There is life after college is a thought-provoking examination of how higher education prepares (or fails to prepare) students for careers. Selingo conducted his own research finding students often fall into three categories: Sprinters, Wanderers, and Stragglers. Career success, defined as a post-college job related to their major with less student debt, was greatest for Sprinters, then Wanderers, and Stragglers. Selingo’s thesis is that a successful post-college outcome is more a function of what you do during college, rather than where you go to college. The value of There is life after college is that Selingo goes beyond this cliché providing a quasi-road map to making the most of college with chapter topics such as skills for today’s economy, gap years, internships, and launching a career. In particular, the final chapter, "Telling your Career Story" should be required reading for every incoming first-year student at all higher education institutions. Overall, I highly recommend this book.
There is a lot to ponder in this book for Academic Advisors. On a personal level, I was comforted to see some of the advice I give most often to students about internships, soft skills, and leadership positions repeated here. (It’s always nice to see external validation.) At the same time, I found myself reflecting on the extent to which my campus engages and cultivates students career stories. The Career Center and my College have begun to increase their offerings to students about storytelling and presentations. However, these venues only reach a small fraction of students. What questions or activities could I engage with students to initiate this type of thinking? Again, I want to return to the final chapter and some questions Selingo lists on page 239:
- What kind of working environments do I enjoy and do well in?
- What failures did I experience in college and what lessons did I learn from them?
- What kind of job would give me a sense of fulfillment?
- Where do I want to be in five year?
These questions are a fantastic starting place for career discussions with students. I’ve often asked a variant of the first question, “what do you want your day to look like?” and found students have rarely given any thought to such variables. I can’t fault them, we don’t ask them to do such things in classrooms. Therefore, it is up to advisors and career counselors to raise these issues with students. I plan to incorporate these questions into my standard advising practice including follow-ups. I may even propose a mini-course exploring such issues.
Although there is much to recommend in the book, one shortcoming is the focus on elite institutions or students from privileged backgrounds. Throughout the text, I found myself scribbling phrases such as: elite, ivy league, require money, difficult to do while working 20 to 30 hrs per week. Overall, I would have liked to see more discussion of the access and/or unequal distribution issues plaguing higher education institutions. For example, the gap year chapter is clearly not an option for most low-income students. Even the Wes Moore example dealt with getting low-income students up to par with national averages, which is different than traveling to find your passion. I also imagine a large percentage of the Sprinters come from middle to upper class families. A key issue for higher education (and society) is how to ensure everyone has the opportunity to engage in these activities.
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