Are College Advisers Suppose to Guide their Students Career Path?
College (or university) is the higher institution where students go to pursue a four year degree to specialize in a particular career. The university environment is filled with people from different cities and backgrounds all in one area pursuing the same goal which is obtaining a four degree. The university has different departments on campus which students can choose from which usually include Liberal Arts, Mass Communication, Computer Science and Engineering, Music, and Theater Arts. Every degree carries different value depending on the direction and network a person has. As people graduate college, some are very satisfied their with their career choice as they received or obtained a job after graduation while others are quite dissatisfied with massive debt and no job in their career field or underemployment. At times people become so frustrated, they don’t know who to blame for their misinformation concerning their degree choice. People often blame the university because of their lack of guidance for preparing student for the real world. College advisers tell students which class they need to take to graduate with their degree but are they suppose to guide students in their career path?
A college adviser is an adviser who guides students to take certain classes in order for them to graduate with a college degree. These are the people who advise students on certain classes based on their degree requirements that will lead towards their career they decided to pursue. There tends to be a misconception of the job of a college adviser versus the ethics behind their job. Many students feel college advisers are the people who are suppose to make sure they use their full potential to achieve their goals in college. Here are some parts of the job that advisers are suppose to fulfill:
1) Graduation – College advisers are suppose to make sure that every student graduates with a degree of their choice before they leave the school. Each degree has different requirements which are mixed with core courses (courses which are towards their major) and electives (courses which are not towards their major) that is needed to complete the degree requirements.
2) Increase the Number of Graduates – College advisers are suppose to increase the number of graduates in their department. At times, students may struggle with a class or need help to take certain classes and they seek their college adviser to help them solve their problem to pass the class by suggesting certain help groups or tutors to help them to pass the course. They will do anything to help students graduate as soon as possible.
These are some of the main functions of a college adviser. But at times, people may beg to differ as they feel college advisers are suppose to be their moral guide in their career path. Here are some of the moral obligations behind college advisers people feel there should have:
1) Guidance – College advisers tell students which class they need to graduate with but don’t tell them the true value of their degree. It is very frustrating for a person to take advise from someone who knows the value of the job market based on the career path of the student but do not inform on how the market really is at the time. If a student is talking to a college adviser, it is their job or ethical obligation to inform them about their market once they graduate since they trust them will their future while they are in college.
2) Experience – Many college advisers have their Bachelor’s degree and some have their Master’s degree (at least to what I believe). They have already been through college and know the benefit of having certain degrees and which degrees have no real value. So if this is the case, why would they give advise to students on their career if they know that it will not work out in their best interest? This is where ethics comes into the situation. How can they guide someone without giving them the proper advise especially when they have already experienced it? This can really put a damage into someone career and not to trust anyone with their future if the person who is suppose to advise them doesn’t display the correct information that will benefit them at the end.
There is a thin line between job description and ethics. On one hand, college advisers are to suppose to make sure each student graduates from the university. But on the other hand, if they are advising students and have already gone through the college experience, why can’t they give students advise about the true value of their degree and job market they tend to enter?
By the time students realize they made a mistake in their career choice, it may be too late. Some students graduate with a degree that may not help them get a decent job in their career. According to a CNN article, Average Student Loan Debt Nears $27,000, it says that “Two-thirds of the class of 2011 held student loans upon graduation, and the average borrower owed $26,600.” Many people today who graduate with degrees in Computer Science, Engineering, Pre-med, and Pharmacy tend to experience a high employment rate after graduation. While some people with a degree Psychology, Liberal Arts, Sociology, Anthropology, Arts and Humanities, and Social Sciences have low employment rates according to a Forbes article, The 10 Worst College Majors. But there are some people who have a network with friends or family or they become self-employed after college, so their degree has no real benefit for them other than saying, “I graduated college.”
At the end of the day, people can blame their college advisers, family, or themselves but they are the ones still with the problem. Some people are misinformed on about college and their degree they are trying to pursue. College advisers are suppose to help students to graduate but do not tell them about the true meaning behind the job market in the career they are about to enter. It may be lead a person astray which may be hard for them to succeed. After graduation, many people move back home with no job skills, experience underemployment, or go back for a second bachelors or Master’s degree in huge amount of debt. Once you graduate, you are on your own. Should college advisers be held accountable for the advise they give students?
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By the way $27k is nothing. Most people owe more than that on a car. I owed that much when I got my degree in 1978!! My first salary was $19,000. So, my first “job” was to pull out all the stops, cut spending, get roommates (heck, I had them in college anyway) and max the payment against the loan until it was over. 18 months and I was a free man. Never went into debt again until I got a mortgage and got that paid off in 7 years.
The premise is flawed. You get a four year degree because a subject of study fascinates you. If it happens to be in a field that can lead to a career, then your time is wasted if you did not already have a fascination with that subject. What magazines do you read? Are they in the field, or close? If not, you are not career material in that field.
Assuming you DO have the passion for the field required to make a career out of it, then a counselor may give you some advice on finding the first job, but that’s it. What you do with your career is 100% up to you. Counselors really can’t see deeply inside you well enough to see all the rest of your talents. The degree is only 20% of what you use on the job – it’s the foot in the door, if it’s the kind of degree that can get you in.