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Why Focusing Too Successfully In College Could Backfire Analysis

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What is the best way to succeed in the twenty-first century workplace? The answer may be to think like a general preparing for battle. Be strategic. Know what you are facing and be aware of the potential threats and opportunities. Plan your attack and prepare for any obstacle or ambush that could alter your strategy. Determine if the resources and weapons you have on hand are adequate or if you need to refresh your current supply. Be adaptable to the point that if something doesn't look or feel right, change your plan. Be patient and wait for the right moment to strike, and accept that success in battle takes time to plan and time to execute. While today's work environment obviously isn't quite as dramatic as a battlefield, several characteristics …show more content…

Researching the employment outlook in “hot” industries and emerging fields, as well as those that are perennially in demand such as engineering or nursing, can provide a favorable return on investment by increasing the likelihood of financially viable and relevant employment. In his essay “Why Focusing Too Narrowly in College Could Backfire,” Wharton Business School professor Peter Cappelli makes the case that parents should incorporate strategic thinking when helping their children with college and career planning. According to Cappelli, “parents guiding their children through the college-application process . . . have to be something like venture capitalists. They have to think through the potential returns from different paths, and pick the one that has the best chance of paying off” (435). Another strategy to consider is career specialization, which can be a detriment if the skills acquired are not relevant to what is needed in the current or projected market. Cappelli cautions that “It may be worse to have the wrong career focus in college than having no career focus” thus avoiding the ambush of having “skills for one career [that] often can’t be used elsewhere” …show more content…

Change in the work environment can take place seemingly in the blink of an eye, and can often be unsettling to workers who may have a difficult time adjusting to the pace of change due to rapid advances in technology. In past decades, changes in the workplace occurred at a much slower pace making the changes seem less obvious. Today, processes and procedures can be implemented so quickly that workers often do not feel they have time to appropriately adjust. But to survive in this environment, one must be able to adapt. Peter Cappelli suggests that students entering college may find choosing a school that allows students to easily switch majors may be helpful in adapting to changing trends in fields with the highest demand for skilled and educated workers (438). He also suggests that it may be advantageous to “go to college to get a well-rounded education and worry about the job market after education” (438). This notion, along with limiting specialization in favor of a broader course of study, may be a wise choice considering the skills learned (i.e. communication and critical thinking) can be put to use in a multitude of industries and work environments leading to greater workplace

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In their essay “Should everyone Go to College,” Stephanie Owen and Isabel Sawhill exemplify that despite popular belief, college does not always benefit all individuals who attend. With tuition on the rise, many students are in debt before they have even decided their major or career path. This is because in today society one feels compelled or pushed to go to college in order to be successful in finding a well-paying job. Owen and Sawhill’s explain the importance of planning in their essay stating, “We emphasize that a 17- or 18-year-old deciding whether and where to go to college should carefully consider his or her own likely path of education and career before committing a considerable amount of time and money to that degree” (Owen, Sawhill

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It is said the decisions one makes in their young adult years can greatly affect the path we set ourselves on. Senior year of high school is filled with decisions- what college to go to, or to even go to college? It is fallaciously believed that there is only one path. In the article, "Some Lessons from the Assembly Line" author Andrew Braaksma shares his experiences with summer jobs and the differences with college life. Throughout the article, he compares the paths between going to college and the blue-collar work force, while emphasizing the importance of education.

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While Leonhardt wrote mainly about financial worth of going to college, Matthews wrote about certain students’ mindset after high school and why going to college in this century is not as important. Although Matthews does understand the importance of a degree and how it pays off, he states that “many more workers today would have been better off not going to college at all.” Matthews states this due to the Annual Wage by Education chart that demonstrates the amount of money the 25th percentile of degree holders make compared to non-degree holders. Students don’t know their abilities and drop out of college because “the problem is the fact that students usually don’t have a great idea of how they are going to fare in college, or what sort of degree or career they will pursue.” Setting goals, and knowing the life that one wants to live will limit the college drop-out rate and increase the quantity of graduate students.

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makes more than the average person without a B.A., getting a B.A. is still going to be the wrong economic decision for many high-school graduates” (209). Although I agree with Murray on a few examples, I cannot accept his overall conclusion that he made his opinion on the basis that much of high-schoolers should not attempt to aim to get a college degree due to being intellectually or fiscally incapable of getting one. Moreover, I believe that high schoolers should be encouraged to go beyond what they think is capable as it is often worth the effort reap the financial benefits of a college degree. Murray maintains, “The increase in wealth in American society has increased the demand for all sorts of craftsmanship” (247).

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Saxon assumes it may provide a general set of abilities employers value. Mead assumes it only provides an unquantifiable advantage to a student’s life. Both authors compare a potential student to Steve Jobs who dropped out of college, but they disagree over the meaning of this analogy. Mead uses Steve Jobs as an example of how an individual can succeed without college. Saxon uses Steve Jobs as an example of someone who used college as an opportunity to broaden his horizons rather than prepare for a job.

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With large pool of recent graduates to pull from, employers are raising the requirements of entry level jobs to include Bachelor's and Master’s degrees to thin out the crowd. In response, students are increasing their efforts to get more fitting degrees in order to impress their potential employers and increase their chances of getting hired in their desired field. As Zinsser states, “College should be open-ended: at the end it should open many, many roads. Instead, students are choosing their goal in advance, and their choice narrow as they go along” (402). Zinsser’s observations of the current college system show that college is great for businesses, but poor for students.

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College and Career Analysis Part One: Rationale For some, the workforce is almost immediate after school, for others, it's the military but for me, its straight to West Hills. In his article, “10 rules for going to college when nobody really expected you too,” Joe Rodriguez states that “the mere act of attending college is totally unexpected there are unforeseen obstacles including family and friends that tend to blow nontraditional students off their paths like landmines. He believes if educators helped to guide them into what the reality of life could look like before, during and after college then more students would be willing to attend. He believes if educators helped to guide them into what the reality of life could look like before, during and after college then more students would be willing to attend. I was personally moved by Mr. Rodriguez’s article, it not only reminded me that I'm on the right track but encouraged me to face this bittersweet journey with my head

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In his Essay “Are too many people going to college,” first published in a 2008 issue of AEI, Charles Murray explores many insights onto the topic of furthering education as well as exploring various other options to pursue after high school. Who exactly would think that too many people are going to college? Well with more and more students flooding campuses at the end of every school year and less and less going into trade schools, a shift in the job market is just beginning to be seen on the horizon. Charles Murray’s essay “Are too many people going to college” shows that not only are there other avenues to pursue a potential life long career, but that much of the time pursuing these avenues may offer better results for some wanting to go to college.

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Deciding what you want to do for the rest of your life is an extremely tough choice. It is not made easier by the fact that you have to think about what you want to major in, what school you want to go to, where you will work when you are done with school, and how you will pay off your student loans. As children we are told that we can do whatever we want, but the tough reality is, we can do whatever we will get paid to do. Ben Casselman makes this point very clear in his article, “The Economic Guide to Picking a College Major” by reiterating that getting a college degree does not mean you are promised a job in that field. When choosing a major, you have to take data on how well that field is doing into account.

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Are colleges doing enough to prepare students for the workforce? A college degree has traditionally been a strong indicator that one is ready and fully competent to succeed in an entry-level job. Students pay large amounts of money, and often find themselves in debt, in order to afford college tuition. Therefore, they expect to get the most out of their education, with hopes of attaining a job as graduates. Ideally, four years of undergraduate studies are crucial and usually sufficient, depending on one’s career choice, in shaping students by helping them develop skills and experience that will ultimately be necessary in their future in the workforce.

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When it comes to career paths most students tend to go for the money, most of them go for the highest pay and they tend to ignore the “low paying” one. I mean, why spend thousands of dollars in college only to get a job where you won't make those thousands back, however sometimes it's not all about the money, sometimes it's about making a decision that can make you happy. As the saying goes “ Money can’t buy happiness but i’d rather cry in a Ferrari. ”(unknown).

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Simultaneously, employers require knowledge and in-depth skills in a specific field or major. On the other hand, students are demanding a different approach to education, they feel something is missing in their learning experience. Pew’s statistics state that students when asked to how do they prepare themselves for the labor force, half of all college graduates say gaining more work experience while they were undergraduates would have helped their chances to get the job they wanted. Men (55%) are more likely than women (45%) to say this. Out of them, about two-thirds of all Millennials (65%) say they should have gotten more work experience while in college (Pew Research Center,

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Be aware of who is above you in your hierarchy structure. It helps avoid going outside of your chain of command and to eliminate any potential obstacles you may come into contact with. If at any time you feel your current leadership is not helpful or causing more problems than usual, you should ask to be lead by someone else who better suits you. The Army defines leadership as “Influencing people by providing purpose, direction, and motivation while operating to accomplish the mission and improving the organization.”  Douglas McCarther says "A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others.

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One of the great paradoxes of high school is that we know so little and yet must make such important life decisions. The logic behind this intrigued me, and begged me to ask the question of how to make these choices. As I glimpse into my future these career based decisions are ones that are necessary to make. I feel as though the quest into the college and career realm, is by far the most arduous, and impacts the potential prosperity of the student. The approach to finding the most fitting occupation or field of study I have frequently heard is, to experience a multitude of opportunities.

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You’ve gone to school with a particular career in mind, but even if you’re out of school and can’t find a job, which happens to a lot of college student, you have more

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