Post #10

            Chapter 12 on Career Development in Postsecondary Educational Institutions is something that I really wanted to read about because I, personally, feel let down my institution in educating me on career information. It was surprising to me that the poll taken to see how man college educated adults used the college career center was 48% (Brown, 2012, p. 296). I didn’t think that number would be that high considering I never took advantage of the career center nor was I ever informed about anything that the career center offered. Some of the ideas about getting students to relate their education to their career plans are really prudent seeing as 60% of sophomores are uncertain about the relationship between the two (Brown, 2012, p. 299). I was also unsure about what exactly I was going to do with a psychology degree. I interned with a school psychologist because my dad is a teacher, and he enjoys it, so I thought I might also enjoy working in the school system. However, I found that the school psychologist had no relationship with the students. She was so overwhelmed with cases all over the district that she spent a majority of her time doing testing and assessment as well as driving to and from meetings. I realized then that it was not what I wanted to do. The downside was that this internship took place during my senior year of college so I graduated college no closer to knowing what I wanted to do.

            This being the case, I think it is a good idea to make a class mandatory in college on educating/training requirements as well as preparing the students of the realities of the job market/future trends. I wish a mandatory class on this had been offered when I was in college. I believe this would have been more helpful instead of taking a multitude of electives that I didn’t truly need. During college, I had no idea what type of post college education I needed or how to go about getting a license to practice. After I already was accepted into Millersville, my professor approached me and asked why I didn’t apply to any doctoral programs. I responded by telling her that I didn’t think I would be accepted. She then told me that I had the grades and the qualifications to explore a doctoral option. I will never forget feeling like I had just missed out on a big opportunity because I was never informed, and I never had anyone to talk to about my future plans. I understand that the point of the electives are to develop well rounded students, but giving up one elective to have a class on career development would have helped me, and I’m sure many others, in the pursuit for job satisfaction.

Reference

Brown, D. (2012). Career information, career counseling, and career development (10th ed.). New York, NY: Pearson Education, Inc.