Running head: EFFECTS OF STUDENT EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

Effects of Student Employment Opportunities in Relation to Degrees Awarded

Patrick J. Fallon
Northeastern University

EFFECTS OF STUDENT EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

Abstract
There is an obstacle that every undergraduate student encounters once their degree is awarded to
them after graduation, which is employment after college. As employers are seeking more job
seekers holding degrees, there is an increasing amount of college graduates that are entering the
workforce. The one qualification that every employer seeks from every applicant is foundational
skills (Sigelman & Zinshteyn, 2015). As more students take courses on the higher education
level, there is an inadequate system of instruction that is not benefiting the student from
receiving the skills they need earlier in their academic career. With this, it suggests that a college
degree does not hold significant value for many employers and that colleges and universities
need to reconsider a different approach to educate their students for the future.
Keywords:

EFFECTS OF STUDENT EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

Effects of Student Employment Opportunities in Relation to Degrees Awarded

As more college graduates enter the workforce, employers are increasingly recruiting job
applicants that hold a college degree. It is therefore of great importance that job applicants attend
an institution of higher education and gain knowledge on the particular field that they are
interested in.
In an analysis of 2.3 million positions that range from business management and
administrative workers to training and computer network specialists, two-thirds of the new
job postings required a bachelors degree even though fewer than half of workers currently
employed in those positions attained a bachelors (Zinshteyn, 2015).
The one area that all employers are seeking from all of their applicants is foundational skills
(Sigelman & Zinshteyn, 2015), which are associated with a liberal arts education (e.g., ability to
accept feedback, work collaboratively, manage ones time) (Zinshteyn, 2015). These are
necessary skills that can be obtained in any institution of higher education, but how its delivered
to the student that makes a significant impact. In order for prospective college students to be
successful in obtaining employment once they graduate from an institution of higher learning,
institutions need to re-develop their approach to curriculum standards, encourage more faculty
interaction with students, and reexamine the valuableness of a college degree. With this to
consider, colleges and universities across the country should reconsider their approach in
preparing students for future careers, and whether or not their degrees are valuable to employers.

Re-Developing Curriculum Standards

In the system of higher education, there are many different approaches to teaching in the
classroom. According to Boyer, Excellence in teaching is the means by which the vitality of the

EFFECTS OF STUDENT EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

college is extended and a network of intellectual enrichment and cultural understanding is built
(Boyer, 60). The question that should be addressed is how extend that intellectual enrichment
and cultural understanding on a broader scale outside of the proposed curriculum? Students
should gain work experience from the very beginning of their academic experience. With the
combination of work experience as well as faculty instruction, this not only builds upon
foundational skills that were mentioned by Singelman and Zinshteyan, but also bridges a better
understanding of the career chosen by the student. One of the key issues with many institutions
of higher education is completing the general education requirements for one to two years prior
to getting introduced to the required courses for selected majors. Sandy Shugart, president of
Valencia College and opposed to the model for higher education instruction, claims it asks
students to defer [their] gratification long enough and stay in school long enough before they
explore the thing that interested them in the first place (Shugart & Zinshteyn, 2015). This not
only lowers their personal motivation to want to pursue that career, but gives doubt whether or
not that student would be successful in another career path.

Faculty Engagement
Students who seek help from their professors are not only self-reliant, but they understand
the importance of what it means to ask for their guidance, especially when applying for a job in
the near future with a degree. In this case, many faculty members are not being utilized for the
purposes that they should, which is to guide their students to succeed in the future. Today,
almost all colleges and universities say faculty should engage in teaching, research, and service,
but when it comes to tenure and promotion, the latter often is forgotten (Boyer, 36). Service, in
this regard, is the student. In other words, students as mentors through an apprenticeship

EFFECTS OF STUDENT EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

approach. According to Buffy Smith, faculty-mentoring consultant at the University of St.

Thomas, faculty should empower (students) by showing them how to do things for themselves
(Smith & Abdul-Alim, 2014). This is known as discovering the hidden curriculum (Smith,
2014), which is the unwritten norms, values, expectations, behaviors, codes of conduct that are
not transparent or accessible to all students (Smith, 2014). Faculty members who are advisors
can meet on a personal level and explain from their experiences what the students should expect.
There are many ways faculty advisor can make a difference in how a student can succeed
beyond the classroom in providing opportunities to their students. Some of these include
internship opportunities and stronger letters of recommendation (Smith, 2014). Every student,
especially a first generation college student, needs a role model to guide him or her in the right
direction. With these tools at their disposal, faculty advisors will be admired among the student
population and will strengthen the bond between them. Faculty advisors hold the key to infinite
possibilities that can guide students in the right direction towards getting a job after college and
overcome challenges they may face.

Degree Integrity
Mentioned previously in the introduction, employers are increasingly looking for more job
applicants with a degree from an institution of higher education, whether an associates or a
bachelors degree. According to Zinshteyn, a fifth of jobs demand a certification in addition to a
bachelors degree no matter the concentration, Burning Glass research showsjust 200 were
what more than 2 million job postings requested in the past 12 months (Burning Glass &
Zinshteyn, 2015). In addition to that data, Georgetown University predicts 65 percent of jobs by
2020 will require a postsecondary education (Zinshteyn, 2015). Where does that put the value

EFFECTS OF STUDENT EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

of the students degree earned? Is the value placed on it worth more than what it should be? The
degree that is being offered to the student is being falsely advertised as a means of getting a good
job. More students in this modern economy are paying high tuition and taking out massive
amounts of loans to pay for a good quality education. With the student loan debit now in the
trillions of dollars, colleges and universities need to find a universal solution for how curriculum
can suffice the value of the degree earned by the student.
With the value of the degree in various forms, there is an inconsistency based on what kind
of education is being received by the student. Some workforce experts say that liberal arts
education in its current form is insufficient for many of the jobs out there, with the
unemployment rate for such graduates twice as high as those with degrees in math or
engineering (Zinshteyn, 2015). Every college should give the same training skills that would
benefit them in the workforce, such as those that are technologically based. According to data
retrieved from Burning Glass, technical skills outweigh baseline skills in various occupations.
Having that essential knowledge of soft skills with a combination of work experience can
bring the value of the degree to a rise and bring back its integrity without the feeling of financial
burden for the student after college.

Conclusion
Based what has been mentioned, colleges and universities across the country should
reconsider their approach in preparing students for future careers, and whether or not their
degrees are valuable to employers. Having this reconsideration brings benefits for the students in
the long term and satisfies employers that hire prospective students. These are issues that
students need to consider when thinking about life after college and preparing for that next big

EFFECTS OF STUDENT EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

step. Colleges and universities across the country seem to have another academic revolution in
their midst when it comes to reform. Without sacrificing the students financially, the focus
needs to be on building skills that are transferable and have substance. The next generation of
college students and student employment needs to change for the future of the American
economy.

EFFECTS OF STUDENT EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

References
Abdul-Alim, Jamaal (September 8, 2014). Colleges Urged to Take Advising of Underrepresented
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Boyer, Ernest L. (1990). Scholarship Reconsidered: Priorities of the Professoriate. New York:
The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
Zinshteyn, Mikhail (September 23, 2015). The New Effort to Link College to Careers. Education
Writers Association. Retrieved from http://www.ewa.org/blog-higher-ed-beat/new-effortlink-college-careers.