Early Career Success Determined By College or Workplace Experience

Early Career Success Determined By College or Workplace Experience

Introduction

Society has been dealing with many issues that are making it so that college may not be the best route to achieving early career success (Pham, 2016). Some of these concerns consist of the rising costs of college and the large amounts of debts that students are having to take on(Morin, Brown, & Fry, 2014). Not to mention, recently, even though college students are receiving higher education, many college graduates who have entered the labor market are facing weak job prospects (Reznak, 2012). This raises the questions of whether a college degree still holds significant leverage over having just a high school diploma, as it did in the past.

For many students, college is not always the first choice, even though societal predispositions believe; only those students that go to college for a purpose will be successful. Achieving early career success is a very important goal for most students completing high school. For that reason, many students ask the question; which career path is the better choice? The aim of this study is to unfold the early career success of both career paths.

The purpose of this study is to investigate early career success as determined by early college completion versus entry-level experience in the workplace. The term early career is often expressed with less than 5 years of professional experience (Myers& Rodriguez, 2016).Career successis recognized as the growth of work related outcomes subjectively and objectively (Van Dierendonck, & Van der Gaast, 2013).Career successis “the positive psychological or work-related outcomes or achievements one accumulates as a result of work experiences” (Seibert et al, 1999). Tangible, occupational results that mount up to advancements and profits can be considered as objective career success (Lam, Ng, & Feldman, 2012). Subjective career successis more psychological and can be recognized as the intrinsic aspects that are critical to life, like career satisfaction (Judge et al, 1995).

Review of Related Literature

The previous conducted studies and articles used in this review include useful information necessary to proceed in furthering the research. In this literature review, I plan to examine current controversial views of attending college. Topics of various societal views discussed include college costs, experience, and employment. The value added in the existing literature allows one to look at various perspectives from a fresh lens.

Possible outcomes of attending college

Successively graduating from college, still does not guarantee early career success. Universal biases try to get as many students to go to college as possible for future, universal viewership. This is an interesting position that many young students have been placed into where the costs of going to college you have to pay, both in terms of time and money, is more and more. This is a heavy price to pay for a student without the guaranteed, good outcome that you may well have had decades ago. It is more weight on the students because it is like they have to go to college, or being forced because if you do not, you are unlikely to have early career success. Currently, many students are feeling that even if you do go, you still will not get a great jumpstart on your career, and you are paying more for an experience (Berman, 2015).

Possible outcomes of not attending college

Determining whether going to college is worth it versus not going to college, is a topic of discussion that has been arising quite often. It is often thought that in order to become a professional, productive person in society, students across the nation are generally expected to go to college. This thought however can become a major source of stress for a lot of youth completing high school as they are debating whether college is still worth the education.  There are constant studies that indicate college is definitely still worth the time and financial investment, and recently there was a Pew Study, called “The Rising Cost of Not Going to College,” which was not just indirectly but directly saying if one does not go to college, then they will ultimately suffer major life costs (Morin, Brown, & Fry, 2014). The opinion of the article was that everyone should go to college to reach early career success. But, this may not be true.

The numbers that the Pew Study refers to when stating that college is still worth the investment is mainly focused on the large, widening pay gap. The study reveals that if you go to college, you will make more money than someone who just graduates from high school. But what the study is not taking into account, is the simultaneous rating rates of unemployment or under-employment for recent college graduates. According to the article, “The Class of 2015: Despite an Improving Economy, Young Grads Still Face an Uphill Climb”, unemployment and underemployment rates among young graduates are improving but remain substantially high. For young college graduates, the unemployment rate is currently 7.2% and the underemployment rate is 14.9% (Davis, Kimball, & Gould, 2015). Another important factor is that actually half (47%) of recent college graduates that do not have a job that requires a degree (Abel & Deitz, 2014).

Experience& Certification

Within the community of people that are pointing out that college might not really be worth it, one of the things that they are citing is the over emphasis that the U.S has on certification, rather than on skills. Because society has placed so much emphasis on the actual degree, and not on how much you know, jobs that typically require a high school diploma, now say you have to have a bachelor’s degree (Maciag, 2016). Many corporate businesses are putting students in the position where they have to get the education without the added benefit.

Job skills and experience are crucial in the business world.  Many students, who do not go directly to college after high-school, typically go directly into the labor market. Those that take this career path gain entry-level work experience. With this experience, students can immediately receive job specific training. These individuals are usually the first to move up in rank when open positions become available (Reznak, 2012).

Summary/Conclusion

In conclusion, the future for work in today’s society is extremely competitive.  Although a college education creates a tool for early career success, it is still not guaranteed. Regardless of the career path, a young professional’s ultimate goal is to reach early career success. So which route creates the best future for students?

Statement of Hypothesis

Data will be gathered by collecting surveys from individuals within their early career. Early career will be measured by those with less than 5 years of professional experience (Myers& Rodriguez, 2016).Career successis recognized as the growth of work related outcomes subjectively and objectively(Van Dierendonck, & Van der Gaast, 2013).Tangible, occupational results that mount up to advancements and profits, is considered as objective career success (Lam, Ng, & Feldman, 2012). Subjective career success is more psychological and can be recognized as the intrinsic aspects that are critical to life, like career satisfaction (Judge et al, 1995).The hypothesis is used for the study; there will be no significant difference in early career succession relation to early college completion versus entry-level experience in the workplace.

Null hypothesis

Since the paper helps to investigate some of the career successes associated with early collage completion and entry- level experience in the workplace, null hypothesis goes completely against this. This critical part of research proposal tries to assert that early collage completion and the entry-level of experience in the workplace are the stake determiners of career failure in life under various perspectives. The idea here greatly opposes the early collage completion and entry-level experience in the workplace as the key factors to succeed in ones career.

Most of the students have perceived completing their studies in advance in order to reap the benefits associated with the same. However, the goal has been unachievable because of many factors. For instance, most students actually complete their studies unexpectedly and before the pre-assumed time. However, some of them fail in their exams and thereafter miss their eligibility in the course oriented job markets. This case proofs well that all what is needed together with early collage completion and is an absolute success in academic qualifications before realizing the career success, thus; academic success followed by the career success (Berman, 2015).

Secondly, there are significant characters that one must have for career success besides the early college completion and entry level experience in the workplace. This is called the office etiquette. This is accepted code of behavior that one must have in order to be eligible in the higher position in the workplace as everybody expects. For instance, lack of courtesy and respect to one self and the rest of the individuals working the same organization do not guarantee anyone of a good career pursuance. This is the stage where most of the students fail to get it right. This code of behavior is with a greater percentage acquired in schools. Therefore, early completion does not guarantee for a success in career at all.

Generally, entry level experience as a determiner of career success is depended on some factors upon whose does not result to a career success. Universities and colleges education is normally connected to series of attachments and internships. For the attachment, one is usually sent to work with a department of his or her course in an organization. This is purposely done to perfect a student in gaining experience needed in the workplace (Reznak, 2012). The attachments are mostly attended within the course of learning. On the other hand, the internships are made for further experience build up and these are mostly undertaken after completion of studies and before one are posted to work with a particular organization. The point behind this is that early completion of university and collage does not imply the success in the career of choice. No. Not unless one has passed all the stages of internship and attachment to gain experience, no way he or she can persuade to be fully equipped in entry level of experience.

Another point that lies behind the early collage completion and entry level experience as the key determiners of career success is the nature of the course one is undertaking. The idea that one’s career success is only revealed through early academic completion and entry level of experience is at some instances wrong. The reasons behind this fact are that particular courses have specific duration to be undertaken (Judge et al, 2015). For instance, a degree in business course is pursued in four year period while for engineering may be going at five years. Therefore, this discredits the idea of early completion as the key factor to career success.

References

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Berman, J. (2015). Why fewer students are going to college. Retrieved November 17, 2016, from http://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-fewer-students-are-going-to-college-2015-05-14

Davis, A., Kimball, W., & Gould, E. (2015). The Class of 2015: Despite an improving economy, young grads still face an uphill climb. Economic Policy Institute. http://www.epi.org/publication/the-class-of-2015.

Goodwin, B. (2012). Don’t overlook middle-skill jobs. Educational Leadership, 69(7), 86-87.

Judge, T. A., Cable, D. M., Boudreau, J. W., & Bretz, R. D. (1995). An empirical investigation of the predictors of executive career success. Personnel psychology, 48(3), 485-519.

Lam, S. S., Ng, T. W., & Feldman, D. C. (2012). The relationship between external job mobility and salary attainment across career stages. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 80(1), 129-136.

Maciag, M. (2016). The Credentials Gap. Governing, 29(9), 56

Myers, B. A., & Rodriguez, B. (2016). How do early career health sciences information professionals gain competencies?. Journal Of The Medical Library Association, 104(3), 215-220. doi:10.3163/1536-5050.104.3.006

Pham, T. (2016). Is a college degree worth it in 2016? Retrieved November 17, 2016, from http://thehustle.co/is-a-college-degree-worth-it-in-2016

Reznak, S. (2012). Mentoring: An important investment in young professionals. Diversity Employers, 47-48.

Seibert, S. E., Crant, J. M., & Kraimer, M. L. (1999). Proactive personality and career success. Journal of Applied Psychology, 84, 416–427.

Taylor, P., Fry, R., & Oates, R. (2014). The rising cost of not going to college. Pew Research Center.

Van Dierendonck, D., & Van der Gaast, E. (2013). Goal orientation, academic competences and early career success. Career Development International, 18(7), 694-711.doi:10.1108/CDI-01-2013-0003