pos graduation

Colleges & Universities University of Chicago
1

<p>Does this statement have truth to it:
“College’s dismissal of the vocational puts U of C students at an initial disadvantage in the workplace. Recruiters often say (sometimes improperly) U of C students lack any marketable skills. This is an important criticism, though the University has done much to give students the tools they need to survive in the job market: placement services for history and English concentrators (typically the two highest unemployed concentrations), seminars on preparing resumes, and marketing a U of C education, all are part of a suite of services the University has rolled out to help its students make it in real life.”</p>

<p>???</p>

2

<p>hahahahahaha, I hate to laugh this concern off, but I’ll try to explain what I mean.</p>

<p>First, I’m curious where the quote comes from.</p>

<p>But even before that, U of C students are too cynical, sarcastic, and-- dare I say it-- smart to sail smoothly with most run-of-the-mill recruiters, if I go by the recruiters that I’ve talked to. If you look at the Uncommon essay questions and compare them to boilerplate interview questions, you’ll see exactly what I mean.</p>

<p>Second, employability, from what I’ve seen, is a lot about how you market yourself and where you want to end up, not what you study. The U of C should spend more time helping history and English majors learn how to talk up their degree and how it relates to their field of interest, that’s for sure, but that’s the student’s fault, not the degree’s fault. And yeah, some of us students have no idea of what we want to do when we leave school. That’s our fault.</p>

<p>Third, from the alumni notes section (hardly scientific, but a source nonetheless) U of C grads go on to do lots of creative things in higher numbers than the alumni in the other alumni magazine notes I’ve read. I can imagine that a lot of U of C grads might resent or be a bad fit for Working for The Man, while the Notre Dame and Northwestern grads might be just fine with that job (gross overgeneralization.) But to drive the point home a bit further, whenever I talk to my friends about what we want to do or what our parents do, a few job categories come up more often than I’d expect. One of those job groupings is education and academia (“When my dad got his PhD in sociology here…”) and the other is entrepreneurship.</p>

<p>I say this as somebody whose whole family is a bunch of entrepreneurs with nothing more than liberal arts degrees, including degrees in history and music.</p>

3

<p>I think either purposefully or inadvertently, the U of C really ushers its students toward academia. Again, most of my information comes from back in the day, but the U of C really seems to push scholarship and a love of learning a lot, and this impacts Chicago students. At Chicago, it seemed like more of the brightest kids were looking to do a fulbright or do research or get a PhD, whereas at other places, the emphasis was on law or finance or something more professional. </p>

<p>Put another way, I think the “brass ring” coming from Chicago is doing something that offers high-level research, be it a fulbright scholarship or placement in a top musicology or history or mathematics PhD program. At other schools, the brass ring is a Goldman Sachs job or an acceptance to Harvard Law or Wharton.</p>

4

<p>Also, check out:</p>

<p>[Career</a> Advising & Planning Services at UChicago: Getting to Know the Real CAPS](<a href=“http://uchicago-caps.blogspot.com/2009/10/getting-to-know-real-caps.html]Career”>Career Advising & Planning Services at UChicago: Getting to Know the Real CAPS)</p>

<p>[Career</a> Advising & Planning Services at UChicago: The Real CAPS, Part 2](<a href=“http://uchicago-caps.blogspot.com/2009/10/real-caps-part-2.html]Career”>Career Advising & Planning Services at UChicago: The Real CAPS, Part 2)</p>

5

<p>I also read this statement from following link:</p>

<p>http://**************.com/university-of-chicago/overall-experience/</p>

<p>It is for your reference only.</p>

6

<p>http://**************.com/university-of-chicago/overall-experience/</p>

<p>web site called: <a href="http://www..com%5B/url%5D">www..com</a></p>

7

<p>It is called c o l l e g e p r o w l e r</p>

8

<p>S1 has been offered many opportunities because he attends U of C not typically available to college students. These range from foundations and think tanks to multinational companies. S2’s GF is a recent graduate who was heavily recruited and paid a substantial bonus to join a firm. She, however, misses the “life of the mind” and is giving it up to return to the academy for a more theoretical grad program. All of S1’s friends, yes even philosophy majors, have landed either great jobs or are attending top professional or grad schools. According to Andrew Abbott U of C grads show little correlation between major and eventual career (likely the same elsewhere), and end up in the upper 5% income range. So I wouldn’t worry about career too awfully much. Do well and enjoy yourself, the rest will work out.</p>

9

<p>yes i got it from college p r o w l e r…and thank you for the very helpful responses</p>

10

<p>idand, </p>

<p>What a contrast to my D’s experience. She is a June 2008 grad. Tow of her best friends have struggled mightily to find jobs, first in Chicago, then in DC, where they both now live with parents. One just had an unpaid internship turn into a full time job (at miserable pay, but that’s the norm for DC!). The other is still an unpaid “intern” aka volunteer for experience. </p>

<p>Several of her other former classmates are also struggling. Some went to grad school (plan from the beninning, not recession prompted) at places like Yale/forestry, but by and large it has been a bad year.</p>

<p>D herself is in her 2nd and final year of grad school at Oxford, and faces the doubly difficult task of finding employment in this economy while being overseas. </p>

<p>I do believe employment predictions in today’s environment are much like financial markets. We’ve long heard that past performance is no predictor of future performance for stock funds. That holds for the job market, too. It is true that this year’s entering class may find a changed, hopefully for the better, job market in 4 years. It is also true that we may enter an economic period like the 1970s where things drag for years, and where these kids graduate to face a poor job market clogged with job seeking grads from prior years. </p>

<p>The saving grace may be baby boomer retirements, but only if we can afford to do so. Many, unfortunately, will not, especially as companies find they can eliminate their contribution to retirement plans (at least for those below the officer level…), cut medical insurance benefits and such. </p>

<p>What does this mean for the potential humanities major? Many things, but most importantly, that it is the task of the student to develop marketable skills. It is not the role of the university to teach them. The U will give you skills. You translate those skills into new skills and abilities that are attractive to employers. </p>

<p>The strength of a UofC education is the strong foundation it gives you. It is a foundation that can take one in many directions. But it works best for self directed individuals who will take the initiative to go the next steps.</p>

11

<p>Ditto newmassdad.</p>

12

<p>hey idad,
Your “affiliates” are all doing well despite the economy. Can we have a drink sometime?</p>