Bonnie R. Humpherys
Instructor: Carol Bartlo
Daemen College
April 24, 2012
Introduction
After graduating college, many students are often confused about the next step in life. While the main goal is to achieve success, college students are faced with many different opportunities after graduation. Some of these opportunities include becoming and entrepreneur, pursuing more education or working for an existing business to gain experience. The cost of college tuition continues to rise and as a result we are asking ourselves whether it is really worth spending years working towards a degree when the same time could be spent earning money. Pursuing more education and working for an existing business promises and provides students with knowledge and experience needed to succeed. Generally, in this fast pace society both knowledge and experience are needed to succeed in the workforce.
According to “Entrepreneurship and Development” Lazaer quotes “many college graduates are unemployed due to lack of experience in their field of study.” Instead of thinking of different options many students automatically believe that they will obtain a high paying job as soon as they graduate college. Gaining experience in their field of study while acquiring more knowledge in graduate school can prepare students for career advancement. “As new social groups enter higher education, socially privileged groups, whose reproduction was traditionally ensured by college degrees, increase their investments in education to stay ahead of newcomers. (Lazaer 2005) Being that more people are going to college every year the work force has become very competitive. Generally an undergraduate degree is no longer valued as an advanced degree in the work force.
After conducting a survey of twenty-five college students and five professionals I was able to make inferences and draw statistical conclusions. Being that I surveyed a wide variety of majors and professions the results varied greatly. Generally 71% of the respondents, both graduates and undergraduates chose to “pursue more education" as a plan after graduation. In addition to pursuing more education 46% of respondents chose to “work for an existing business while pursuing more education.” Though 71% of respondents chose to pursue more education it can be concluded that most undergraduate students do not have the financial ability to pursue an advanced degree. It can also be concluded that many college graduates do not pursue an advanced degree because they do not have the financial ability to attend. Being that many of the respondents who chose other graduation plans agreed to pursue an advanced degree if they had the financial ability, this conclusion can be deemed valid. Appendix A
According to the results, many of the Undergraduate respondents that chose to work for an existing business want to gain experience. Being that 75% of the professionals responded to pursue more education while getting experience, it can be concluded that work experience is very important in your career. Along with gaining experience, over 75% of the professional respondents agreed that an advanced degree is very important to obtain a job and for career advancement. Being that many of these respondents are already in their career fields their opinion can be deemed valid because they have first hand experience in their daily lives. Over 50% of the student respondents agreed that there is a lot of competition to obtain job and an advanced degree is essential for career advancement. Overall, due to the results from the other questions and the charts below the overall conclusion of not having the financial ability is what limits students from pursuing an advanced degree.
Appendix A
Conclusions
In the society that we live, having a college degree is very important. Most businesses and practically all government agencies require at least a bachelor’s degree for an entry-level position. In order to obtain these entry-level positions it is very important to have experience. Gaining experience while pursuing an advanced degree is very essential to career advancement. As more people go to college each year undergraduate degrees are no longer as valuable for employment and advancement. Although many college students do not have the financial resources to attend, investing in an advanced degree opens up a vast amount of opportunities. Generally, pursuing more education while working for an existing business helps students gain the necessary knowledge and experience for employment and advancement.
Refrences
Lazaer, E. (2005). Entrepreneurship and development. Journal of Labor Economics23(4), 649-680. Retrieved from www.jstor.org.daeme.iii.com/stable/10.1086/491605
Leibebstein, H. (1968). Entrepreneurship and development. The American Economic
Review, 58(2), 72-83. Retrieved from http:/www.jstor.org.daeme.iii.com/stable/
Pringle, C. (n.d.). Perceived fulfillment of organizational employment versus entrepreneurship: Work values and career intentions of business college graduates. Journal of Small Business Management, 29, 23-56.
Zemke, R. (2001). Where do leaders come from? . Training, 38, 44-48. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/203413677?accountid=10399 Appendix A
The Future for College Graduates
The purpose of this survey is to gain insight into advanced degrees and professional employment.
What is your undergraduate major? __________________________________________
What are your plans immediately after graduation? * Become an entrepreneur * Become an entrepreneur and pursue more education * Go to work for an existing business * Go to work for an existing business and pursue more education * Pursue more education * Other, please specify ___________________________
Why do you feel your choice in the above question will be best for you?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
Will your choice give you the immediate and future earnings potential you most desire? Definitely Most likely Not sure Unlikely
What level of interest do you have for becoming an entrepreneur immediately after graduation? Much interest Some Interest Little interest No interest
What level of interest do you have for pursuing an advanced degree immediately after graduation? Much interest Some Interest Little interest No interest
Do you feel you have the financial ability to attend graduate school immediately after graduation? Yes No
Page 1 of 2
If you did have the financial resources to attend graduate school immediately after graduation, would you then choose to go to graduate school? Yes No
What level of interest do you have for going to work for an established business immediately after college? Much interest Some Interest Little interest No interest
What is the value of an advanced degree for business professionals to obtain employment? Very valuable Valuable somewhat valuable Not very valuable
What is the value of an advanced degree for business professionals for career advancement? Very valuable Valuable somewhat valuable Not very valuable
What is the value of professional work experience for business professionals for career advancement? Very valuable Valuable somewhat valuable Not very valuable
Do you feel you would be at a disadvantage entering the professional workplace without an advanced degree? Yes No
How do you feel about the competition for obtaining employment? Very competitive Competitive Somewhat competitive Not competitive
How much pressure do you feel about the amount of experience professional positions now require? Much Pressure Some pressure Little pressure No pressure
Page 2 of 2
Appendix B
The Future for College Graduates
The purpose of this survey is to gain insight into advanced degrees and professional employment for college graduates.
What should college graduates do immediately after graduation? * Become an entrepreneur * Become an entrepreneur and pursue more education * Go to work for an existing business * Go to work for an existing business and pursue more education * Pursue more education * Other, please specify ___________________________
Why do you feel your choice in the above question is best for college graduates?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
Will that choice give graduates the immediate and future earnings potential they desire? Definitely Most likely Not sure Unlikely
Do you feel new graduates have the financial ability to attend graduate school immediately after graduation? Yes No
If college graduates did have the financial resources to attend graduate school immediately after graduation, do you think they would then choose to go to graduate school? Yes No
What is the value of an advanced degree for business professionals to obtain employment? Very valuable Valuable somewhat valuable Not very valuable
What is the value of an advanced degree for business professionals for career advancement? Very valuable Valuable somewhat valuable Not very valuable
What is the value of professional work experience for business professionals for career advancement? Very valuable Valuable somewhat valuable Not very valuable
Do you feel workers would be at a disadvantage entering the professional workplace without an advanced degree? Yes No
How do you feel about the competition for obtaining employment? Very competitive Competitive Somewhat competitive Not competitive
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