Millennials Preparedness to Real-World Environment

Andrew Extejt

Bowling Green State University

Millennials Preparedness to Real-World Environment

Graduate unpreparedness to the real world has become the primary growing concern in a career that significantly develops anxiety and culture of uncertainty among the millennials. Should more education courses attempt to create real-world environments to better prepare students or should colleges streamline coursework in favor of more classes devoted to a career as well as significant preparedness? It is an inquisitive question as both are to some extent solutions to student unpreparedness in college. However, I support the act of colleges streamlining the coursework in favor of more class devoted to significant preparedness and career as it works out better in curbing the problem. The necessity of getting a tertiary level education is acquiring the knowledge as well as the skills essential in performing practical work in the job field. Therefore, the reality of student graduating while not contented regarding career preparedness is a great catastrophe that requires immediate action at the college level. Restructuring of the college’s coursework in favor of more classes being dedicated toward a career is discussed into an in-depth extent as a valid measure of curbing student anxiety as well as enhancing major preparedness to the real world environment.

A high percentage of the graduates from the universities as well as other advanced level learning institution is not satisfied with what they are taught. It significantly means that the professors as wells other staff are not doing their work correctly or the students do not play their part well (Dondlinger & McLeod 2015). These are alarming questions but essential in elaborating the cause of the growing concerns of anxiety and uncertainty towards career preparedness. According to the researchers’ reports, it is right that the tutors are delivering their services of feeding the students with all the knowledge required in consideration to the education curriculum. However, they forget the bit of teaching the same scholars the practical technicalities that are efficient in the field. “55 percent of students felt they were well prepared to work but only 18 percent of employers felt the same.” (Wurdinger & Qureshi 2015). Apart from the substantial general coursework, the students are also subjected to the co-curriculum activities which are mandatory to miss as well as a standardized test that they are supposed to acquire more than the recommended pass mark or retake the same course. Also, the same students have to be active in the school clubs and other non-curriculum activities vital for the social-being such as participating in religious activities. It is written to be evaluated through the continuous assessments and take part in co-curriculum events, but the practical skills part in the coursework should also be given the same weight. When all these things are put together, it becomes tiresome, and the students will have limited time dedicated to the practical work that prepares them to survive in the real world environment.

It is essential to restructure the tertiary level education coursework as the vital thing of students being in that institution is being capable of living well after the course which involves financial stability, helping the family and giving back to the community. The act of developing self-dependency at the millennial age is vital in preparing the students to face the real world, and the course framework should be structured in a sound way that considers knowledge instigation as well as work preparedness. All these elements regarded as “well-being” in the real world refers to the act of being capable of working or investing as well as inventing a viable business that is worth and paying (Ravitch 2016). Education sharpens peoples’ mind, and that is the reason behind an individual specifying to a particular discipline at the advanced level that one has the potentiality and willingness to work at after the completion of the course. It is healthy and right for the students to participate in the co-curriculum activities as it dramatically plays a significant role in mind refreshment but they are supposed to manage their time well not to spend all of it out there in the field and end up having problems in other parts of education. Some have the talents that are worth as well as paying even more than the other careers in the world, hence the co-curriculums cannot be ignored as well. Streamlining the coursework is vital to make sure that every essential element based on class, extra-curriculum and career preparedness are adequately granted enough time to prevent dragging behind one side (Dunn, 2016). Since students are often not prepared, changing how the coursework is structured will help them to be more sucsessful.

For instance, consider the case of these graduate that move out to the career environment and cannot stand in one job even for a year. It is an excellent example of college-level unpreparedness, and it depicts the importance of rectifying the coursework. This postgraduate realizes that the career that they have secured does not fit their requirements, or they are not capable of giving out what is recommended in the field. All this involves career unpreparedness at the college level education. In the university, the professors are keen in ensuring that students are fit in the class work that they teach and prove it by testing them through the standardized test. “…the schools’ inability to show them applicable skills as one of the leading ways schools failed to help them,” (Irvine et al. 2015). It is right that they have acquired the knowledge, but they should also gain the skills fundamental to their work through practical experience in the career environment. The tutors at the college level have to put up a strategy that equips the students with the appropriate expertise in the real world in such a way that they will be able to work and secure a place after the course.

In the world today job opportunities are limited, and only a few, as well as the sharpest outcompete others in securing the available chances. It has reached an extent that in acquiring a career one have to be experienced and capable of putting the skills in practice efficiently or having a connection with a person who can persevere in training you how to do the job (Murcia & Idárraga, 2013). Hence, making it very rare for the university graduate securing good careers immediately after their course completion. Therefore, in the college students are supposed to be depicted in a program that will to a profound extent train them how to plan and come up with new viable ideas that will effectively open broad ways at the real world. For instance, it is evident in real life situations that among the most prominent and wealthy people in the world are the businessmen. They spend adequate time and energy investing and inventing new ideas that fill the gap in the society earning those lots of capital. In reality, people in business do not make a living through working by themselves, but they employ others, people, to work for them in the ventures they have invested enhancing diversity. Teachers are supposed to align the curriculum in such a way that the learners have adequate time to develop the skills of planning and coming up with new opportunities by the utilization of the available resources (Hew 2016). Current students do not have the resources available to them and much of their time and energy is being put into things that will not help them in their career.

In colleges and other tertiary level learning institutions, practical techniques of rectifying the coursework in a manner that will depict enough time to career preparedness are supposed to be adopted. Some of these measures include introducing and reorganizing internships into a more efficient way, increasing the number of projects done throughout the course as well as encouraging students to get involved in activities that can earn them income during their holidays and other free time. To start with is the rescheduling the methodologies of offering internships and others related attachments. Some colleges are never serious about this activity, and it becomes an option regarding the individual student’s interest. Others provide the internship opportunity but once in the whole time course duration. It is traumatizing to the extent of taking learning institutions as business-oriented ventures whose aim is just earning the capital and have no concern of where the graduates will end up to in future. Internships are among the best techniques of introducing students to the real world as they will have the time to get experience and interact with professionals in that particular field who will significantly share their skills.

Therefore, colleges are supposed to put implement them as part of the coursework in such a way that it will be inevitable for a student to skip. Also, it is crucial for the students to attend various internships up to three of them or more if possible depending on the duration of the course. The more they get exposed to the working environment to more they master the skills and techniques required in the field, and this will be essential when it comes to securing a career (Fincher et al. 2017). During the internships, there is a capability of the students identifying a particular gap in the society that they will utilize as opportunities to start inventions through the experience gained. It sharpens their brains as well as technical skills that make them innovative, and they will not undergo too much struggle when they get out to the real world which favors the productive people. Nowadays during the interview sessions, the interviewer’s panels are not much concerned with the papers and grade point aggregates that one get on course completion but the kind of skills and experience the one has. In the end, those graduates with positive recommendations and experience after undergoing to various internships are favored and first secure the job opportunities.

The second issue regards increasing the number of projects partaken by the students throughout the coursework (Wurdinger & Qureshi 2015). The higher the number of these projects the well-equipped the student will be. Many institutions only put in consideration one general project at a particular phase of the course, but that is not right. Projects make students to think critically, carry out significant research, analyze the issue, come up with a plan and finally present it to a panel of professors who either certifies it or insist that more should be done. Projects cannot be ignored as partaking them make students have practical experience of how the real world is and develop the cognitive of being active in identifying a problem in the society as well as being fast to generate a valid solution (Entwistle & Ramsden 2015). Students with adequate skills will not depend on employment but will be there to study the environment and come up with their innovations that will be productive to the community.

Projects have an unusual approach that is unique in such a way that skipping one step leads to significant failure as it will interfere with rest of the work. The same case happens in the real world, especially in the workplace. Therefore, projects will equip the students with the smartness and be used to correctly doing things following all the required steps as well as avoiding the alluring shortcuts. Furthermore, these projects will boost the students’ courage as they make a presentation and this will be applicable in the career field during the interviews as well as when presenting other constructive ideas (Murcia & Idárraga, 2013). Thus, the learning institutions should make the significant rectification of giving students adequate time to carry out projects as well as other practical experiments as they play an essential role when it comes to career preparedness. The professors should also not ignore any of these projects, and they have also to ensure credibility in testing the students’ capabilities.

The other solution to graduate career unpreparedness and anxiety is encouraging students to get involved in part-time activities that will significantly earn them income. The fact of their presence in school sharpens the mind and gains skills that enable them to work and be financially stable for their sustenance as well as that of their families. Talents work out well as part-time work for the students, but they can also be significantly be involved in all the other fields such as business as long as it is not interfering with their studying program (Dunn 2016). Therefore, having the potentiality of being productive and earning while still partaking their course is significant as it will ease the parents’ burden as well as developing a sense of responsibility. Students who are used to work even when at school have an easy time when they graduate as they are used to the real world and knows which fields they fit better hence secure the best careers. Also, it is essential as they develop the sense of belonging and impedance as they will not all the time rely on their parents to cater for their expenses as well as school fees.

For instance, take an example of a student who at the other side is a musician and spends his free time composing songs and attending other relevant occasions to entertain the audience. At long last, he knows his career field and will significantly take a course related to music ending up improving his skills that are effective in facing the real world after course completion. The anxiety of unpreparedness will not affect him, and he will be longing when that time comes to complete his studies and get in the field on a full-time basis. He will not be part of the growing concern culture of unpreparedness to career “…21 percent of students said there are not enough internship opportunities,” (Dondlinger & McLeod 2015).

Today many learning institutions have adopted new technology as a way of equipping students with practical skills necessary at the workplace as a way of preparing them to face the real world. Although, it seems that either one of the party the students or the tertiary level tutors have failed to do their work correctly. All the blame cannot be subjected to the college level schools as even students have to play their part well. At the tertiary level, the professor expects to deal with mature people who should not be pushed all the minute to do the right thing at the right time. It is evident that the practical lessons are framed as part of the coursework in various institutions, but some students end up not attending the sessions that particular moment is hence missing the practical based context of the entire course. The issue of work unpreparedness has emerged to be a devastating menace in the community where the students’ tamarack and waste lots of their time trying to find fitting job opportunities. Some even end up losing hope living a frustrated life where it is challenging to have a good livelihood. Therefore, it is a task of all the affected party whether the students, professors, and the tertiary learning institutions to reschedule the coursework appropriately and enhance proper management of time and available resources towards students’ job preparedness.

From the above discussion, it is true that there are anxieties and growing concerns regarding graduate unpreparedness towards the real world, but restructuring the tertiary level coursework schedules will be a sound solution to the problem. Taking the mentioned above measure will significantly enable psychological and physiological preparedness of the students to join the career fields as they will be adequately trained and experienced. It is not the learning institutions and tutors duty to make the sound changes but also government’s responsibility to appropriately intervene with the education system in such a way that it will improve students’ preparedness to join the real world. Also, students at the individual level should make the efforts of curbing the anxieties and growing concern cultures and adopt productive actions that will enhance their survivability in the world as well as careers.

References

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