Basics of Supply and Demand in Job Markets and American Higher Education Majors

Think back, if you will, to the decision to choose your undergraduate major. What were the factors that influenced your decision? Interest? Demand for the field? Salary? To please your adviser or parents?

Now, reflect on what your experiences were upon the last few months prior to graduate with this degree. Were you looking at entry-level jobs? Career tracks? Graduate school? Or something that had nothing to do with your major? Was where you ended up different than expected?


An interesting article was posted in the Chronicle of Higher Education today. It is titled, "High Demand for Science Graduates Enables Them to Pick Their Jobs, Report Says." What caught my attention initially was the title. Specifically, the piece suggesting "freedom" in the job market upon graduation. How wonderful would that be!?

The article discusses a current trend in science and engineering majors in the United States. More than half of the graduates from these programs (specially, native-U.S. born students), are taking positions in other fields...by choice, not because of economic hardships, higher requirements for entry-level positions, low demand, low position availabilities, or anything related to being "forced" into another field. Fewer than half of students are making the decision to enter a science or engineering position after graduation.

What is even more interesting to me is the salary component of this choice. The article explains that science careers are paying more money for Bachelor's level employees than Master's level non-science areas. In turn, salaries are higher for post-Bachelor degree experience for science and engineering students, than others earning a Doctorate degree in a non-science field.

So, why are students jumping ship with so much promise in store? The article attributes this to the traditional "American" view of science careers as being "too socially isolating," and instead turn to jobs in health care, sales, and marketing. Students who tend to stretch their education in science into a similar career tend to be non-English speaking, ESL, or international students.

So, does this mean we are a country who complains about money-promising occupations lacking in "social value," yet also we complain about a poor job market? I'm obviously not going to speak for the nation, but I see higher educators as providing a "do what you are interested in" mentality while giving much less attention to the other side of the equal sign--what's out there for our graduates from these programs?

I could list at least 20 classmates from my high school class who went to college and chose their major quickly--K-12 education. When asked why, it was a simple answer, "Because I want to work with kids." While seemingly valid and admirable at the time, I can say that at least half of these people are now working in an unrelated field, but for the opposite reason as the article above stated. They just can't find a job!

This leads me to a broader question. Are we having these conversations with students in higher education? Beyond basic, "What do you want to do when you grow up?" and into "What do you know about this field or that field?" and "What kind of salaries are you looking to obtain within you first year, 10 years, and beyond?"

These questions can strike students as "beyond their scope" or difficult to answer, but my question is why are we hesitant in asking students what they already know about the future they're choosing before they go through 2-4 years of specific education to get there?

The Princeton Review lists it's currently viewed "Top 10 College Majors" online. Before going into the listings, in the introductory paragraph, it states, "Be warned that these are not necessarily the degrees that garner the most demand in the job market." While the intent behind this statement was explained to be to provide a "wide range of skills," I still struggle with this concept. Mostly, I react to the major collecting the #2 vote: psychology. I was a psychology major. I chose my major because I had taken a high school psychology class, and it interested me. As I progressed through the rigorous program, at no point did anyone tell me what I was looking at in terms of a career as a "psych major." Wide range of skills--absolutely. Employment opportunities in the field of psychology with a BA--slim to none.



Not a single one of my colleagues (that I keep in contact with) in my undergraduate psychology program works in the field of mental health, besides myself. Why me? I went to graduate school. Did anyone at my undergraduate university talk to me about graduate school when I was choosing a major? No. Not one. After I received my Master's degree, did anyone talk to me about out of state licensure or market demands for school counselors? No. Not one. Maybe that was my job to ask, but how much of this should be talked about by my educators?

I feel that as employees in the field of higher education, we are not (as a nation), providing students (and parents for that matter) with the practical knowledge, understanding, and thorough discussion about major and career choice. Perhaps we are mostly interested in graduation rates, GPA, and pushing students through and out of remedial programs. Maybe we're just not being fully mindful of what we're preparing students to encounter after they receive their diploma. Is that no longer our business? Well, I believe it should be.

Kylie