'Go to college' is not a career plan
"College has become an expensive career exploration strategy," writes Patrick O'Donnell in a Hechinger commentary. "Although 88 percent of college freshmen say getting a good job is 'a main reason' they enrolled, more than half of college graduates are underemployed a year out, working jobs that don’t require a degree. A decade later, 45 percent still are."
There are plenty of job opportunities for workers with vocational certificates and two-year degrees, O'Donnell writes. But young people don't know the possibilities or the pathways.
His nonprofit, Ridgeline, connects students to high-wage, high-demand careers. For example, 11th- and 12th-graders in the San Francisco Bay Area can explore maritime careers in ship engineering, ferry and container ship operations and port management, he writes. "Some maritime jobs require apprenticeships; others require a degree from nearby Cal Poly Maritime Academy. Many pay six figures."
Every high school should give students the chance to earn an industry-recognized credential or get work experience, in addition to earning a diploma, O'Donnell writes.
In Denver’s Cherry Creek neighborhood, high school students can build skills and earn trade certifications in fields ranging from computer science to aviation to health science. He
met a student who planned to earn a bachelor’s degree in engineering, another who was interested in an associate degree in construction management and a third who was working on a credential to become a chef. "Most Cherry Creek students still end up enrolling in college, but they do so with direction and purpose," he writes.
Hechinger's Jill Barshay writes about a long-term evaluation of ASAP, a "much-admired" support and counseling program that helps community college students complete associate degrees, yet has little or no effect on their long-term earnings.
Why? Because ASAP students often earn a two-year degree in liberal arts, which has no labor-market value. It can be a low-cost way to start a four-year degree, but very few ASAP students go on to complete a bachelor's.
A two-year degree in a medical or technical field can increase earnings significantly. But, these degrees require strong academic preparation. Most require math.
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