Does A College Education Help When You Have To Find A Job?

It is the age old question about going to college or not. Will an associate degree or business administration degree help a student find a job? Working backwards from the successful job interview, what does a student have to do to become not just employable but in demand?

The typical cycle from high school-to college-to employment goes something like this:

1. Pick and attend a college where they have programs that are of interest to the student
2. Spend two, four, or more years at college learning the theory of the area of the student’s interest
3. Pick up some part time work along the way—most likely unrelated to the intended career path
4. Prepare a resume
5. Apply for a position
6. If you “make the cut” you will first interview with Human Resources (HR)
7. If you make the “short list” from HR, you get to interview with the manager you potentially will work with
8. Hopefully get the position

Step six is the major hurdle to overcome. It could be said that the purpose of the HR department is to reject resumes. That’s right—rejects them before the manager even gets to talk to you. So what can you do to get to the interview stage?

In short, you have to have the qualifications and experience that the employer organization is looking for. HR is sifting through resumes for education and experience that fit the position you are competing for. If you miss out, you start all over which can be very frustrating to say the least. You could have been the perfect fit for the company but never got past the preliminary HR sorting process.

Students and their parents, who are funding the college education, should look at this from a different viewpoint. Start with what employers need and want, not what might be fun or interesting at college for the student. It is certainly not going to be fun getting a degree that no one is hiring for.

What would work is “Career Education.” In other words, get a college education that is also career education. While it might be difficult for a high school graduate to know precisely his/her career path, however that should not preclude going down the road of making oneself very employable by the time he/she graduates. If someone wants to be a computer programmer, then he/she had better show up at the interview with real knowledge and experience of programming.

A solution is to find a college that offers both career education as well as practical experience in the form of internships or apprenticeships. A career education could be defined as an education where the student can proficiently apply what they learned in class. That is what employers are looking for—employees who can be productive from day one.

Call 888-812-4224 to tour the Hubbard College of Administration for a briefing on your associate degree and apprenticeships options which will make you much more employable when you graduate.

About Hubbard College of Administration

Hubbard College of Administration is a business career college located in Los Angeles, California. The school offers self-paced programs and utilizes a comprehensive study technology, apprenticeships, internships, assistance with job placement and a lifetime guarantee for students. Their degree programs offer excellent career training and step-by-step guidance so that when a student completes their program, he or she will have chosen a satisfying and successful career.

A College Associate Degree or Business Administration Degree That Also Includes Experience Will Greatly Help Students find a job

Information about the Author:

Nick Terrenzi is Vice President for the Hubbard College of Administration. He contributes articles on topics like career education and planning, the business world today, internships, apprenticeships and the importance of furthering one's education. For more information about Associate Degree programs and educational goals or to learn more about the Hubbard College of Administration, please visit www.hubbardcollege.org.

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