For my interview, I met with Chrystal McArthur, a career counselor who speaks to students and Rutgers alumni about choosing a major and possible careers. She immediately began speaking about how years ago, people didn't really worry about being "successful" - if you went to college, you'd get a job (this made me jealous!). She was referring to when she graduated college, in the late '60s, early '70s.
One point she brought up was especially interesting, something I never thought of: "People are borrowing more, so they're more worried about making money". With college loans and the rise of tuition costs, people do have to be more aware of how they'll pay off student loans and debt. If you can't get a job after graduating, you will remain in debt.
When I asked if more students are concerned with potential success or interest in the subject, McArthur said a lot of students are influenced by their parents and culture. Many parents encourage their children to pursue certain careers because they see them as a higher status than other careers. Students may also be influenced by their culture in the same regard.
I brought up Holland's Theory, and she was well aware of this assessment. She said in general, students do act based on their personality types. For example, a student may be interested in making money because of their entrepreneurial personality type - it's in their personality to want to be financially successful. I plan to go more in depth in my paper on this.
Overall, Chrystal McArthur was extremely knowledgable on my topic and was so helpful to my paper. She even suggested that I take an assessment online to show me what a student would do who seeks her advice. I am meeting with her again next week to discuss my results and hopefully use the general information in my paper.
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Blog #12: Article Review
Grant, Tracy. "College majors and their income potential". Washington Post. 25 Jan 2012. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/college-majors-and-their-income-potential/2012/01/16/gIQANK94QQ_story.html>
This article describes peoples' increasing worries about unemployment rates regarding recent grads. The author, Tracy Grant, writes from a parent's perspective. Her sons are currently in high school and are thinking about their future college careers. With more and more statistics available online, many majors do not look very promising money-wise. Also on the page of this article is a poll which asks readers, "How much did you consider future employment when choosing a college major?"
The results read:
A lot - 50%
Some - 24%
A little - 13%Not at all - 13%Grant is a columnist for The Washington Post who writes on parenting issues.
"Computer and math majors face an unemployment rate of 8.2 percent, not much better than the national average. Education majors face less trouble finding jobs, with a 5.4 percent unemployment rate. But once they get jobs, as Singletary points out, 'their earnings are also low and only improve marginally with experience and education.'"
The results read:
A lot - 50%
Some - 24%
A little - 13%Not at all - 13%Grant is a columnist for The Washington Post who writes on parenting issues.
"Computer and math majors face an unemployment rate of 8.2 percent, not much better than the national average. Education majors face less trouble finding jobs, with a 5.4 percent unemployment rate. But once they get jobs, as Singletary points out, 'their earnings are also low and only improve marginally with experience and education.'"
"...should I counsel one son, who has an intrinsic ability to figure out how things work, that he should go into “agricultural and natural resources” because it has a much lower unemployment rate? And should I tell a teenager who already writes better than his mom that engineering is the way to go because it guarantees a higher annual gross income?"
"I am now 25 years into my career, working at one of the leading media companies in the country and making more money that I ever would have imagined I would. To what do I attribute that success? I love what I do."
"In these economic times, it’s hard not to obsess about whether our kids are employable. The Georgetown report, and Singletary’s column, raise important economic issues that should be part of any family’s college decision-making process."
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Blog #11: Counter-Argument Book Review #3
Arnold, John. "The Congruence Problem In John Holland's Theory Of Vocational Decisions."Journal Of Occupational & Organizational Psychology 77.1 (2004): 95-113. Business Source Elite. Web. 29 Mar. 2012.
This article questions John Holland's Theory of the link between personality, environment, and college major. It states that although the theory first appears to be fool-proof, it actually turns out to be hard to be hard to prove in everyday situations. Many students were tested using Holland's Theory and their results showed very little correlation to their decisions regarding college. Holland's Theory appears to coincide with general psychological theories of personality; the theory does not show substantial evidence in vocational predictions.
The author, Professor John Arnold, PhD, is currently a visiting professor at Loughborough University in England. He is a professor of work psychology, as well as a registered psychologist, and an editor for the Journal of Occupational & Organizational Psychology.
"...over the years research has suggested that congruence assessed using Holland constructs and measures has a much weaker association with outcomes than might be expected theoretically and required for effective use in practice" (96).
"...there is considerable direct and indirect evidence that Holland's theory does not adequately assess some elements of personhood that matter in vocational choice. In an era when people are encouraged to consider issues of work-life balance, quality of life, lifelong learning and navigating personal journeys through the world of work, it may be that the basis on which matching is done shifts from 'what can I do and what would I like doing?' to 'what do I want to achieve and how do I want my life to be?' (99).
"In spite of Holland's clear arguments that people project and express their personality through their response to his measures, it is debatable at best whether his theory pays sufficient attention to people's personal goals, or to some aspects of their values" (99).
This article questions John Holland's Theory of the link between personality, environment, and college major. It states that although the theory first appears to be fool-proof, it actually turns out to be hard to be hard to prove in everyday situations. Many students were tested using Holland's Theory and their results showed very little correlation to their decisions regarding college. Holland's Theory appears to coincide with general psychological theories of personality; the theory does not show substantial evidence in vocational predictions.
The author, Professor John Arnold, PhD, is currently a visiting professor at Loughborough University in England. He is a professor of work psychology, as well as a registered psychologist, and an editor for the Journal of Occupational & Organizational Psychology.
"...over the years research has suggested that congruence assessed using Holland constructs and measures has a much weaker association with outcomes than might be expected theoretically and required for effective use in practice" (96).
"...there is considerable direct and indirect evidence that Holland's theory does not adequately assess some elements of personhood that matter in vocational choice. In an era when people are encouraged to consider issues of work-life balance, quality of life, lifelong learning and navigating personal journeys through the world of work, it may be that the basis on which matching is done shifts from 'what can I do and what would I like doing?' to 'what do I want to achieve and how do I want my life to be?' (99).
"In spite of Holland's clear arguments that people project and express their personality through their response to his measures, it is debatable at best whether his theory pays sufficient attention to people's personal goals, or to some aspects of their values" (99).
Blog #10: My Case
While researching how college majors affect the future of young adults, I ask what factors come into play when choosing which route to go - whether students should go for a major which could be promising financially, or simply what they are interested in/enjoy. Holland's Theory is going to be extremely important in my research paper; this sociological theory is probably the most influential in research on this subject. This theory states that students choose their majors based on their personalities, i.e. what they would probably most enjoy.
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Blog #9: Visual
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Blog #8: Scholarly Work Review #2
Carnevale, Anthony P., Ban Cheah, and Jeff
Strohl. "Not All College Degrees Are Created Equal." Center on
Education and the Workforce. 4 Jan. 2012. Web.
<http://cew.georgetown.edu/unemployment/>.
The reading "Not All College Degrees Are Created Equal" tells about how important a college degree is for a person in today's economy; however, there is a huge difference in what a college graduate will likely earn due to different college degrees. It also provides charts which show unemployment rates and earnings for each degree.
"The risk of unemployment among recent college graduates depends on their major...Unemployment rates are generally higher in non-technical majors, such as the Arts (11.1 percent), Humanities and Liberal Arts (9.4 percent), Social Science (8.9 percent)1 and Law and Public Policy (8.1 percent)." (4)
"...majors that are closely aligned with occupations and industries can misfire. For example, tying oneself to a particular major can be a problem if the associated occupations or industries collapse." (5)
"Majors that are most closely aligned with particular industries and occupations tend to have low unemployment rates but not necessarily the highest earnings. Some majors offer both high security and high earnings, while other majors trade off earnings for job security." (6)
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Blog #7: Scholarly Work Review
Pike, Gary R. "Students' Personality Types, Intended Majors, And College Expectations: Further Evidence Concerning Psychological And Sociological Interpretations Of Holland's Theory." Research In Higher Education 47.7 (2006): 801-822. OmniFile Full Text Mega (H.W. Wilson). Web. 28 Feb. 2012.
Pike's article describes Holland's Theory. This theory says that students' personality type correlates with what major they choose. It details six different types of personality: Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional. These personality types are determined by a person's interests, behavior, and nature. Based on personality, the theory states that a student is likely to choose a certain major, but environment also comes into play.
"Holland's theory of vocational choice provides a powerful framework for studying students' college experiences. The theory links psychological factors (i.e. students' personality types) with sociological factors (i.e. the characteristics of academic disciplines) to create a model of person-enviornment fit that can be used to explain students' selection of academic majors, socialization into a major, and student learning and development during college" (801).
"In higher education, academic disciplines are model environments...Realistic environments, for example, include the disciplines of electrical engineering and mechanical engineering, whereas Investigative environments include the biological and physical sciences, mathematics, economics, and sociology. Artistic environments include majors in art, music, and drama, and Social environments include the disciplines of history, philosophy, psychology, and social work. Enterprising environments include business administration, management and journalism. Conventional environments include accounting, data processing, and secretarial studies" (803).
"The three components of Holland's theory give rise to three propositions about college students and their academic majors: (1) students actively seek out and select majors that are compatible with their personality types (self selection); (2) Academic majors differentially reinforce and reward student abilities and interests (socialization); and (3) Students are more likely to flourish in environments that are congruent with their personality types (congruence)" (805).
Pike's article describes Holland's Theory. This theory says that students' personality type correlates with what major they choose. It details six different types of personality: Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional. These personality types are determined by a person's interests, behavior, and nature. Based on personality, the theory states that a student is likely to choose a certain major, but environment also comes into play.
"Holland's theory of vocational choice provides a powerful framework for studying students' college experiences. The theory links psychological factors (i.e. students' personality types) with sociological factors (i.e. the characteristics of academic disciplines) to create a model of person-enviornment fit that can be used to explain students' selection of academic majors, socialization into a major, and student learning and development during college" (801).
"In higher education, academic disciplines are model environments...Realistic environments, for example, include the disciplines of electrical engineering and mechanical engineering, whereas Investigative environments include the biological and physical sciences, mathematics, economics, and sociology. Artistic environments include majors in art, music, and drama, and Social environments include the disciplines of history, philosophy, psychology, and social work. Enterprising environments include business administration, management and journalism. Conventional environments include accounting, data processing, and secretarial studies" (803).
"The three components of Holland's theory give rise to three propositions about college students and their academic majors: (1) students actively seek out and select majors that are compatible with their personality types (self selection); (2) Academic majors differentially reinforce and reward student abilities and interests (socialization); and (3) Students are more likely to flourish in environments that are congruent with their personality types (congruence)" (805).
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