The Job Market After College
For most students and parents, the number one reason to go to college is future job opportunities. Whether or not you need to go to college to get a job is another unique question in itself. Many top technology companies now do not require a college degree to work for them. For most of us though the path to job success still lays through a college education.
However, does that first job require you to get a degree from a “known” university? Do you need a specific GPA ? How can you stay and get a job in the United States? What are employers really looking for ?
Ultimately work and your salary is a reflection of you and your ability - not where you went to school. So I think for most parents the first thing you need to teach your child is a good work ethic. I am always fascinated during my camps watching students work or face difficult physical challenges. Many times the more wealthy, elite students are not capable of doing manual labor or facing a physical challenge. It usually comes down to character, open mindedness and the willingness to try. Looking back on our first students from our camps, for the most part, it is the ones that worked that are the most successful - not the ones that were academically the best.
Many students also worry about their grades in undergraduate school. I have never known a company to look at a transcript and grades. Yes, they may want you to show them the degree so that they know you graduated but most aren’t going to look at your grades. Your grades are important if you want to get into graduate school but not for getting a job.
I think the biggest draw to a US education is the ability to stay, work and possibly immigrate to the United States. The US has more opportunities for work then the U.K. or Australia for International Students. Most students will need to use their Optional Practical Training (OPT) option that comes with their F-1 visa. Remembering that you need to apply within 60 days of graduation. However, almost all the students we know and have placed have found jobs within a year of their graduation. Staying again is based on the student’s work ethic and contribution to the company - not where they graduated. ALL students we know that wanted to stay have been able to stay in the USA regardless of where they graduated.
So in reality it isn’t where you went to school. This is a fallacy and is it really worth paying 150,000 USD more for a starting job? Reputation of your school may help you get your foot in the door and the interview, but if you have a poor work ethic, are unable to collaborate and work in teams, and afraid of hard work eventually nobody will want to hire you no matter what university you graduated from. Again, employers are looking for your contribution, not your school reputation. There are no rankings for companies based on where their employees went to college. Yes, many companies have employees from big name schools but they also have employees from schools you have never heard of and fire employees everyday from both.
So when you are at school, use your career services center at your college or university. Ask your professors for help with connections and internships. File and do your paperwork on time and most importantly have a great attitude and work hard so that you have a reputation on your own and aren’t banking on the reputation of where you went to school.
Famous Alumni
Ferid Murad is an American physician and pharmacologist. Dr Murad was the co-winner of the 1998 Nobel Prize Winner for Physiology or Medicine. Dr Murad received his undergraduate degree in Pre-Medicine from one of my favorite liberal arts colleges, DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. He later went on to receive his medical degree from Case Western Reserve University.
