Running head: ARE UNIVERSITIES PREPARING STUDENTS FOR THEIR CAREER?

Are Universities Preparing Student for their Career?

Andy Melendez

Jesse Maese

Marcus Hatcher

University of Texas at El Paso

Rhetoric and Writing Studies 1302

Are Universities Preparing Student for their Career? 2

Abstract

As college students take on graduation and take on the next step toward their desired

careers, many people would argue that those same students are not as prepared as they or the

school they graduated from might think. This literature review’s purpose is to further inform

whether universities are adequately preparing their students for their future career, after

graduation, with topics focusing on local student’s feedback on how well UTEP is preparing

them for their future career. Also, skills students need be too prepare for a career, or be career-

ready, and if it is relevant/necessary to get a college education to be career-ready. As well as, a

focus on students owning up to the responsibility to prepare themselves for their future career,

with more help from college/universities. Finally, the actions college/universities should be

taking to prepare their students for future employment based on employer’s feedback, and what

they want/look for in recent graduates.

Are Universities Preparing Student for their Career? 3

Are Universities Preparing Student For Their Career?

Many students begin their journey after high school by deciding to further their education

through post-secondary education. So, the typical route students choose to take vary among

universities, community colleges, or technical trade schools. Students have many options that

can be confusing when choosing the perfect route for the perfect career they hope to have. In

particular, students flood through the admission doors every semester at major universities.

Ready to sprint through their academic journey in the hopes of being an expert in their field by

the time of graduation, students find that after the years invested into their education, they seem

to fall short of the career-readiness standard. This factor ponders students as they soon ask

themselves are students being well-prepared for their career in universities. The statistics in our

research show that most students have similar thoughts about these questions. Universities have

been changing curriculum over the years. As more problems are addressed with the University,

more solutions are to be implemented as well. These questions help identify the issue and

analyze the facts that pertain to answering the overall topic.

1. Are students well-prepared for their career in universities? Yes or No, how?

2. What does it mean to be ready for a career? And does it entail a college education?

3. In it, the college/universities job to prepare students for their future career?

4. What action(s) should college/universities take to prepare students for their career?

How will these actions help students?

With the background information presented within each question, the questions should show

students the determining factors of whether universities are preparing students for their career,

and give a viable analysis and what actions it takes to balance and prepare students for their

career.
Are Universities Preparing Student for their Career? 4

Are students well-prepared for their Career in Universities? Yes or No, how?

Conducting a survey within the campus, targeting different majors and classifications, we

were interested in how students felt about their college experience in regard to their future career.

After looking at each survey, some similarities and differences are apparent between each

classification. Within the freshman and sophomore (underclassmen) student participants, a

majority answered they expect that University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) would help them

obtain skills and knowledge needed to acquire their career, however, they do not see this as many

are taking basics or beginner courses. While junior, seniors and graduates felt that they were

being prepared for their career and later realize that many of the traits would be learned from

working in the field and not through coursework.

Regarding what UTEP should be doing to prepare their students, many underclassmen

responded that UTEP should not require students to take classes that are not necessary for their

major. For example, UTEP requires that students take a certain amount of elective credit hours

that may not be within the spectrum of their major or career. Then following their response,

some stated that they did not want to be in classes that are mixed with different majors. As there

are many benefits to a collaborative classroom, underclassmen saw it as a limitation because

student’s majors are being combined, the course is not tailored to their career, rather a general

population. Now, upperclassmen feel that UTEP should have closer career connections, such as

businesses, hospital/clinics, and school districts, etc. to give students a much higher chance to be

employed within the first three months of graduating with their degree.

During the survey, a question was proposed whether students knew the unemployment

rate of their major, followed by a question stating their confidence finding employment within

three months of obtaining their degree on a scale of 1-5. The clear majority of those that
Are Universities Preparing Student for their Career? 5

completed the survey did not know the answer to the unemployment rate within their degree and

gave mixed responses of confidence to obtain a job after graduation. It is essential for students to

see the unemployment rate to have a market prediction, for a given career so that students can

gain perspective of a

business’s demand or

surplus of their degree.

According to The

Condition of Education

(2017), the graph to the

left shows research

done in 2015, which

includes unemployment

rates connected to

popular degree plans.

What does it mean to be ready for a career? And does it entail a college education?

When discussing the preparedness that a person must reach to be considered ready is

unilateral, based on levels of criteria. It is known that primary schools depend on students

meeting specific requirements to excel to the next grade level. The transition into high school is

no different, with the exception that now teachers and counselors are preparing students to obtain

a college level entry grade. Naturally, this is given to students with assistance from Advance

Placement Testing and Dual Credit courses. Today, with standardized testing that coincides with

college admission scores from the SAT (Scholastic Assessment Test) and College Readiness

assessment the ACT (American College Testing) students are becoming aware of what awaits
Are Universities Preparing Student for their Career? 6

them after high school. However, extensive research on what it means to be college-ready has

been conducted; there is little to no discussions about measuring career expectations.

According to the Association for Career and Technical Education (2010), there are three

primary skills that a college student needs to have or are deemed worthy in a career setting. The

first is academic skills that are important to complete tasks and solve problems that require

knowledge-based instructions. The article compares college ready academics with career-ready

academics. However, knowing the information is half the work as methods and skills in reading,

writing and mathematics must be applied. This then coincides with the next skill needed for

career readiness; Employable skills are necessary for social interaction and necessary for

employee success. For example, these skills can include: “critical thinking, adaptability,

problem-solving, oral and written communications, collaboration and teamwork, creativity,

responsibility and professionalism, ethics, and technology use” (Association for Career and

Technical Education, 2010. Para. 7). Employers have identified that skills such as these are the

most crucial for workplace success in the 21st- century. The last skill needed for career readiness

are Technical skills. Before entering a career, every person needs some knowledge on the

specific job they are looking to acquire. Many technical skills do not entail a degree or

concentration, but further knowledge in the field is helpful. Many jobs promote in-job training,

while others require training before attempting the hiring process.

When understanding skills to be proficient in a career, it is worth noting that these skills

are not meant to be used interchangeably or one ability being prioritized more than the other. In a

website article by the Career Readiness Partner Council titled “What it Means to be Career

Ready” (2014), they stated, “A career-ready person is proficient in the core academic subjects, as

well as in technical topics…moreover, a good understanding of their interests, talents, and

Are Universities Preparing Student for their Career? 7

weaknesses” (Career Readiness Partner Council, 2014). With this in mind, should the

responsibility be on only students to prepare and develop these skills? The major issue that

concerns students is whether it is the responsibility of the student or the University to be

accountable for preparation for a student transitioning into their future career. Is it up to both

parties to take on responsibility for future readiness into a perspective career?

Is it the college/universities job to prepare students for their future career?

When pertaining to the University and its responsible actions, the problem can be seen

through the number of students categorized in the unemployment rate after graduation. This can

be seen in the chart above that shows the different college departments and the corresponding

unemployment percentages. After four years of preparing for a job, the student should be a

subject expert in their field by the time they graduate. What are the reasons students believe after

their academic journey they fail to meet employer expectations? After surveying students on a

list of particular questions, a student, who was a junior in Kinesiology, answered the survey

exclaiming that the university failed to give her the business skills for her desired career and

rated her confidence of gaining employment a ‘3’ which is in the middle on a scale from 1-5.

Another claim was made by Geoffroy James, an experienced senior manager that deals with the

business aspects of quality assurance, distribution services, planning, and analysis. He made the

statement that though many curriculums engage students in teaching how to create writing

assignments with lengths on average of five to seven pages, they do not realize business today

focuses on straight to the point communication through email. The excerpt talks about how

college fails to meet academic standards used for the workforce. Particularly, it talks about how

in the field of business and management, many of the evolving ways of communicating are

standardized as short and to the point. To show the relevancy, he targets the mandated
Are Universities Preparing Student for their Career? 8

curriculum that requires students master massive research papers with extensive lengths. The

curriculum plays an important role in assisting students with necessary skills for their future

career rather than invaluable ones.

The issue narrows down to whether it is the universities’ job to prepare students for a

career or the students. We can concentrate on the student as a responsible individual who knows

that entering a career is not as simple as it sounds. Upon deciding a career, one must research,

interact, or experience a feel for the career one hope to enter. This is the responsibility of a

student. Students need to evaluate their personality traits, their intelligence, and their interest

when determining a career path. This is the part of the responsibility that acknowledges the

student for the tasks that it takes to commit to a career. In other words, when students decide on a

career choice, they should have enough background information that will inform them on how to

begin preparing for a career. Whether the student relies on academic curriculum, he/she is aware

of the tools they need to gather to be workforce ready. Apparently, a degree by itself will not

prepare the student because it is said that the majority will gain the communication skills,

leadership skills, and other skills outside of the classroom setting. In an excerpt on students

taking advantage of opportunities for career readiness, Drew Hendricks, the contributor to the

Forbes article, talks about how critical resources that are available are in career and professional

growth. He focuses on business majors who need to understand that the curriculum in

universities will limit opportunities for that growth, and the students taking responsibility is a

critical part of successful readiness in the particular field of business. Most importantly, the

students must know that they too have a responsibility to correspond with their academic

curriculum to optimize the level of readiness they are with transitioning into a career.
Are Universities Preparing Student for their Career? 9

What action(s) should college/universities take to prepare students for their career? How

will these actions help the student?

It is important for colleges/universities to understand what actions are needed to prepare

students for their future career, as well as how these actions will help their students be better

prepared. According to a website article written by Sheila Curran, Sheila goes on to explain

some key points as to why students are unprepared for employment. The article discusses how

the message being conveyed from schools to students in their first year needs to change (Sheila

Curran, 2013). The school’s message should be to tell their students to think about building

career skills at the same time they develop their school skills and learning. By simply giving

students a strong, clear message allows them to fully understand the purpose of getting an

education and what they must do to earn that education as well as being appropriately prepared

for future job placements.

In addition, the article by Shelia Curran continues to explain what students really need to

know what matters to employers and then lists some of those critical matters of employers, such

as, “Most interviewers value extracurricular activities, like professional clubs, athletics and

service, more than GPA” and, “An internship is the single most important credential for recent

college graduates to have on their resume” (Sheila Curran, 2013, p. 5-6). Colleges/Universities

need to explain why it is important to join different clubs and organizations; it helps students

with future job placement, which is what employers want. Furthermore, the website article

includes a list of skills colleges need to implement on students so they can gain important skills

that are so desired by employers, this is based on data gathered by the National Association of

Colleges and Employers (NACE) in March of 2013. (Sheila Curran, 2013). The list is ordered by

the priority of the employers with points starting from “ability to verbally communicate with
Are Universities Preparing Student for their Career? 10

persons inside and outside the organization,” “ability to plan, organize, and prioritize work” and,

“ability to create and/or edit written reports” (Sheila Curran, 2013, p. 7-8). Although in this

article it is not clear on how colleges should implement this information to students, it is clear

that these are skills employers’ want. The article finally ends with a note on how colleges need to

find ways for students to learn those employers desired skills for students to be more prepared

for the workforce.

In another website article written by John Lincoln (2014), the research found in a survey

stated that half of the students surveyed felt they were unprepared for a future job in their field,

also reporting that now 39% of employers think the new graduates lack preparation for the

workforce. In his article, John explains different key points that college/universities can use to

prepare their students for their workforce better. John’s first key point is “Meeting Employer

Expectations,” and this key point is divided into four different categories listed as “Correct

Career Path, Hands-On Experience, Internships, and Interview Process” (John Lincoln, 2014).

One-way John explains the Correct Career Path, is by allowing students to interview

potential/future employers about the different positions in their field and the expectations from

the employers to employees. (John Lincoln, 2014). He adds by explaining that with this method

students can better determine if the future position will suit them and will help students greatly if

universities could implement this method into their career services (John Lincoln, 2014). This

not only allows students to understand if that future position is for them but also gives students

plenty of time before graduation to look elsewhere if it is not for them. If colleges use this

technique of potential interviews from students to employers, it will give students a significant

edge to finding the desired career even before graduation. Also, the article states that it is

imperative for universities to stop training that has become outdated. With new technology
Are Universities Preparing Student for their Career? 11

entering the workforce and new problems and situations being created daily in the workforce, it

is important for universities to teach students on current and up to date work related material.

Additionally, the website article states that “Yes, students need to be taught [by

universities all of the common tools], but they also need to be taught how to add that extra flare

to stand out from their competition.” (John Lincoln, 2014, p. 11). This is related to students

being prepared for those nerve-wracking interviews and how to be well prepared for them, and

how important it is for universities to teach these skills to their students. John explains that a

huge problem is the communication skills students’ lack, whether it is written communication or

presentation skills. Lincoln states that no matter the excellence of their ideas if the students

cannot communicate effectively, the idea will not transfer. (John Lincoln, 2014), John’s article

explains that it is important to excel in communication skills and that it is the universities’ duty

to make it a requirement in any degree. It is important to help and support students throughout

their education to have them be ready for their future.

Conclusion

In the end, university students know what is expected of them academically and career-

wise. It is ultimately the question of how they want to guide their future and confront the tasks of

searching and achieving the right amount of skills to obtain a desired career. It is apparent from

the student’s feedback that they are concerned with the type of education they may be receiving.

Come graduation; many students will be looking into unemployment because they may not have

the skills needed to succeed in their career.

Are Universities Preparing Student for their Career? 12

REFERENCES

Association for career and technical education. (2010). What is “career ready”? Retrieved

March 25, 2018, from www.acteonline.org:

file:///C:/Users/jmaes/Downloads/Career_Readiness_Paper_COLOR.pdf

Career readiness partner council. (2014). What it means to be career ready? Retrieved from

www.careerreadynow.org: http://www.careerreadynow.org/docs/CRPC_4pager.pdf

Curran, S. (2013, April 19). UCSB career services. Retrieved March 19, 2018, from

http://career.sa.ucsb.edu/articles/more-honest-approach-college-career-preparation

Hendricks, Drew. “6 ways college students can better prepare for a career in business.” Mar 11,

2015. Forbes. < https://www.forbes.com/sites/drewhendricks/2015/03/11/6-ways-college-

students-can-better-prepare-for-a-career-in-business/#4878835567ed>.

James, Geoffrey. “Colleges aren't preparing students for the workforce: what this means for

recruiters.” July 1, 2015. < https://business.linkedin.com/talent-

solutions/blog/2015/07/colleges-arent-preparing-students-for-the-workforce-what-this-

means-for-recruiters>.

Lincoln, J. E. (2014, July 17). How universities can better prepare students for marketing jobs.

Retrieved March 19, 2018, from https://ignitevisibility.com/how-universities-can-better-

prepare-students-for-marketing-jobs/

The Condition of Education (2017). Employment outcomes of bachelor’s degree recipients.

Retrieved from https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/pdf/coe_sbc.pdf