"Using data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, ... as many as 50 percent of college graduates under the age of 25 are underutilized, meaning they’re either working no job at all, working a part-time job or working a job outside of the college labor market -- say, as a barista or a bartender."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/13/college-graduates-moving-home-debt_n_861849.html?icid=main%7Chtmlws-main-n%7Cdl1%7Csec3_lnk3%7C213
- There seems to be a mismatch between what colleges are teaching and the work that needs to be done.
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Colleges should be legally required to provide incoming freshmen with employability information on their majors.
Most colleges will cheerfully sign up freshmen for dead-end majors like literature, urban studies, theater arts, etc. (I'm not saying these majors are unimportant, just that they are in low demand.)
And I don't blame the students very much for not asking more questions. Take a look at a college's handbook. Every major looks rosy.
It's all about the money. The chairman of the theater arts department, for example, needs theater majors to keep his department funded.
If you know someone getting ready for college, have him/her look at the Federal Occupational Outlook Handbook. It has info on the job prospects for every profession.
The on-line version is here:
http://www.bls.gov/oco/ooh_index.htm
That is good advice! Maybe if students asked more questions the departments would do more to show employers and grad schools the value of the skills being taught. A theater arts major might have a lot to offer an employer, but the employer might not realize that.
Also perhaps the Pittsburgh Promise should not be so closely associated with "college" since the scholarships can be used to fund other training opportunities.
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