Are College Graduates Really Ready?

3D CAD Design

I was reading an article recently, and it asked the question, “Are college graduates ready for the jobs of tomorrow?”. When I graduated, I wasn’t fully prepared for the pressures of the working world. My assumption was that you went to college, graduated and started your career. I never really thought to myself, “Am I fully prepared for this new career?” “Is this what I want to do until I retire?”

Are college graduates ready for the world of tomorrow?

The Challenges

College graduates today are faced with many challenges, including high cost, competitive job markets and perhaps most importantly, having the correct job readiness. A recent article from the College & Career Readiness Center stated that 70% of all new jobs would require some form of post-secondary credentials. Are there any colleges classes teaching job readiness?

Where Students Should for Careers

According to numbers from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment in STEM jobs increased 10.5% from 2009 to 2015. That’s double the growth of non-STEM jobs. Another 2.6 million STEM job openings are expected through 2024, including 1.1 million jobs in computer occupations and more than 500,000 jobs in engineering. Are schools doing enough to get new college graduates ready to enter the workforce of the future?

Data on STEM occupations for new college graduates

New research from Georgetown’s Center on Education and the Workforce highlights a few ways students can “right-size” their education–in effect, paying the least for the most career potential. The study points out that some training programs or degrees can set people up for more lucrative careers than fancier degrees that cost thousands more and take far longer to obtain.

How to Better Prepare Students for their Career

Schools need to prepare students for their potential careers by providing job readiness in high-school. This will create more capable college students and a workforce that is trained sooner rather than later. How can we do that? We require students to obtain industry standard certification. The leading 3D CAD software of choice in high school and higher education is the SOLIDWORKS Education edition, and the SOLIDWORKS Academic Certification program is included with a software purchase.

In today’s competitive workplace, CAD professionals need every edge they can get. The SOLIDWORKS Academic Certification program gives students and educators a way to demonstrate their expertise with SOLIDWORKS 3D solid modeling software, design concept, and sustainable design, and their commitment to professional development. Students get a proven competitive edge in the workplace, and educators and schools enhance their expertise and provide new opportunities as SOLIDWORKS Academic Certification Providers.