Nonetheless, Katherine Stahl, executive director of American University’s career center, still advises students to pursue their passions but to be realistic about their choices. “You don’t want people artificially lining up a career that doesn’t interest them. [But] you want them to think out of the box,” she says. It’s about “being intelligent and thinking about what the world needs and how I can be a part of it.”
The trend she sees among AU students is the desire for public service jobs. “We have a lot of students who are really interested in public service and there’s a huge surge in the country of public service,” Stahl says, noting the surplus of federal jobs created by the stimulus. The expansion of agencies like Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Personnel and the U.S. General Services Administration generate space for a variety of careers in business, psychology and law.
But the grab-a-job-and-go approach to college raises questions about its importance as a place for life-long learners. Nutt says he doesn’t believe the current job market will diminish the value of college. He says postsecondary institutions are responding to the immediate need to put Americans to work but the fundamental value and tradition of college is a mainstay.
“Right now the key issue is getting back into the work force,” he says. “But what’s going to make the difference in moving forward? It’s going to be that baccalaureate degree.”
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