Looking Beyond Degrees in hiring

Written last July – am I seeing this issue differently now that we are entering the end-time of this academic year? I don’t know, but, there has been a consistent effort to foretell the future of higher education and of prospects for a transformation of campus culture as a result of the pandemic.

Both the classes of 2019 and 2020 are going to find that their short-term professional aspirations/career goals have been radically altered due to the pandemic. No doubt, it was take longer for students to pay down their debt because it is going to take longer than anticipated to find solid ground in the job market. Their expected career goals may have changed completely. There likely will be an increase, for those who can afford it, in enrollment in graduate schools or technical training programs in order to find employment as the economy does “rebound” in the next 1-3 years [longer?].

I’ve just read a report which cited a statistic that only 10% of this year’s students have interacted with their campus career services office. If anywhere near accurate, this is a clear indication of the ground that needs to be covered for current Sophomores and Juniors before they graduate. It will take the entire campus “village” to help students transition from campus to the workforce for years to come as the country finds its new “normal” post-Covid.