Who Are Today’s Undergraduate Students?

Who is attending college these days? In the past ten years, (between 1999 and 2009), undergraduate student enrollment (for students pursuing degrees) increased by 38 percent, rising from 14.8 million students to 20.4 million students. Of those students, the number of female students rose by 40 percent, while the number of male students rose by 35 percent. Most of these students attended college full time as opposed to part time. In this same time frame, the number of mature students (age 25 or older) has increased by 43 percent, where as the number of younger students (under age 25) has only risen by 27 percent.

That means today’s undergraduate college classes are filled with more mature, female students than in the past.

Who Are Today’s Post Baccalaureate Students?

The number of students pursuing post baccalaureate degrees has also risen. In the time frame of 1985 to 2009, enrollment numbers have increased by 73 percent. The post baccalaureate demographics have shifted significantly as well. In the time frame of 1999 to 2009, the number of full time post baccalaureate female students has risen by 63 percent, while the number of full time post baccalaureate male students has risen by 36 percent.

This means today’s post baccalaureate college classes are filled with more females than at any time in the past.

Social scientists have speculated that this increase in pursuit of post baccalaureate degrees has been driven by a couple of factors. First of all, with unemployment at a high, college students are putting off seeking employment. Instead they are getting higher education degrees, hoping for a shift in the economy when they finally graduate. Secondly, more and more jobs are requiring post baccalaureate degrees, and bachelor’s degrees are becoming more commonplace and less valued. Students hope they will graduate with a valuable set of degrees that will land them desirable jobs paying salaries that can offset student loan burdens.

What Are The Most Popular Degrees?

The most popular college degrees for 2011, in order, are as follows: biology, business, communications, computer sciences, criminal justice (and forensics), education (elementary), marketing, nursing, psychology, and sociology (or political science). These are the most common (or popular) majors for college students today, meaning you’re much more likely to room with a marketing major than an engineering major.

But are these the most lucrative degrees? Will these degrees land you a job? Before choosing a major, you’ll want to investigate what degrees will get you what jobs, and then check the availability of those jobs in your region.

College Student Demographics Summary

If you’re interested in more information about who today’s college students are (and who tomorrow’s college students are projected to be), check out this annual survey of college student demographics put out by NASPA Foundation. You’ll discover that the face of the average college student is ever changing.

How did we determine these rankings? Lucky for us, a consulting firm did it first. Challenger, Gray & Christmas took a poll to identify the top college degrees. They surveyed 100 different human resource professionals, asking which degrees were most desirable in new college grads. The poll summary determined the following are the degrees most sought-after by employers:

1. Health Care Degree

Health care continues to perform well, even in the worst economic conditions. Why? No matter what happens, we still need health care. Thanks to an aging population and continual advances in medicine, the demand for health care workers remains strong.

With a degree in health care, you’ll open yourself up to a variety of job opportunities. Consider anything from a traditional RN nurse position to a specialized job as an ultrasound technician or an anesthesiologist. Talk to your college counselor about the many options inside the umbrella of health care.

Highlight: RN Nursing Degree

As of 2010, the median hourly wage for an RN (nurse) was $31.10/hour, or $64,690 a year. Over 1,500,000 nurses were employed at hospitals, and about 230,000 nurses were employed by physicians in private offices. Approximately 140,000 nurses worked for home health care service organizations and just slightly fewer (about 130,000) worked for nursing home facilities.

Want to know where all the nursing jobs are? The states with the highest employment percentages (nursing positions per 1,000 jobs available) were: Rhode Island, South Dakota, Massachusetts, Mississippi and Kentucky. The top paying states were: California, Massachusetts, Hawaii, Alaska and Maryland.

2. Business Administration Degree

If you get a degree in business administration, you will find a lot of employment doors will open for you. Just about every business needs a good staff of administrators, and you’ll find everything from vice president of operations to human resource types of positions.

Highlight: Administrative Services Managers

As of 2010, the median hourly wage for an administrative service manager was $37.45/hour, or $77,890 a year. You’ll find most of the administrative service managers working in local governments, at colleges and universities, in private companies, in hospitals, and in state governments.

Want to know where all the administrative service manager jobs are? The states with the highest employment percentages (administrative service manager positions per 1,000 jobs available) were: California, Texas, New York, Illinois and Georgia. The top paying states were: New York, Massachusetts, Ohio, Rhode Island and New Jersey.

3. Computer Science Degree

If you are a techie extraordinaire, you might as well parlay your love for your laptop into a lucrative employment opportunity. A degree in computer science can help you get into programming, software engineering, IT design and support, network design and support, and software architecture positions.

Highlight: Computer Programmer

As of 2010, the median hourly wage for a computer programmer was $85,430 a year, but computer programming salaries vary widely depending on what particular programming languages you learn and what sort of work environment you choose. You’ll find exceptional flexibility in this field since many programmers can work from home, work remotely, find contract positions all over the world, or choose a more traditional, corporate environment. The possibilities are almost endless, depending on how entrepreneurial you are and what you desire to pursue.

Choosing Your Degree

Want to know who the runner-ups were? Accounting (or finance) degrees came in fourth place, engineering degrees came in fifth, and marketing degrees came in sixth.

When choosing your degree, you’ll want to consider the following factors:

• What kind of job can I get with this degree?
• What is the average salary range?
• Will I be able to find this job in an area where I want to live?

To answer this question and others related to jobs and employment, check out the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. (That’s where we found all our information about the jobs highlighted above.) You’ll find up-to-date information on just about every possible job and college degree.

Next to getting married, choosing an education that leads to the right career is one of the biggest commitments you make in life. Which is why it’s odd that people don’t spend more time getting to know (i.e. “dating”) several careers before choosing one. In fact, you wouldn’t even buy a new shirt to wear on a date without trying it on first, so why are we generally cavalier about committing to careers we know very little about?

To help you untangle the knotty mess of confusion we get ourselves into when considering college degrees and career choices, I suggest you “date” a few careers first. This isn’t nearly as scary as it sounds, considering there is little chance a career will break up with you right before your sister’s wedding or cheat on you behind your back. You’re more likely to pursue the college degree that leads you to the career of your dreams if you follow these easy steps.

Step 1: Interview

Have you ever looked at someone doing a job and said to yourself, “That’s what I want to do?” But how do you really know if that’s true? Are you familiar with everything it takes to do that job, let alone how much education or training it would take to get there?

Before you commit to several years of college tuition for a degree that might end up being about as useful as used tissue, meet and interview people who already have the job you’re considering. And not just one person in the industry, but several; including the ones who are a little disillusioned with the way their careers turned out. That’s not to say you want them to talk you out of it, but you do want a realistic, down-to-earth rendition of what it takes to be whatever it is you want to be. Make sure you ask about issues that could be important down the road as well, such earning potential, the amount of free time you’d have, and if the job is family friendly. Don’t be afraid to get personal. This is your chance to “get to know” a career without taking it home to meet mother.

Step 2: Volunteer

The best way to understand the day-to-day workings of a job is to do it for a while, even if you don’t get paid. Obviously, no one is going to hire you without the proper credentials, however, I seriously doubt they’d turn you away as a volunteer. In this economy nobody refuses free labor. Granted, you may not be able to do the exact job you want to pursue (for example, you can’t practice law without a license), but you will be able to work side-by-side with the type of professionals you hope to someday become.

Plus, not only does volunteering give you some idea of what’s it’s like to have a particular career, it also helps you build a resume within that industry. It never hurts (when interviewing for real jobs) to have a little work experience under your belt regardless of the career you choose.

Step 3: Take a Class

Even though you don’t want to actually commit to a degree or college until you get a career in your crosshairs, there’s nothing wrong with enrolling in one or two classes in the major you think you want to pursue – just to see if the curriculum even remotely resembles what you thought it would be. (Think of it as “trying on” a college degree program.) It’s a great way to tell if you’ll like (or be successful in) the classes you have to take in order to pursue the career you think you want.

Online colleges and community colleges are great places to start, being that they’re typically more flexible (and have an easier admission process) than your standard state university. In fact, some colleges allow you to audit classes for free. Or you can sign up for a state university’s extension program, which usually offers the exact same classes, curriculum, and teachers as those used in the university’s college degree programs.

Step 4: Visit a Career Counselor

You’re never too old or too smart to benefit from good advice. You may think you know everything about choosing a career, but you really don’t. Career counselors are trained to figure out what career or vocation would be right for you, based on a series of interviews, tests, and transcript data. Of course, you’re always free to pursue whatever college or career you have you your heart set on. And if you choose to move in the direction your heart leads (regardless of what a counselor says), at least you have practical advice to fall back on, should you change your mind later.

Plus, career counselors give sensible education and career advice to specific demographic groups like working or single moms, or folks who need financial aid. Quite often the only way these programs come to light is through a career counselor.

As anyone who’s pondered college can tell you, choosing a career can be an overwhelming task. Oh sure, there are those people who’ve known since they were five that they wanted to a dentist, fireman, or teacher. But unfortunately, most of us still don’t have a clue as to exactly what it is we want to do with our time until we’ve wasted a good portion of it travelling down the wrong path. Don’t let that happen to you.