Personally, I started off at my dream school, majoring in electrical engineering. It took about a year for me to realize that I was not, in fact, an electrical engineer of any kind. I took my first philosophy class, and I was hooked. It drove me positively wild. I’d leave class scribbling notes until I got back to the dorms, where friends were awaiting my arrival to get back to the electrostatics and magnetism homework that destroyed our social lives. I moved from philosophy to creative writing and never looked back. If I had it all to do again, would I opt to stay in electrical engineering? No, not a chance. Did my liberal arts degree affect my hirability? Absolutely–I didn’t qualify for any of those jobs that I didn’t want.

And that’s just it, I wanted desperately to write, and I am. I’ve spent some time teaching English, some time freelance writing, and even more time waiting tables until I got into those positions. When I earned my bachelor’s degree, family came out from all over. Apparently, my grandparents had forgotten that I’d switched majors and even schools part of the way through. This led to a little confusion and a look from my grandmother that said loud and clear: “Well, at least you tried, honey.” I was understandably a little upset about this because I hadn’t tried; I’d succeeded. When I was still waiting tables, I had a woman ask me what I was studying because I seemed so well spoken. When I told her, she said, “Oh, really? I thought you’d be in something difficult.” This all brings me to a bumper sticker I saw today:

Those who have abandoned their dreams will try to destroy yours.

And ain’t it the truth.

Wait, They’re Cutting Liberal Arts?

Colleges around the globe are being hit hard–and on two sides–by the recession. The first side is pretty obvious: budget cuts. Faced with a lack of money, colleges and universities have to make cuts, and the shortfalls have gone on for so long that there’s no more fat to trim, so many schools are looking to the less popular programs–and cutting them. Here’s the problem: liberal arts degrees aren’t vocationally oriented. That is, there is no clear cut path to a career other than teaching, which, let’s face it, doesn’t pay anywhere near enough to motivate the masses.

Once considered the foundation of a Western education, the liberal arts are being outmoded. It’s up to us, the dreamers, the idealists, the people who question contemporary definitions of success, to make our voices heard and encourage others to keep the faith.

Just Add MBA

Don’t suffer through a bachelor’s degree in something you hate doing just because you think it’ll result in more money later. Many companies don’t care what your undergraduate degree is in; if you can convince them that you’re the right person for the job, they’ll train you. Many, many more companies don’t care what your bachelor’s is in if you get an MBA. Earning a master’s of business administration is like being a cake that just got iced with the hiring manager’s favorite frosting. On top of that liberal arts degree, it says, “I’m super smart, eclectic, and good at making money.”

The point here is that pursuing your dream isn’t going to take you out of the running for a great job for the rest of your life. You can always go back for an MBA. you can even earn one online without quitting the job that’s currently putting food on the table. Never let go of your dreams. Life isn’t about doing something you hate, and you are the only one that makes that call.

It’s turning out that Generation Y has a great work ethic and brings quite a bit to the table. Bruce Tulgan of RainmakerThinking identified these five characteristics:

• High expectations of self: They aim to work faster and better than other workers
• High expectations of employers: They want fair and direct managers who are highly engaged in their professional development
• Ongoing learning: They seek out creative challenges and view colleagues as vast resources from whom to gain knowledge
• Immediate responsibility: They want to make an important impact on Day 1
• Goal-oriented: They want small goals with tight deadlines so they can build up ownership of tasks

Another characteristic of Gen Yers: they don’t expect to stay in a career for very long–at least they didn’t. The recession has taken its toll on this group.

Priority Shift: Job Security Topping the List

Generation Y first started entering the workplace when things were great. There were plenty of jobs; the world was their oyster. The jump in unemployment over the past year or so has changed their tune. The KPMG survey found that, of the more than 350 students polled, 75 percent said that job security was their top priority when searching for a job–trumping pay and benefits. Not only that, but a full 69 percent of those surveyed said that are more likely to go into graduate school to avoid the harsh hiring conditions.

For a group formerly so concerned about a flexible work environment, balancing work and life (with scales tipping towards the latter), and what an employer can do for them rather than the other way around, this is a notable jump. Whether this priority change will hold remains to be seen, but the general consensus is that when the job market improves, Gen Yers will be up to their old tricks again.

Remembering a Life Lesson: Census Bureau Salary Numbers

The first time that I saw the numbers, which have upset everyone around here by being called into question, I was in a remedial English class at a local high school. It was a few years ago, and I was covering a class for one of my fellow teachers. I didn’t know his students or his student teacher, a fired-up, ex-military type who’d become completely fed up with the students who didn’t care. It was the last period of the day, and he and I had been getting on a student’s case for refusing to work.

I’ve heard some depressing things come from the mouths of babes, as it were. I once heard a 13-year-old lean over and tell her friend that the party was cancelled because she’d “gotten a DUI when [she] crashed [her] dad’s truck”. What the student refusing to work said was not new nor even very shocking. It was something about not caring about school, about not being able to wait until he was old enough to drop out legally.

Mind you, this student had some very blingy bits on (presumably not real), and his big reason for not wanting to go to school was that he wanted to start working and making some money (presumably to buy more blingy bits and fashionably over-sized clothing covered with giant brand names). The student teacher and I had taken turns talking with the student–to no avail. I was trying an “I know how you feel” approach when the student teacher had begun to spout statistics from his laptop’s screen. The one that seemed to actually resonate with the disenfranchised, money-hungry youth? That if he didn’t graduate from high school, he’d make more than $1 million less over his lifetime than his peers walking across the stage at graduation–and almost $2 million less than a college grad.

I never went back to that classroom, and I have no idea what happened to that student. In my heart of hearts, I’d like to think that he got a diploma of some kind and is doing well. I’d put money on this not being the case, but then, I’m a cynic.

Like everyone else, I knew that more education meant more money. I knew it because I’d always been told it, not because I’d ever heard a number. I enjoyed having some governmentally collected data that I could throw in the face of prospective dropouts, which is why I found it so unfortunate when these numbers came into question recently.

What’s a Degree Worth? More Than Money

Now, as a graduate of a liberal arts program–and much to my parents’ chagrin at the time–I had accepted that my degree wasn’t going to make me rich. In fact, I remember explaining to my father that while electrical engineering would make me a lot of money right out of school, I didn’t want to be stuck in a cubicle designing electronic thermostats–I was fine with the prospect of living the life of an ascetic academic, and I’d be better for it. I never finished the electrical engineering degree, so I can’t speak to what my life would have been like, but life with my English degree has been rather pleasant, and I wouldn’t trade it–or the wonderful friends I made in my degree program–for anything but more of the same.

An education is worth more than just that degree. Were it not for the things I experienced during my college years, I’m certain that I’d be a very different person. I won’t continue down this hypothetical path, but I will reiterate that getting a degree has made me a different–and arguably better–person. I read things that I wouldn’t have otherwise picked up, which helped give me a different perspective.

My point here is that, before we dive in to discussing the newest numbers on the worth of a degree, we should remember that the worth of a college degree isn’t necessarily something that should be measured by numbers alone.

Progress. The Master’s Is the New Bachelor’s Degree

It’s my understanding that back in the day you could get a good job without ever graduating from high school. Graduating from high school made you stand out from the pack; it was–again, as I understand it–like earning a bachelor’s degree. Think of it like educational attainment inflation. We’ll come back to this in a moment.

First, a look at the numbers that are troubling everyone. From the Wall Street Journal article:

Dr. Schneider [a vice president of the American Institutes for Research, a nonprofit research organization based in Washington] estimated the actual lifetime-earnings advantage for college graduates is a mere $279,893 in a report he wrote last year. He included tuition payments and discounted earning streams, putting them into present value. He also used actual salary data for graduates 10 years after they completed their degrees to measure incomes. Even among graduates of top-tier institutions, the earnings came in well below the million-dollar mark, he says.

And a little later on…

The $800,000 number, it turns out, was pulled from a footnote of the College Board’s 2007 “Education Pays” report that explained lifetime earnings. The report’s author, Sandy Baum–an emeritus Skidmore College economics professor who didn’t write the promotional text on the Web site–says that $450,000 is actually a more reasonable estimate of the difference in lifetime earnings, something she’s said in interviews for more than a year.

An excellent lesson to learn from this little debacle is that quoting hypothetical numbers will only come back to bite you, so rather than engaging in that particular exercise, I’m simply going to reassure. If you want your resume to stand out, don’t stop at a bachelor’s, particularly if your degree’s acronym ends in an A… for arts. A huge number of fields require at least a master’s degree to be successful–some even require it for entry-level positions.

If you’re in one of these fields, you must, at some point, have discovered this fact. If you stopped at a bachelor’s degree that’s got you making jack and up to your eyes in student debt, perhaps another two years of school is in order. Getting your master’s degree is going to be a rewarding experience, even if it may take a while to reap the monetary part of the rewards.

Your Degree’s ROI

Return on investment (ROI) is important to consider when it comes to education. Take for example the case of the student with a degree in art history. This student only wants to go to school to make more money. When it came time to pick a major, art history sounded great–after all, a degree is a degree, right? The student graduated, but he quickly found that his degree was not actually going to help for a huge number of jobs, and the ones that just required a bachelor’s degree, not a specific one, didn’t actually pay well. Whoops. Now, angry at the world, the student works a dead-end job to pay off students loans. This is an example of a low-ROI degree, but only because the return that the student was looking for was cash. With some research, he would have found the logical disconnect–no work means no money, no matter your degree.

I was once told that the purpose of a Western education was to allow the recipient, upon graduation, to effectively challenge everything s/he was ever told. If this isn’t your goal, for everyone’s sake, go into one of the more monetarily oriented fields. Maximize your ROI with online education, which can often provide you the degree you need for the salary for less in tuition and related costs.

Prospective Grad Students and Career Changers: Fear Not, Change Is on the Way!

1. Make a List. Chances are you’ve got a few loose ends to tie up, applications to get in the mail, and financial obligations to consider. Take some time, and make a list. Be realistic; be honest. Going back to school, even for a short time, can be quite a financial bear. If you need to start saving now–or, more importantly, stop spending so much–figure out a reasonable amount that you can squirrel away. If you need to take the GRE, start studying. If you need letters of recommendation, start shooting off emails. The decision may have been difficult, but going through with it can be excruciating if you aren’t prepared.
2. Make Peace. Wherever you’re moving from, it’s fair to assume that you aren’t happy there–or you wouldn’t be dreaming of a better, different tomorrow. Sorry to bring this up, but you’re going to be there for a while longer yet. If you keep hating it, you’re only going to drive yourself insane, sop make peace with your current situation. Accept that you’re going to have to live with it for a while longer, but keep in mind, too, that it’s temporary. You’re on your way; don’t mess that up by melting down.
3. Begin the Countdown. If you know when the change is coming, start a countdown! First, putting the date on the calendar will be nothing short of encouraging (while you’re there, write down some of those deadlines, too). Once you start crossing days off that calendar, it’ll be easier to keep truckin’. Every single day that goes by, you’re closer to your goal. Tacking up little reminders is a good idea, too. You’d be surprised how much better your day is when you start it off by thinking about how close you’re getting to the big change.
4. Get to Work. You’ve got your list; you’ve got your deadlines. Start crossing off your to-dos. Rewrite that resume; prep that CV–whatever needs to get done, start doing it. Nothing makes the time go by like working towards a dream.

Career Change: Getting the Education You Need

Perhaps you’re still struggling with the decision to hightail it out your current situation. By taking an online course or two in the subject, you can gauge your interest in whatever subject or career you’re thinking about going into. These classes cater to the working individual. Flexible schedules and a work-at-you-own-pace attitude come along with many of these programs. A little time taking a class now could save you a future stuck in a different rut–or you might decide you love it and be that much closer to finishing up your career training.

Let’s take a look at another career that suffers from a different sort of typecasting: nursing. You’ve probably already got an image of a women dressed in white with a red cross on her hat. The six percent of nurses who are men suffer from this hefty gender stereotyping. Now, it’s obvious in this case that being a nurse doesn’t influence one’s gender–why should we assume that being a professor influences someone’s political orientation? More women decide to become nurses because it is traditionally more of woman’s career path. This is not to say that tradition is correct, just that it exists.

According to the study done by Neil Gross at the University of British Columbia, nine percent of professors consider themselves to be conservatives–and that doesn’t include those who feel that they’re slightly conservative, a group that falls under “moderate” in the study. Much like it isn’t a question of why so many nurses are women but why so many women become nurses, we have to ask: why do so many liberals become professors?

Dissecting the Liberal Leanings of Academia

The matter is, of course, more complex than people with a leftist leaning being told that they should be professors. According to the New York Times‘ article on the study:

The characteristics that define one’s political orientation are also at the fore of certain jobs, the sociologists reported. Nearly half of the political lopsidedness in academia can be traced to four characteristics that liberals in general, and professors in particular, share: advanced degrees; a nonconservative religious theology (which includes liberal Protestants and Jews, and the nonreligious); an expressed tolerance for controversial ideas; and a disparity between education and income.

I can definitely see the correlation between becoming a professor and being tolerant to controversial ideas. I’ve heard more than a few professors talk about the difficulty of grading papers fairly when faced with everything from bigotry to all-out anti-intellectualism. This isn’t the most interesting of the findings, though. That honor belongs to “a disparity between education and income” and exactly what that implies.

The phrase “return on investment” (ROI) comes to mind. It seems that, at least monetarily, up-and-coming professors are more willing to accept the low ROI of their chosen career path. We can assume, then, that there’s some less-than-quantitative reason that brings professors to the business of education. Years ago, when I first expressed my intent to become a professor, I was told by an acquaintance that it was because I was egocentric. Her belief was that professors simply like to hear themselves talk and force students to believe in the same things that they do. I, being at the time a card-carrying socialist and very concerned about altruistic behavior, took offense to this.

Today, I’m not quite as altruistic, and I’m definitely not a socialist. Whenever I feel myself thinking more along those lines of making a difference in society, though, the dreams of professorship come flooding back. I’d be willing to bet that it’s just this sort of thinking, this sense of sociological imagination, that brings more liberals to the field. It’s not that we’re drawn in by the idea of a bastion for lefties and pinkos, but rather that the idea of making a difference in someone else’s life, not in a company’s profit margin, is what brings more liberals to higher education. Although, it would be nice to have a few hundred students hanging on my every word because they’ll fail if they don’t.

• It comes with a built-in support group. Whether you bet your best friend that you can stick to your guns for longer or you agree to help each other make it through ’til next year, the fact that quite a few of your friends and family members are also resolving to better themselves in one way or another. Take advantage of the timing.
• It’s a line in the sand. There’s something nice about drawing a line. Once you figure out what your goals are and you make yourself a plan, it’s nice to have a firm start date. Everything before 1/1/10 is the old you, everything beyond it is the new, improved you.
• It’s a great excuse. Reinventing yourself can be fun. You can use New Year’s as an excuse to change things up. Rather than accusing you of having a mid-life crisis or falling off the deep end, your friends and coworkers will take the new you as a sign of the times–and the times are a changin’.
• Why not? Chances are that there’s something you aren’t happy about. It could be something small, like the way you compulsively hop out of bed in the middle of the night for a high calorie snack. It could be something a bit larger, like career happiness. Why let it fester? You’ve got three more days until you’re celebrating the New Year; make the celebration worth it with a resolution.

Education Is a Great Place to Start–And the Time Is Nigh

Not everyone is going to find the answer on campus, but nothing says “new you” like a revitalizing influence of learning. You might be gunning for a new degree in the same field or putting in the leg work for a total career shift. Whatever your motivation, if you’re dreaming of going back to school, the time to act is now. Deadlines for applications are coming up faster than you think, and you’ve got a laundry list of things to do. There are tests to take, admissions essays to write, and letters of recommendation to obtain–particularly if you’re going back for a graduate degree.

You’ve got three days to figure out what you want to do in 2010, make a plan, and start sticking to it. Make this New Year’s one to remember, and get started on the new you.

Universities Have Deadlines: Why You Need to Start Looking Now

If your big revelatory moment waits until you’ve got your glass raised on New Year’s Eve, you might have to scramble. You’ve got schools to research, programs to consider, and applications to fill out–many of which require tests to be taken or records to be obtained–in short, you won’t regret starting a little early. Most universities have their admissions deadline for the fall semester in late January or early February, and many degree programs simply can’t be started in the spring, particularly graduate programs.

Time to Strike! Things Are Looking Up

While things haven’t returned to the level of affluence we enjoyed a few years ago, the economy is getting better. It’s expected by many that we’ll start to see job growth in the second quarter of 2010 (incidentally, that’s plenty of time to get an online course, even a certificate program, out of the way). Some extra training isn’t going to land you a new career by itself, but it can help your resume stand out. In two years, you could get a master’s degree to add to that bachelor’s-level qualification. If you don’t have any postsecondary education to further just yet, you could get an associate’s degree.

The point is, don’t wait until you’ve got glitter in your champagne glass and a head full of bubbles to decide that you’d rather go back to school and start working towards a better–or even completely different–career. Start thinking about it today, and get all the facts before you’ve got to rush on what could be the most important application of the rest of your life.

Great News for Online Education
Of the roughly 18.5 million college students in the U.S., 11 percent took most of their classes online in 2008, shows the study by EduVentures, Inc. Compare that to the 1 percent in 1998, and it’s pretty clear that popular opinions about online education are shifting. This big-name backing is fantastic for online education as a whole.

Mr. Welch had two extremely encouraging things to say about the program:

“I think it’s a real education,” and “I’m now a believer.”

This kind of support will echo throughout the halls (or servers, as the case may be) of online universities everywhere. It’s about time.

This new program isn’t the only good news for business-minded individuals, either. Hiring is up in financial institutions. It’s not skyrocketing, but progress is progress–and it’s better than more layoffs. So, go get yourself a shiny new Welch Institute MBA, and hop on the finance hiring train. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the beginning of the end… of the recession. (Not to worry, I’m knocking on my wooden desk vigorously.)

Yes, the Times Are Changing
A new adult education class in Connecticut is teaching social networking. For most students today, social networking is a way to lose credits (by Twittering, Facebooking, et cetera-ing instead of doing homework), but not for these folks, who are actually earning credits while learning how the younger generations communicate with each other. The question is: do you get extra credit for Twittering during a lecture? Or is my phone going in the June box again?

The Associated Press reported this about a recent survey:

71 percent of high schools reported that more of their students are forgoing their “dream schools” this year than in previous years. And there is little doubt money is a big reason. “With the exception of one or two students, it was THE determining factor in their decision,” one high school official wrote. Said another: “Parents were willing to pay for prestige in the past. This year they wanted prestigious schools IF the financial aid packages would work for them.”

Often, the trouble with dream schools is that the student applying is attempting to be upwardly mobile. This means that he or she might–just barely–make the cut for admission. Students who barely make the cut rarely find that they’re being offered much financial incentive from their dream schools.

I remember applying for college in a three-tier system: dream schools, schools I’d probably get into, and safety schools. The financial aid I was offered can be broken down respectively as: student loans, a fair amount, and a full ride. This is pretty typical, and in this economic climate, people (parents and students alike) want more debt like they want a hole in the head.

How Much Is That Fancy Alma Mater Worth?
Friends of mine with prestigious names attached to their bachelor’s degrees have one thing in common: they all went back to school for graduate degrees. Sure, their dream-school degrees helped them get into the various graduate programs, but once you get a higher-level degree (i.e., higher level than your previous degree) the focus shifts to your most recent alma mater.

I’ve heard it said more than a few times that it doesn’t matter where you get your bachelor’s degree–as long as you go to a good graduate school. Of course, you’ve got to do well in your bachelor’s program for this to be true.

Dollar–and Penny–Wise
Getting your degree from an online university could be just the option for students and parents looking pinch pennies for a while. Not only is it easier to work full-time (easier, not necessarily easy) while attending an online degree program, it’s often cheaper across the board. There’s no commute, no additional room and board, no parking fee, and no strict attendance policy keeping you from holding a job. If you’re looking to pinch pennies, online degree programs are the way to go.

With more and more people taking advantage of online programs, the general public’s acceptance of these degrees has grown significantly. This means that not only potential employers, but also that dream school you put off, will respect your degree when you hand over that CV.

Don’t give up on your dreams just because money’s a little tight lately. Just put them on hold until you’re in a better place to take full advantage of having that prestigious name next to your degree. It’ll look better beside a graduate degree anyway.

Education Inflation
A friend of mine moved to San Jose just in time to watch her job prospects dry up. She had just earned her master’s degree and had impressive academic qualifications, but her work experience left a bit to be desired. This is a common problem for recent graduates, and the recession made it all that much more difficult. Major lay-offs from major companies glutted the job market in San Jose. Thousands of highly qualified individuals were grabbing up every job that hit the market, leaving recent grads like my friend high and dry.

When unemployment spikes, companies have a lot more options for filling positions. The people applying for positions are more willing to take less pay, and they’re bringing with them extensive work histories. After an interview that she’d felt went rather well, this friend of mine talked with someone on the hiring committee. She found out that her competition for this entry-level position included candidates with decades of experience, some with doctorates. This sort of educational inflation is a product of a tough job market, and it’s hitting the internship opportunities just as hard.

Two Sides of the Coin
It’s usually best to go with the better qualified applicant when the choice is available, but when it comes to internships, isn’t remedying inexperience the point? An internship is quite a bit more desirable than a job serving food, no doubt about that. One has to wonder, though, how the undergrads going for the same internships are making out.

After my own graduation, I came to the realization that the program I went through really should have included a mandatory internship. Gaining relevant experience wasn’t easy, and there wasn’t the kind of competition there is today. While these post-grads are certainly doing well for themselves, we may be witnessing another shift in the job market. It’s been said time and again that the bachelor’s degree is the new high school diploma when it comes to getting work now versus fifty years ago. Only the coming years will tell whether or not the master’s degree has become the new bachelor’s degree, and over-qualified interns are not a good sign.