2010 BCS Top 25 with their graduation rates and costs
One of the hardest decisions a young adult has to make is what will I do AFTER I graduate from school? Students who follow the typical college decision process may be walking directly into the perfect storm.
Click here to sign up for information that can save you thousands in college costs and help launch your child toward a career where they can be be successful while doing meaningful work.
The evidence is overwhelming that the approach most people use to make these decisions isn’t working
- Only 36% of college students graduate in 4 years
- 64% of workers 25 and under are unhappy in their jobs
- 90% of college graduates are working in a field other than what they got a degree in within 10 years of graduation
And the longer one waits to understand what they are really good at, the harder it is to make the changes they need to make to start over.
The Problem Starts Early
Most parents I know want the best for their child, including wanting them to grow into a mature adult with a successful career. But many parents simply don’t know how to best help their child make wise career choice decisions. Students choose a major based on very limited information, so it should come as no surprise that this choice ends up being changed multiple times. The common result is that most college students change their major 2 -3 times, which is one of the primary reasons that only 36% of college students graduate in 4 years or less, and spend an average of 5 – 5 1/2 years in school.
The Costs of Poor Decisions Are Staggering
College costs have risen three times faster than the average family income since 1980. State U now costs around $20K/yr, and private/select universities can run upwards of $55K/yr. The recent recession has left most families with 30 – 40% less savings for college than they had planned. The average college student spends an additional 1.5 years getting their first degree, adding tens of thousands of dollars in college expenses.
But skyrocketing college costs are not even the worst part. Students who don’t know their strengths or gifts, or how their gifts align with careers are more likely to charge off in the wrong direction, drastically reducing their chances of finding the success or significance that they crave so much. Choosing the wrong direction can also lead to spending years, sometimes even a lifetime, in a career that is stifling, boring, and unsatisfying.
The information above highlights just how poorly the current system for helping students launch successful careers works. PeopleRight Careers provides better information and proven techniques for taking much of the guesswork out of the process.
