I received a liberal arts education. The education itself was great. I was taught how think and write effectively, ultimately enhancing my view of life. I knew from the start of my time as an undergrad that I was planning on going to law school to become a lawyer. I did not have to worry about getting a job after graduation, and even if I did the work world was extremely different in 1989 than it is today.
Recently, I had a meeting with a great young man who graduated with a degree in philosophy, the epitome of a liberal arts education. Although I am so involved in all things college due to my work running The Learning Consultants, his school was so obscure even I had never heard of it. His cumulative GPA was a 2.8 and he did not participate in any internships or complete anything that could be considered a marketable skill. However, he wanted to find a “meaningful job” that would build his career right after he graduated. It appeared that no adult had given him any meaningful career direction, and I tried to be cognizant of this.
STEM majors tend to have an easier time finding employment after graduation because of the somewhat close alignment between what they learn in the classroom and the types of jobs their knowledge can be applied to. Industries such as engineering, healthcare, and finance are mainly composed of people that studied these things in college directly through their courses.
Despite the robust correlation between STEM coursework and real-world work material, even non-STEM graduates can find employment with the proper work-related internships or experiences.
Most organizations – particularly in the private sector – seek out the best available candidate. For recent graduates, those who have an impressive undergraduate record fall into this category. The Yale government major with a 4.0 who was also the captain of the basketball team might be at the pinnacle of this group. The charming young man I was working low on the totem pole compared to the likes of the Yale grad.
In later articles, I will post my advice for those in similar predicaments. Unfortunately many people are unaware of the changing work landscape and how to best market yourself for different positions.