2010 high school graduates weigh in

The College Board recently conducted a survey asking 2010 graduates whether or not they felt college was worth their time and money. After a year, the overwhelming majority said yes.

Key findings of the survey include:

• College Is Definitely Worth It: One year out of high school graduation, an overwhelming majority (86%) feel that a college degree is worth the time and money — including a large majority not currently enrolled in college (76%).

• High School Is Not Enough: An overwhelming majority (90%) agree with the statement: “In today’s world, high school is not enough, and nearly everybody needs to complete some kind of education or training after high school.”

• College Is Essential for Career Success: Even in the current economy, 66% say they are very (22%) are somewhat (44%) optimistic that people in their generation will have good opportunities for jobs and careers, while 33% say they are worried about this. Seven in 10 members of the class of 2010 say that a college degree will help them a lot in fulfilling their career aspirations, and another 18% say a degree will help somewhat

• Cost Is a Barrier: Cost was the biggest challenge faced in transition to college. Five in 9 students who attended college say that affording it was very or pretty challenging. Of those who did not attend college, 56% said affordability was a key factor.

• College More Challenging Than Expected: A majority (54%) report that their college courses were more difficult than expected. And 24% say they were required to take noncredit remedial or developmental courses by their college, including 37% of those who went to a two-year college; 16% report they did not complete the full year of their college program.

• Rigorous Course Work — More Math, Science, Writing: Students wish they had taken more math, science, and writing-intensive course work in high school.

• Life Skills Are Also Important: Students wish their high schools had given more practical career readiness and more basic preparation for how to engage in a college environment — including how to manage personal finances.

What about recent college graduates?

Skeptics might say, “These respondents are still in college. How will they feel when they graduate?” The New York Times Economix section asked this question in May when the pool of graduates hit the streets looking for employment. In spite of the dismal job market, they stressed these important factors:

• It’s true that the job market for new college graduates stinks right now. But you know what? The job market for non-graduates is worse.
• People with more skills have a broader range of jobs they can do, and having a postsecondary degree sometimes serves as litmus test for employers who can be picky about hiring. As a result, unemployment rates decline as workers become more educated:
• College graduates also earn more money than their less-educated peers. That gulf in earnings has only widened in the last few decades: the inflation-adjusted pay of college graduates has risen, and the inflation-adjusted pay of every other group has fallen.
• Nearly three-quarters of recent graduates said they believed their degree was as valuable now as they thought it would be when they first enrolled in college. Additionally, three-quarters said their college education did extremely well or pretty well in preparing them to be successful in their first full-time job.

Cost vs. Return on Investment

If you are considering college or have asked whether or not it would be worth your investment, you should consider the responses from these two groups. Additionally, employers state that education is a key factor on any prospective employee’s resume. The key, however, is to do your homework and guarantee that the amount of time and money you invest will be recouped once you enter the workforce.

Following are just a few points to consider:

• Research your career choice and the expected pay after graduation.
• If it is necessary to take out student loans, make sure you can repay them by using student loan repayment calculators.
• Search for scholarships and grants before taking out loans.
• Compare colleges and find the one that will be a good fit for the best price.

Technology Management

In a global economy people have to be able to exchange data and ideas regularly (sometimes on a moment’s notice), whether they’re in the next room or on the other side of the world. Technology management involves keeping systems up and running that allow businesses to do exactly that. A combination of computer networking, systems engineering, social media, search engine optimization, database management, and communications, technology management is the lynchpin in any organization. And as such, individuals who are able to run entire IT departments are highly sought after in terms of jobs and careers.

Usually people who desire a career in technology management generally pursue degrees in information technology, business systems analysis, information management systems, technical business administration, or information assurance and security. Undergraduate and graduate degrees are available in all these areas, however, in today’s job market a college degree of some kind is definitely required to get your foot in the door. And the best part? EVERY business today has an IT department and they need someone (usually several “someones”) to run it. That means as a technology manager you can work in any industry, which translates to steady employment.

Information Systems

Like technology management, a career in information systems means you wrangle technology in such a way as to keep organizations open for business. The difference here is that information systems analysts and managers generally take care of the software end of things (whereas a technology manager makes sure that all the computer systems and communication stay connected and running).

In most cases, companies need their software programs customized to fit their specific needs. A technology manager typically doesn’t do that, but a computer programmer will. A professional in the field of information systems studies how software works so that they can assist in the customization and integration of software programs within a company. There is no doubt that there’s a lot of overlap between technology management and information systems, but as a general rule of thumb, think of information systems as the study of computer software and technology management as the study of data communications and hardware.

For a career in information systems consider degrees in computer science, database management, accounting, business management, computer engineering, systems design, and systems security.

Biomedical Engineering

Biomedical engineering is the development of technology and products that collectively improve the health of the general population. Devices such as artificial limbs and organs (i.e., hearts), asthma inhalers, magnetic imaging, noninvasive blood monitors (for diabetics), and emergency medical tools and instruments (like those used in by EMTs and in operating rooms) all exist due to the science of biomedical engineering. Basically, biomedical engineering combines computer technology and engineering with the study of medicine to create a new professional field in which you can now get a degree. Because patents and inventions in biomedical engineering lead to an overall higher quality of life for people in general, biomedical engineering is a hot, new career field that shows no signs of slowing down, and was labelled one of the best new career choices of 2011 by U.S. News and World Report.

Up until recently degrees in biomedical engineering were obtained only in graduate school. And even then only a select few colleges offered them. Now with the popularity of the biomedical engineering undergraduate degrees in this field are also available.

No one has a crystal ball, so we don’t know what the future holds in terms of a better economy and job market, however, one thing is for certain. Technology is NOT going away. And now that technology has become integrated into just about every industry, a technical degree of some sort will carry well across whatever economic ebbs and tides the future holds.

According to the AAUW (American Association of University Women) on aauw.org, women with degrees are receiving unfair pay.  In honor of “Equal Pay Day” on April 12, 2011, local students, working mothers, and retirees performed one of those infamous flash mobs in Washington D.C. in front of the Lincoln Memorial.  Click on the YouTube video link below to view the flash mob.

AAUW \”Equal Pay\” Flash Mob

There are many individuals that would beg to differ this protest as you can see the amount of dislikes outweigh the likes on the video itself.  Everyone is most definitely entitled to an opinion but any working mother that possesses a college degree should be given fair pay, wouldn’t you agree?  Sure, this should apply to anyone male or female but since I am focusing on moms in school and college mom graduates lets just take a look at the states that are paying well for women with college degrees:

Best Paying States for Women

Though I don’t know what year these findings were conducted, this can still give you an idea of what state paid what for women with a college degree.

1. The District of Columbia ranked first annual earnings being: $60, 251.
2. Ohio ranked at the bottom of the list earnings being: $45,870.

Here are the rest of the States falling in between District of Columbia and Ohio:

1. Maryland ($52,758)
2. New Jersey ($52,061)
3. Connecticut ($51,649)
4. California ($51,112)
5. New York ($50,219)
6. Michigan ($49,058)
7. Massachusetts ($48,162)
8. Alaska ($48,043)
9. Virginia ($47,387)
10. Pennsylvania ($47,057)
11. Rhode Island ($47,021)
12. Minnesota ($46,999)
13. Washington ($46,301)

As you can see the average earnings teeter over and between $47,000 and $52,000.  These numbers are decent. Obviously, the District of Columbia was or is the place to search for jobs as long as you possess a college degree.

Out of curiosity, would you as a mom take a job offer from another state if the job paid far better than a similar job in your current state?   I know this solely depends on your current marital status but I am just curious of who would take that gigantic leap forward if given that opportunity.  Please feel free to share with us.

*Do you want to better your career but not have yet decided to move forward with your college goals?  Check out our list of online schools here on classesandcareers.com as a source of motivation.

FYI: Check out this clip about women fighting for equal pay on abcnews.com.