Today more than ever, it is important for college students to be thinking about their future in terms of jobs and finances. While in years past students were encouraged to follow their hearts and their passions, that might not necessarily be the best advice in this day and age.
A recent article outlines the possible hard times ahead for younger generations who want to live a good life and retire in their 60′s which is the traditional age most people associate with retirement. With 40 years of inflation ahead of us, the switch from guaranteed pensions to employee funded 401K’s, and the uncertainty that Social Security will still be solvent, it is clear that today’s college students have a very unsure future ahead of them.
It is clear that making as much money as possible and learning how to invest it is the best path if you want to be able to retire comfortably. An additional problem is that so many students now graduate with tens of thousands of dollars in school debt that it is often many years before they can pay it off and actually start saving. That is if they can even find a job in the first place!
College students should be thinking long and hard about what they want in their future because the direction they take with their major and classes could be a determining factor. For instance, while history may be interesting to some students, they should know that it won’t lead to any high paying jobs. There are a lot of crazy majors now days and many of them will get you a degree but that is about it. Employers want to see a work history and a solid education in the same field as the job opening.
Jobs for college students that are in the same field as your major are a great addition to your resume as all relevant work history is a plus. The important thing is that it is vital in today’s floundering economy that college students get serious about their futures right away. Yes, college is fun and should be fun but those students who actively look to their futures with a plan will be the ones who do best in the long run.
Hopefully the $2,000,000 number is way high but it serves as a reminder that students are in the beginning stages of mapping out their dreams and their lives. It is going to be a long hard uphill battle for many young people and they should be picking their college majors carefully with an eye on what different jobs pay.