Going to college is often an important first step in securing the career of your dreams. With student loan debt piling up, college grads everywhere are competing for jobs to pay the bills. Unfortunately, more and more students feel that college isn’t really preparing them at all for what it’s like to be in the “real world.” Just four in ten graduating seniors this year reported that college prepared them for the workforce, according to the McGraw-Hill Education’s Workforce Readiness Survey.
Unfortunately, this isn’t the first wave of graduates who think their degree didn’t help them get ready for a career. Quartz reports that throughout the survey’s three-year history, the results haven’t changed significantly.
“While no two students’ career aspirations are the same, every college graduate deserves to enter the workforce with the confidence that their degree was worth the investment,” said McGraw Hill U.S. president Peter Cohen in a statement.
The majority of the 1,500 students who filled out the survey online this spring said that college did not teach them how to network, search for a job or conduct themselves in a job interview. Many others said that their schools should have provided them with more internship opportunities and other professional experiences.
The results definitely weren’t equal for all students across every major. Data showed that men felt more prepared for their careers than women did. However, more women reported feeling “satisfied” with their overall college experience than men did.
There was also a clear difference in work confidence between majors. Arts and Humanities majors were three times more likely than other students to feel “not at all prepared” for their careers. They were also the least likely to be optimistic about their careers prospects. Meanwhile, Science and STEM majors were the most optimistic about their careers and futures.
Adulting is hard enough as it is. Although Gen-Eds and major classes are important, colleges need to focus on classes that will actually help grads land the jobs of their dreams.