How College Is Changing and What You Need for a Good First Job | Ryan Craig | Episode 37

It’s long been the standard thought that a college education is the way to get a good job and thrive. Is that still true? College is changing, and it turns out a degree alone is not always enough to guarantee a good first job. So, what do our kids need to do? When does college make sense? Do they need more than college? What are the new expectations? How has job hunting changed? How can they make the best decision about preparing for their future? Mighty Parenting podcast hosts, Judy Davis and Sandy Fowler, talk about post-secondary education with expert Ryan Craig. They dig into the new expectations of employers and what our kids need to succeed. They discuss how to know when college is the best choice and what our kids may need to do to supplement their college education so they have the skills employers want.

A Favorite Quote from the Show:

Whatever your child wants to do, employers want to see a good first job.

High Points of the Discussion About How College is Changing and What You Need to Get a Good First Job:

Attending college means young people are taking on great financial risk at a time when the future of work is unstable.

Millennials are behind prior generations in every economic metric.

In the last 10-15 years, hiring for entry-level jobs has changed. The world has digitized so almost every job is posted online and receives 400-500 applications. Hiring mangers are using software to screen resumes.

Whatever you want to do, someone wants to see a good first job.

When underemployed in their first job, it follows through to subsequent jobs.

To get a good first job we need:

• Good technical and digital tools. Every job requires the use of computers and technology so we need to show employers we have those skills.
• Good soft skills. In an interview, employers want to see that you know how to present yourself well and communicate well.

The vast majority of kids are on a treadmill to go to college but 45% of students who enroll fail to gain any credential.

There are other options kids can use to get an education for a good first job: bootcamps, income sharing programs, and employer pay programs.

Colleges do a good job in what they are intended to do—teaching critical-thinking skills. They don’t necessarily teach digital and technical skills that employers require.

People can get some education, work in a job and earn the money for college so they don’t go into debt.

Many entry-level jobs are looking for the digital skills and the soft skills but not necessarily the critical-thinking skills that college gives us.

Buy the education you need when you need it.

Our Guest:

Ryan Craig is Managing Director of University Ventures, an investment firm re-imagining the future of higher education and creating new pathways from education to employment. He is the author of College Disrupted: The Great Unbundling of Higher Education and his commentary on where the puck is going in higher education regularly appears in Forbes, EdSurge, Inside Higher Education, TechCrunch and VentureBeat, among others. Prior to founding University Ventures, Ryan led the Education Training sector at Warburg Pincus where he was the founding Director of Bridgepoint Education (NYSE: BPI), one of the largest online universities in the United States. Ryan has also served as an advisor to the U.S. Department of Education and worked with various colleges and universities, such as Columbia and UCLA.

Ryan lives in Pacific Palisades, CA with his wife Yahlin and his three boys, Leo, Hal, and Zev, whose antics often appear in his articles. Decades ago, Ryan was the beneficiary of a traditional post secondary education experience with bachelor’s degrees summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Yale University, and a law degree from the Yale Law School.

To learn more or connect with our guest, visit www.universityventures.com
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