Thomas, Valerie: Paglia

 I believe that colleges should better prepare students for the working world. Degree plans should be supplemented with actual experience in a given field. With all the competition and scarcity in the job market, students need something extra to stand out in the crowd. Not only for the experience, but to see if they have made the right career choice.

            

For example in my field of study, nursing, students are required to gain real-life experience in the form of hands-on labs and “clinicals.“ As an added bonus, hospitals get free labor. This system takes what students are learning in-class and implements it in practice. Students are forced to really evaluate the in future career, learning what it is like. In addition to growing by experience to a much further extent than they could their jobs once they graduate. All of this means a much better stock of nurses will be going into the professional world. It doesn’t make sense to me that only nursing, as well as a few other fields, would have a system like this. Gaining real-world experience should be a must. If not forced by the institution, than students should be seeking out opportunities on their own, to differentiate themselves from the masses of other applicants they are likely to be competing against.

            

Another program that implements this system, if to a lesser extent than nursing, is teaching. People who want to teach children can’t just go into that field without some experience with how to deal with children, they should be ready for all the gum, screaming, and glue-eating that they will likely encounter. This helps education majors gain some time and experience in the teaching world, meaning they will be much better prepared for their future jobs. It also gives them a chance for a change of heart, either in major or intended age group to teach, helping prevent a bad career choice. This method works well for teachers and nurses, as well as a few others, but why not for chemists, psychology majors, Spanish majors or engineers? Everyone could benefit real-life experience. Some things simply cannot be learned by cramming chapters in the middle of the night.

            

The business department, for one, would be well served by implementing these methods as well. Like people wanting to be secretaries, they should go into a business and see what it is like, feel the pressure of keeping a business organized and set up scenarios for the student secretary, like a document misplacement, and the consequences of losing such papers. Accountants should do the same, they should see what it is like to keep an organizations numbers to the correct balance and what would happen if some numbers come up wrong. That would show them what could happen to a business from such a small mistake.

            

After all, most students don’t go to college to learn art appreciation, or composition, they have a career in mind. Although a well-rounded education produces a well-rounded, culturally and intellectually competent individual, students need experience to really be balanced. Not only would this help the job market, but it would help students to make advised decisions as to their futures.