According to a recent survey done in April and May of this year, two out of three college graduates of the classes of 2006-2011 said they would have done something differently if they could do it all over again. That’s not surprising considering the data about the difficult job market for recent college grads and the ever-growing student debt in this country.
Two particular findings worth noting:
1. Thirty-seven percent (37%) of respondents said they wished they’d chosen a different major (only one in five grads said they had thought about job opportunities when they declared their majors).
2. Twenty-nine percent (29%) regretted not having done more internships or worked part-time in college (the poll found that average starting salaries for people who had interned in college were about $30,000 compared to $26,000 for those who did not).
Here’s what I’d do with that information if I were about to enter college:
1. Don’t force the connection between your choice of major and your future career.
If you’re already certain that you want to be an engineer, an accountant, or a computer scientist, picking a major based on your future career makes sense. But lots of students aren’t so sure yet what they want to do with their lives. Forcing that focus now based on a vague idea of what you want to do in the future doesn’t necessarily prevent you from being one of those grads who later regrets your choice of major.
If your future is unclear, base that choice on what you know now. Find a major that will make you excited to get up early for class and throw yourself into your studies. If that major has a career focus, great. But if it doesn’t, don’t force it.
2. Work or intern while you’re in college.
College grads without any work experience are at a huge disadvantage in today’s job market. But unlike picking a major, taking a job or an internship isn’t permanent. If you intern at a law firm and decide you don’t want to be a lawyer, finish the internship and move on. You’ll have learned something important and still have something to list on your resume. Then find another job or internship closer to what interests you and make a big impact there. Do that for a few years in college and you’ll be way ahead of those grads with blank resumes.
And here’s the kicker. In spite of the fact that more than half of recent college grads wished they’d done something differently, the survey also showed that only 3 percent regretted having gone to college in the first place. Going to college has always been important. But what you do while you’re there is more important than ever before.
Here’s the article: Regrets about College