If You’re Interested in Journalism . . .

If you’re majoring in or considering majoring in journalism, you’d do well to listen in on Barry Ritholtz’s interview of William Grueskin, Dean of the Columbia School of Journalism and former Managing Editor of the Wall Street Journal online.

The Right Skills or Right Education Is More Important than the Right College

“Rapid and accelerating digitization is likely to bring economic rather than environmental disruption, stemming from the fact that as computers get more powerful, companies have less need for some kind of workers. Technological progress is going to leave behind some people, as it races ahead. … [T]here’s never been a better time to be a worker with special skills or the right education, because those people can use technology to create and capture value. However, there’s never been a worse time to be a worker with only ‘ordinary’ skills and abilities to offer, because computers, robots, and other digital technologies are acquiring these skills and abilities as an extraordinary rate.” – Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee, The Second Machine Age, pp. 10-11.

College-bound students often get caught up in the wrong thing. They get so focused on choosing the ‘right’ college that they miss the big picture. They think the degree will create opportunities. They forget it’s what they know and can do that will count the most. And graduating with a college degree at some of our colleges and universities offers little assurance you’ve learned the right things, acquired the right skills, gained the right experience, or honed and nurtured the right abilities.

STEM Attrition

The National Center for Education Statistics of the Institute of Education Sciences (NCES), U.S. Department of Education, just released a new statistical analysis report (SAR) entitled “STEM Attrition: College Students’ Paths Into and Out of STEM Fields.” Quoting from the report:

Producing sufficient numbers of graduates who are prepared for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) occupations has become a national priority in the United States. To attain this goal, some policymakers have targeted reducing STEM attrition in college, arguing that retaining more students in STEM fields in college is a low-cost, fast way to produce the STEM professionals that the nation needs.

The SAR focused on enrollment choices that result in undergraduates who declare a STEM major moving away from STEM fields by switching majors to non-STEM fields or leaving postsecondary education before earning a degree or certificate. The findings included the following (quoted from the SAR with emphasis added):

The economy rewards some personality types more than others

This is how much money people with your personality make

This infographic, produced by Jessica Roy, was posted by The Washington Post here, where you can find some additional commentary. The full infographic can be found here.

Is there a causal connection? Are the data accurate? I make no representation about either. Nonetheless, it’s interesting data and, once again, makes the point that there is more to life (and economic outcomes) than the college one chooses to attend, a decision that undoubtedly is impacted by your values and personality.

More importantly, there is more to life than the amount of money you make or the amount of stuff you can accumulate before kicking the bucket. The person with the most toys doesn’t necessarily win. And isn’t necessarily happier, despite what the daily onslaught of advertising messages says.

Majors with the highest and lowest earnings

 Courtesy of NPR. See NPR’s story here.

College grads who are higher paid, less indebted and more satisfied

In connection with a survey it conducted in collaboration with Chegg, McKinsey & Company issued a report titled Voice of the Graduate from which we learn that half of all college graduates express regrets. If they had it to do over again, they’d pick a different major or school. Nearly half are in jobs that don’t require a four-year degree. Four in 10 couldn’t find jobs in their chosen field. Many end up in retail or hospitality jobs. Many felt unprepared for the workplace (consistent with employer concerns that graduates are poorly prepared). But there are significant differences depending on one’s major and school.

What to do deserves more attention than where to go

One in 4 college freshmen changes majors by the end of his first year. Many have no idea what to major in or what they want to do following graduation. At many colleges, fewer than half ever graduate. Many students drop out with debt but no degree. Many transfer. Of those who graduate, many fail to find jobs in the field in which they studied. Yet much of our energy and attention are focused on selecting a college. Much less energy and attention are devoted to discerning one’s path following graduation.

Women shy away from business majors

Bloomberg Businessweek reports that fewer women are enrolling in undergraduate business programs. According to Bloomberg:

Although women make up about 50 percent of college business graduates nationally, according to the most recent data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), female representation at stronger undergraduate business programs was about 44 percent this year, down from 47 percent in 2008, according to data collected by Bloomberg Businessweek for its latest ranking.

Those figures have the potential to slip further: Of incoming college freshman who said they intend to major in business, about 39 percent in 2012 were women, down from about 42 percent in 2006, according to annual surveys conducted by UCLA’s Higher Education Research Institute (HERI).

Here is a chart showing the gender mix by business discipline:

Personally, I hope this trend reverses itself promptly. We need more women in business and, in particular, more in business leadership positions.

One of the biggest mistakes in choosing a college

Perhaps the most common mistake in choosing a college I encounter is the tendency of people to choose based on the reputation of the school with little or no regard to the strength of the academic program (the major). Consequently, I’ve seen students head off to a prestigious school to pursue a major that isn’t particularly strong relative to programs at other colleges. Of course, many high school students are choosing only a college because they have no idea what they want to do when they join the workforce. But I’m talking about those who do have a clear idea of their career aspirations and still fail to consider the relative strengths of institutions’ majors because they’re intent upon picking the most prestigious institution.

Do you want to be a lawyer?

Law school enrollments are plummeting. And for good reason. The jobs aren’t there, and the cost is sky-high. In other words, the economic proposition isn’t nearly as good as it used to be and, understandably, fewer people are willing to assume the risk of being unemployed and saddled with huge debt.