A Pace University professor has unveiled new research on how millennials perceive their college education in terms of overall satisfaction and career preparedness.
The topic piqued the interest of Dr. Larry Chiagouris over 10 years ago after he helped students develop and understand their career options both during lectures and after class. He decided to write a book, The Secret to Getting a Job After College to provide students with tips on how to attract the attention of an employer and land their preferred job.
After receiving feedback on his writing, Chiagouris became interested in how students across all interdisciplinary sectors viewed their degree, especially with the recent questioning about the value of a college education. “The Millennial College Graduate Report,” which includes perspectives from 1,023 college degree-holding millennials attempts to grapple with the question.
According to the study, two-thirds of respondents said that obtaining a college degree prepared them for employment and about 61% would recommend the college that they graduated from to friends or colleagues.
“One would hope for the largest investment one ever made in one’s life that one would be more satisfied with the investment that they made,” said Chiagouris in an interview with Diverse.
More than 33% of the respondents agreed that their college overpromised and under-delivered on how well-prepared they were for employment after graduation. However, the report found that only about half of the respondents made substantial efforts to seek career advice from their professors and only 40% fully utilized the services offered to them through their institution’s career services department.
Additionally, 58% millennials stated that they wished they would have taken more advantage of internship opportunities during their college years and 69% admitted they did not do enough career planning before accepting their first job.
