ABSTRACT
The most important of these “larger context” conversations relates the college experience to the career. The outside community instills in our students the need to make that connection. Students have been asked since they were very young what they wanted to be when they grow up. Now, they overflow with anxiety about entering adulthood without a career path. They seek to brand themselves with a major. I help students unpack their anxiety about these connections during advising sessions. I tell them that they are becoming expert learners and not specialists in a particular area. Their employability is related to their learning skills, not what they know about literature or history. I remind them that schools construct curricula around the faculty resources. As such, the major has no intrinsic connection to the knowledge and skill demands of a specific career. After quashing their hopes of there being an easy connection between major and career, I show them how to plan a successful strategy for transitioning from college to a career. Your school’s Career Office is your ally. They help students define their interests and develop a list of potential starting points. Encourage the student to begin the process early. I send first-year students to the Career Office for workshops to get them accustomed to using the contacts and resources of the college long before graduation.
