A classmate once described the college experience as purgatory, an eternal (four-year-long) waiting room. The last step in rebirth from child to adult.
The first two years of my undergraduate experience were not marred by this thought process: much like many first year college students, my experience was 40% school and 60% personal growth, challenging situations, and a curriculum centered in the art of growing up. The thoughts of life beyond college were still too far for me to comprehend, let alone keep me up at night. As my senior year approached, however, the description started to make sense. Suddenly, I felt what many soon-to-be graduates had been describing, and a question I’d been putting off since I’d gotten the first graduation sign-up email last fall was bubbling underneath the waves– what now?
It’s the elephant in the room, the question no one wants to answer but everybody always seems to ask. Once you’ve gotten the degree, walked that stage, completed your higher education and snapped photos with friends and family, what comes next? This collegiate waiting room, the sterilized environment of academics and students, is far from the real, authentic world and workforce that many students will soon enter. For those students not pursuing further education in their fields of expertise, the ending line is near, but it doubles as the starting point for a race many university students are beginning to feel unprepared for.
According to recent studies published by the Marie Christie Institute regarding the mental health and well-being of young professionals, 39% of respondents felt their college did not help them develop the skills necessary to succeed in the workplace. Further, those polled argued there weren’t enough tools implemented in their studies to help students with the impact (both emotionally and behaviorally) that characterizes this transition from student to an individual engaging in the workplace.
In a world constantly shifting and evolving, characterized by polarized societal divides and the dust still settling from the pandemic on the international psyche, how can universities best prepare students for a world so complex and nuanced, the kind of world some argue a college degree doesn’t prepare you for as much as it toughens you to be able to endure? What programs should be implemented to close out this gap concerning a college education and its applicability and effectiveness with securing a job?
When looking at the group of respondents who affirmed their university’s aptitude in preparing them for the workplace, it’s important to recognize the trends in positive experiences they credit this sense of readiness to. From the 39% of students who responded in this manner, they listed both peer relationships (57%) and extracurriculars (51%) as influential experiences in their time. These trends of community and centralization thus allow students larger chances to build skills necessary to succeed outside of the academic sphere. These kinds of initiatives should be focal points, but there’s a clear lack of attention and effort of the institutions to A) recognize the amount of graduating students who feel underprepared for the workplace and B) promote changes within their own student bodies through initiatives that center the voice of students to help eradicate these issues.
If universities shift their funding to increase the quality of extracurriculars available to college students as well as create larger opportunities for gatherings of the student body to engage in meaningful ways, students will be able to shape into fully molded learners. By exposing undergraduates not only to the standard classroom setting but also to concepts of tolerance, acceptance and debate, as well as providing outlets to pursue niche passions, universities will braid applicable real-life skills into their academic studies, which in turn allows students to feel a more personal connection to their campus learning experiences.
When focusing on the voices of students who feel disengaged from their colleges and universities, it becomes apparent that these implementations will foster an education that will better prepare students for the workplace and life in a post-grad setting, as opposed to the many students who feel burnt out and unrecognized. Oftentimes, students may feel commodified, pruned and preened for graduation and then left to dry once they’ve attended the four years and received their diploma.
In interviewing Mel Duckett, a soon-to-be graduate from the University of Central Florida (UCF), she explains the lack of vocational training opportunities on-campus means she feels underprepared for certain aspects of job searching:
I can write a great essay, I can tell you what I think about what’s going on in the world and have a pretty solid grasp of context, or debate whatever you want. But those things aren’t as important anymore. Things like a good résumé, headshots and other stuff like LinkedIn are all I think about now. I know there are so many kids that I’ll have to compete against when I graduate, but it’s hard to stick out.
Although she feels UCF fails to fully prepare students for graduation, she credits extracurricular groups she attends that host resume workshops, teach interview skills, and even take headshots for free of their members. “I’m grateful there’s places students can go to for help in their professional life, even if it’s a club or a group. If we’re not getting it from the university directly, we can still seek it out,” Duckett said. “But UCF is big, and no matter what, it’s easy to feel like you’re going to slip through the cracks when you graduate and just not do as well as your peers. There’s a real fear in students that college isn’t enough anymore. It doesn’t prepare us anymore, not for the world we live in at least.”
Duckett’s words echo sentiments that many college students around the nation feel– in an echo chamber of change, how do graduates find their footing in the workforce or pursue their passions successfully? Could an additional aspect of university education such as vocational training and life, social, and work skill training be necessary to help students navigate a more complex world?
“I’m not sure what will help. Maybe the fear is part of being young,” Mel shared. “But I don’t think there’s enough conversation of people saying “yeah, I went to college, yeah I left and felt really unprepared.” I’m in college right now and yeah, I feel unprepared. There’s stigma around admitting it, embarrassment or fear that you should be doing better. But there should be more help.”
