to know exactly what occupation you will have when you graduate but you should have an idea of what you can do with certain degrees. With a degree in English you can go into journalism, teaching, publishing, marketing, PR, business, law, etc. It is certainly not useless, there are lots of options.
You have to take a very wide range of classes for medicine too. Almost every program has gen ed requirements in the STEM fields and humanities, even engineering majors take courses across the humanities fields... MIT Course Catalog: School of Engineering just for one example....
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