As most of us know, the first five years of a child’s life are a critical period for brain development that ultimately shape who children will be and what they will do. Yet, what most of us do not know is that the ten years we spend as twenty-year-old’s serves as just a critical period for adult development. As Dr. Meg Jay, a clinical psychologist and associate professor at the University of Virginia, discusses in her book The Defining Decade, eighty-percent of significant life choices and events happen by age thirty-five. Furthermore, she writes the first ten years of a career has an exponential impact on how much money you will earn. As “twentysomethings,” or even teenagers, if we can learn the best ways to develop ourselves into the adults we want to become and make the life we want have, we’ll already be putting our foot in the door to reaching these goals. 

In life, whether you learn in the classroom, experiences from work, or interactions with friends and family, the things you see and hear are what you will reflect. During your “twentysomething” years, and late teen years, most people will be learning through post-secondary education. In October 2016, 69.7% of 2016 high school graduates were attending a college or university (“College Enrollment”) and in fall 2017 that number of attendees rose to 20.4 million students (“Back to school statistics”). But as Dr. Jay stresses, these years in college are part of a developmental sweet spot, you need to make the most out of your years as a student. Lucky for you, I have put together this guide including ways to maximize these four student years and enhance your degree. If you are looking to optimize your degree, then you should take broader classes and expand your learning in numerous ways outside of the classroom because research shows employers increasingly favor applied learning and internships as the best way to develop the skills necessary to succeed in the workplace. 

Although college tuition continues to rise, and graduates find it harder to earn jobs, according to a recent article in Current Issues in Economics and Finance, investing in a college degree is now more important than ever because those without college degrees are falling farther behind. These jobseekers and jobholders without degrees limit their opportunities for careers and consistently earn less than their counterparts with degrees because they cannot apply for higher paying positions. From 1970 to 2013, those with a bachelor’s degree earned $64,500 on average yearly, while those with just a high school diploma earned $41,000; so, over that period, those with a bachelor’s degree earned 56% more than those with just a diploma (Abel). This same report also found that during their working lives (retiring at age 65) those with a bachelor’s degree earned well over $1 million more than those with just a high school diploma. The pay clearly favors those with degrees; however, as the cost of tuition has gone up, so has the need for borrowing money. In 2016, Americans with student loans owed $1.45 trillion, averaging to be $37,172 per 2016 graduate (“A Look At”). Factoring in loan repayment, this still leaves roughly $900,000 more pay for bachelor’s earners than those with only high school diplomas. And, while one major issue haunting graduates is underemployment, work that does not make full use of one’s skills and abilities, recent findings show that employers will pay a premium compared to those with just a diploma in careers that degree-holding graduates enter (Abel). 

According to Ashley Stahl, a new CEO of a career coaching company with a degree in political science, your specific major does not seem to have that large of an impact as one might think. Stahl claims that having a degree is just a prerequisite, and that you can find yourself working in a completely unrelated field. In today’s competitive job market, in order to earn the career you want, you must be able to differentiate yourself from other candidates. Just having a degree doesn’t cut it anymore. According to a 2012 employer survey conducted by The Chronicle of Higher Education, employers called a bachelor’s degree the starting point. “It’s the new high school diploma,” one employer stated, while another went as far to say, “everyone has a bachelor’s… master’s is the beginning degree that causes a person to stand out now” (“The Role of Higher Education”). Employers are seeking proven development of the necessary skills from employees in degree-required careers. Peter Cappelli, a professor of Management at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, carefully warned that “using education as a proxy for the ‘skill’ that employers want” could be dangerous, stating that job analysis shows the desired skills have a slim overlap with the skills taught in the classroom (Cappelli). Students could make themselves inadequate candidates if they only plan to prepare for their career in the classroom. In fact, “58% of students said college should adequately prepare them for a career,” yet only 20% felt prepared at the time of graduation (Klebnikov). 

Students looking for their first full-time employment must have work experience, the so-called “crucial attribute” employers seek (Thompson). Taking the time to intern in a business can provide this “crucial attribute” as it requires the student to apply their classroom learning in real world situations. Applying what you have been learning in the classroom is appealing because it proves a level of preparedness and adaptability to use that knowledge to solve real workplace problems. In the image below, employers in several fields placed experiences as the top two most important attributes an employee can have. There is a greater desire for an employee who has developed some practice in their field, possibly eliminating some of the training employers would have to perform. 

Cooperative education, more commonly called co-op programs, provides another opportunity for students to develop serious experience through applied learning. Colleges and employers have jointly constructed these programs solely to meet the employers’ qualifications. Students in these programs work full or part time for a short period with an employer and then rotate with a similar period of coursework. There is an increasing draw to hiring from these programs because employers know the candidate will have developed a level of professional experience. At Northeastern University, home to one of the oldest co-op programs, the statistics behind graduated students prove cooperative education programs reward students with job offers. Between 2006 and 2012, 90% of Northeastern graduates had either found full-time employment or were attending graduate school within nine months of commencement, 87% of those with full-time jobs were doing work relative to their major and 50% of those working had received a job offer from the employer they worked under during their co-op program (Cooper). 

Employers place a tremendous value on internships and past employment because they can trust an experienced candidate will be able to perform in his/her position. In a 2014 survey of over 12,000 employers, only 15% of recently filled positions could have been performed by an applicant directly out of college (Cappelli). Now, although this statistic generalizes a recent graduate’s application, having that desired professional experience allows employers the opportunity to consider you for these positions. In fact, Matt Sigelman, the CEO of Burning Glass Technologies, a Boston-based labor market analysis firm, says that gaining the experience from an internship can nearly double the job opportunities available (Klebnikov). Employers seek candidates with proven development of in-demand workplace skills, with a large emphasis on “soft skills.” Soft skills are attributes like leadership, communication and sales, which are harder to develop in the classroom. 

Leadership shows you are motivated and can effectively hold responsibility. Being a leader requires you to communicate and discuss new ideas and suggestions with team members to decide the best solution. More and more workplace tasks involve effective communication as a required skill because companies must be able to trust that every member of their business can understand and discuss company practices and procedures to maximize productivity. It is inevitable in any field of work that you will be collaborating with people that have different beliefs and ideas; being able to respectfully understand your teammates’ differences and compromise when necessary is essential to be a positive team member. Communication and sales are often used together. Selling a product or service is one of the most fundamental processes of a business, but if consumers don’t know a product exists, or have no idea how the product will benefit them, they’ll keep their money to themselves. 

Soft skills essentially are developed through practice, you won’t know how to work in a team if you’ve only ever worked by yourself and you can only become a better business communicator through business communication. This concept is why employers love internships and co-ops, you will have developed a baseline set of soft skills that can later be refined to the level that meets the employer’s expectations.

Experience, skill development, and a broad curriculum are dependent upon each other. In a 2016 employer survey by the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture, only 15% of employers find it important to have skills that apply to a specific field or position (“Falling Short?”). Rather, most employers indicated a higher value in developing knowledge that varies across fields. While I agree this leads to well rounded employees, focusing too little results in having no specific skillset. Ultimately, being unfocused could be detrimental for an employee as employers could perceive this as a lack of motivation or the inability to make decisions. 

One of the best decisions you can make for yourself is to find your passion. Do what makes you happy. Creating the perfect resume that showcases all your qualifications is a stressful task, and it’s just as stressful to balance those qualifications. Coming to college is an exciting but intimidating step in adult development. Living by yourself, doing more for yourself than ever before, and, most importantly, discovering how to motivate yourself are skills that also develop further in your time as a student. When I arrived on campus, there was so much pressure to get involved; join this organization, go to this event, make new friends and meet new people. Yet, what I quickly discovered was to take a step back and spend the time I needed to decide what I really wanted to do for myself. Finding your passion takes time, and that’s a good thing. 

When it comes time to start the job search you must do as much research as possible; however, do it the smart way. Colleges and universities all over the globe have resources that range from interview preparation, to resume development, to job search platforms. In addition, employers have recruiters come to campus often for career fairs. You should attend these events so that you can showcase your list of skills that you’ve been developing. Research the companies that interest you before your interview. In The Chronicle of Higher Education survey, employers noted that candidates showed a lack of preparation. Employers indicated graduates should start by researching the organization and enhancing interview skills by participating in mock interviews through career services at the university or even at home through parents and friends. 

As students, we must explore as many opportunities as possible. We have to reach out of our comfort zones a little bit, but without overwhelming ourselves too much. However, be careful to not stay too comfortable, remember that nothing challenges you in your comfort zone. Explore and meet friends of friends, or “weak ties” as Dr. Meg Jay calls them. It isn’t cheating to find jobs from people with loose connections. Avoid knowing too many like-minded people because, without new perceptions, your mind will only develop from within the boundaries of the other minds around you. Continue to develop yourself and capitalize on the moments when it’s time to showcase your skills, this is how you will make the most of your college experience and set yourself up for the best decade of development. 
