Gainful Employment
In order to have successful graduate employment rates and in order to help students to be able to attain gainful employment I feel that it is vital that we really research their desired career path and focus on our program matching so that when this time comes they will be able to be successful and find gainful employment.
Yes students are going into school to have a better job and make good money. However, I hold two degrees but had to get the experience and had to work my way up to what I do now. I feel that their is a sense from some students that they do not have to work to get that job they want that they system will just work for them. I feel that there has been a culture shift since I went to college.
I agree with your statement on informing the students of where other students who have graduated from the college are employed. For our nursing college, employment for graduates is highly competitive. Graduating nurses seem to have a high expectation to be employed right out of college into specialty areas such as obstetrics, pediatrics, critical care and emergency room nursing. When I graduated, I was very excited to have a job in any area of nursing to gain experience. We typically explain the benefits of working in long term care, medical surgical nursing, etc. to gain experience and to "get your foot in the door." We try to provide realistic expectations regarding availability of jobs and expectations for experience in many of the specialty areas prior to being employed in those areas. We have graduates come in and talk about their area of employment and how much they enjoy or have benefited from the job. Many of our facilities come to a "Career Fair" day we provide where students can do real time interviewing about jobs. When I graduated, we had to pay our dues and work night shift and start in either long term care or medical surgical nursing. Students now want to go right to the top! Sometimes this makes it difficult for the Student Services placement personnel who have sites available for the graduates who are being very particular about where they want to work.
In my opinion, I think it's important not only for the student to be informed on the placement statistics but also where graduates have gone on to work. This way they can see the results, career opportunities, that could possibly be there once they have graduated.
Individuals need to do more to prepare themselves. I agree, your career is your "business" and one should conduct themselves that way.
I believe it is not enough to have programs alone align with the career field opportunites in this current employment market. In an ever competitive employment market, as with the college I work for, our career services department has additional tools and training sessions for students to think for themselves as well to better prepare students for employment. As an example, our school assists in helping students prepare a current professional resume, has training on how to network while in school with students and faculty for classes they take as well as in their own community, and a training session on interviewing techniques that employers use.
I believe in order to really be gainfully employed, your mind-set must change to that of an entrepreneur, the solution provider, who generates ideas and prepare him/or herself for opportunities.
i also think that going over the pattern of the stability of that path is also a good idea to go over to show stability and growth in that path
