College to Career: The Other Big College Consideration

In providing college counseling to Connecticut parents over the years, I noticed early on that the experience of being in college versus the post-college career outcome was far and away the dominant consideration in the early part of the 2000s. This, of course, was pre-Great Recession. Having grown up in a New York city suburb, I was heartened by the concern that parents had for the the college “fit”.  I also realized those with 1st and 2nd generation roots were far more concerned with college to career issues than the Connecticut Mayflower descendants. There is something about having a safety net that does take away the stress of practicality.  Still, I wondered what would become of some of my students who wandered off to college without any thoughts about career.

I found out soon enough.  Even before the 2008 economic meltdown, many students came back for career counseling.  They had discovered that jobs aren’t just handed out after college and that their understanding of the work world was severely limited. I started Career Counseling Connecticut and then wrote a book The Path of Abundance on the issues related to finding happy and successful work.

Now, as some of College Counseling Connecticut’s clients are getting their early action acceptances and thinking more seriously about what they might want to do for a career, particularly as they wonder about their college major, I’ll suggest that parents ought to begin the process of career education as their children head off to college.