So, do YOU know what you
want to be when you grow up?
Many of today’s students
have a dream of what they
wanted to do as adults, but
some are now realizing that
pursuing that dream isn’t possible.
Would you stick with your
current major even if you knew
you would enter a field with
few jobs available?
Two career counselors were
interviewed to get the scoop on
which careers are on the
upswing, and what careers or
majors could be a losing
proposition for many students.
Monica Flint, Coordinator of
Experiential Learning here at
Bucks, offered a wealth of
knowledge about where Bucks
students are going when they
graduate, and what they are
doing to get there.
She had some insight into a
few career choices that are
becoming very popular.
“Everything green,” she said.
“The Green Jobs Academy is
quickly growing to be a very
exciting part of Bucks.” Green
job programs include environmental
science, renewable
energy (including wind and
solar), and using better ingredients
for concrete and paint.
Computers and information
technology are still very open
fields. Computer forensics
involves tightening web security
in this country to fight
hackers who want to endanger
the security of our computer
systems in governmental
departments. “The importance
of people in America doing
this is paramount,” Flint says,
as outsourcing our computer
security workers to international
interests can compromise
the very essence of the
job itself.
Nursing is
still a strong
m a j o r ,
a l t h o u g h
h i r i n g
seems to be
at a low
point at the
m o m e n t .
Registered
nurses are
b e i n g
sought in all
levels of
health care,
especially
due to the
B a b y
B o o m e r
generation
g e t t i n g
close to retirement age.
This will create even more
jobs for students interested in
becoming assisted-living or
nursing home nurses. In fact,
according to the Bureau of
Labor Statistics reports that
home care nursing grew at a
rate of 3.9 percent from 2007
to 2008.
When asked which jobs or
majors are on a downward
trend, she named a few. “Law,
which was once the ‘flavor of
the month’ in colleges across
the country, has been on the
decline.” She suggested that
many students who might have
started in the law field have
gone on to other majors.
Banking and finance are also
not as popular.
Looking ahead to the future,
Flint had some advice. The
need for skilled trade’s people
is on the rise. Electrical engineering,
HVAC repair and
maintenance, and plumbing are
among those trade skills that
have shown resurgence.
These are jobs that require
one’s physical presence, so
they also cannot be outsourced
to other countries.
Peter J. Franks, Executive
Director and Associate Vice
Provost of the Steinbright
Career Development Center at
Drexel University offered his
thoughts and experiences
about how the recent economic
difficulties may be affecting
graduating students
He stressed that it didn’t
always matter what you were
studying, as long as you pursued
an education to the
fullest. He said one’s employability
in any
field was partly
based on how
much education
that person
r e c e i v e d .
This certainly
can help those
students who
aren’t completely
sure that the
course of study
they’re currently
in will be what
they stay with for
their career.
Franks also
spoke of the
importance of
being flexible
with whatever
major you’re in.
“You have to make sure that
you are keeping in mind how
flexible your skill set is, in
order to be ready for a change
if one is necessary.” Keeping a
possible location change in
mind is equally important.
As far as specific majors, he
said that Information
Technology is still a sought
after career choice. “There are
an average of five to seven IT
jobs for every graduating student
at Drexel.
The competition to hire skilled
people in this field is fierce.”
The IT market is the fastest
growing job category in 2009
according to the Bureau of
Labor Statistics.
He corroborated with Flint
when speaking of the nursing
field. Jobs in health care,
including pharmacy and physical
therapy are always in
demand. He also mentioned
the aging Baby Boomers in his
assessment of the growth of
nursing jobs.
Franks added that although
there are a few career options
that have been waning in the
previous year, such as architecture
and history, for the most
part, Drexel students are given
tools to create success in
whichever career path they
choose.
Because up to 92 percent of
Drexel undergrads are in a coop
work program, they have a
chance to “try out” their chosen
field before they graduate,
giving them time to decide if
they wish to change or not.
This obviously helps a great
deal, because Franks said that
at least half of graduating seniors
are offered a job with the
company they worked for in
their co-op experience.
So going for that dream job
might not be as impossible as
you might think! If you can
keep an open mind when first
choosing a major, and if you
can be flexible in your choices,
an equally satisfying and
rewarding career can be found.