Let’s begin with the harsh reality of today’s times. College education has become very expensive over the years (it was never cheap), and instead of the costs getting more within reach of everybody who wants a college education, they are getting farther away.
There are many students who cannot afford to pay for college and forgo getting their hands on a degree that could have opened the doors to a better life for them. On the other hand, there are students who enroll for degrees and bust their chops working their way through college; but when they finally complete their education, they can’t find any takers for their degree, meaning they can’t find a job. Desperate students latch on to any job they can get, which allows them to start paying off their college loan debts.
But the situation is not all bad. In fact, there are a large number of students who are able to get the jobs of their dreams, with a great salary package and which ensures they have a great career ahead of them.
Are these students just plain lucky?
The answer is no. These individuals who are just out of college with a spanking new degree in their hands and who’re flooded with job offers have put in the hard yards to first search for a degree that had the potential to deliver incremental ROI once they completed it. This guarantees these students can find a job of their choice when they are on the job market.
So how do you search for such degrees? Take a look:
Gain a Deeper Understanding of Where your Interests Lie
When you pick a degree, what you are essentially saying is, “This degree will give me the knowledge and skillsets to follow my dreams”. So first, clearly define what you want to do in life, the domain you find most interesting, and whether you have a chance of having a successful career in that domain; thereby, identifying your potential fields of work. For e.g. you might be creatively inclined and desire a career that allows your creativity to flourish and at the same time ensures a better quality of life for you; in such cases, a degree in fine arts, graphics design, architecture, etc. can be right up your alley. The idea is to look for a degree that is aligned with your interests. This will give you the confidence that no matter what, you will be able to leverage its potential for professional benefit.
Research the Current Job Market
In a recent survey conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Survey (NACE), some 68.8% of respondents said they are waiting to hire students graduating with a business degree in their hands. The second in the list is an engineering and the third is accounting. But this is how the job market looks like in 2014.
How will it look like in 2015 or 2016 or beyond? To get an answer to such questions, you need to research the market. Lookup reports of the job market and identify the degrees that have been considered a good bet through the years. But identifying a degree is not enough; you also need to identify the right specialization. Take engineering for example; you need to identify a specialization that has chances of delivering better returns. You need to pick a specialization that pays the most.
Don’t pick a degree just because your friends are opting for it, or somebody says that the degree has a bright future. Make sure you do your own research and ask industry professionals and people who have already been through the grind of the job market. Collate information from various sources and make a final decision.
Affordability is a Critical Factor
How much money are you willing to invest in the degree? As mentioned before in this article, a college education is expensive and these expenses are dependent on the degree you pick. Certain specialized degrees like biochemistry, film studies, medicine, etc. can be quite expensive. In spite of your interest in such degrees, you need to really ask yourself this question, “Is this degree worth the amount of money I will invest in it, and can I actually afford this degree?” This is a difficult question to answer and sometimes you might have to choose a cheaper degree in place of the degree that you actually want to choose. It’s tough, but such choices will need to be made.
This is where online degrees can come in to help you out. You might not be able to afford a particular regular degree, but you will be able to afford its online counterpart. But in case you are opting for an online degree, you need to be extra careful to choose a credible degree from a reputed college.
A Degree’s Potential is What you Make of It
There are people who have the most ordinary degrees from not-so-well-known colleges who’ve gone on to become big names in their industry. What they’ve done is made optimal use of the knowledge they’ve gained to survive and prosper in their chosen professional fields. Irrespective of the degree you enroll for, if you do not back yourself to put in the necessary effort to make good use of the knowledge and skillsets that you’ve gained, you won’t be successful. The degree is not the sole determinant of a successful career. Think of it as something of a catalyst. It gives you the confidence to perform a job with confidence in your abilities. If you can’t perform, you will perish and you can’t blame your degree for this state of affairs.
The Wrap
You need to make an informed decision while searching for the right degree that offers incremental returns on investment. Collect all available information about the degree that you are interested in pursuing, visit colleges offering these degrees, talk to the program heads, talk to students already pursuing these degrees, and only then make your choice. This way you will enroll for a degree with your eyes open, knowing its strengths. This helps you capitalize on them and squeeze every drop of value out of them.
Avyakta Rao is an MSc graduate by education. She is a professional writer in the domain of learning and education. She has completed her masters in Biochemistry from Bangalore University and is currently working as an author with Simplilearn, which is one of the leading providers of professional certification courses. The courses offered by Simplilearn address the unique needs of working professionals. She has previously worked with a publishing house and e-commerce firm. She is based out of Bangalore and has an experience of 4 years in the field of content writing and blogging. Her work has been published on various sites related to Project Management, Finance Management, SAP, Quality Management and more.