Life After a Bachelor's: A Guide to the Options Available to Recent College Graduates

By Austin A. Mardon and Jagdeep Gill

Congratulations on completing your bachelor’s degree! You may be feeling more fear than excitement as you enter the real-world. This book outlines all the major options available to undergraduate students to help them find the path most suitable for them. The purpose of this book is to help you embrace your major, choose your next steps, and advice on how to get there!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: May 17, 2019
• ISBN: 9780359668151

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Life After a Bachelor's: A Guide to the Options Available to Recent College Graduates

Life After a Bachelor’s:

A Guide to the Options Available to Recent College Graduates

Jagdeep Gill

with Austin A. Mardon

Edited by: Aaron Szeto and Ryan Chau

Golden Meteorite Press

© 2014 copyright by Golden Meteorite Press.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without prior written consent of the publisher or a licence from The Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency

(Access Copyright).

For an Access Copyright licence, visit www.accesscopyright.ca

or call: 1-(800)-893- 5777.

Designed by Amanda Ozga

Edited by Aaron Szeto and Ryan Chau

Published by Golden Meteorite Press.

Suite 103, 11919-82 Street NW,

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

T5B 2W4

Telephone: [phone]

Email: [e-mail]

Website: www.austinmardon.org

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Gill, Jagdeep, author

Life after a bachelor’s : a guide to the options available to recent college graduates

/ Jagdeep Gill, Austin Mardon ; edited by Aaron Szeto.

ISBN 978-0-359-66815-1 (pbk.)

1. College graduates. 2. College graduates--Employment.

I. Szeto, Aaron, editor II. Title.

HD6277.G55 2014 331.11’445 C2014-905272-3

Chapter 1 - What To Do With a Bachelor of Arts Degree

The Worth of a Bachelor of Arts Degree: Finding a job in today’s world, an increasingly competitive and globalized job market, is difficult for everyone regardless of their major. It could be argued, however, that students in the arts may have a more difficult time then someone, say, in engineering. You may have friends, family or acquaintances that are working a job that has nothing to do with their arts degree. Anecdotal instances of people study the arts but don’t end up using their knowledge to make a living has led to a widespread idea that a degree in the arts is not a smart decision in terms of economics; the cost of an arts education outweighs the gain. Students entering university may be turned off of the arts because they fear that a Bachelor of Arts degree won’t teach them the skills to survive in today’s job market. Even students in the arts may become more and more nervous as they approach the end of their undergraduate career as they fear that they will be left without any job prospects after graduation. But students should be weary of basing their career choice and path on someone else’s opinion. Though it may sound cliché, doing what you love truly does bring about success. Being immersed in a field which interests you is vitally important. A science student would not do well in the arts, just as an arts student would not enjoy or do well in the sciences. Follow your strengths and interests and you cannot fail.

Specific majors in the arts have differing degrees of applicability when finding a job. For example, someone in education would have an easier time finding a job as the major itself naturally leads to careers in education. A major in philosophy, on the other hand, does not lead to a common easily available career, and you have more flexibility as you work to apply your knowledge to a position that is suitable for the career path you wish to pursue.

When discussing the worth of an arts degree, we must go back to what is fundamentally the purpose of education. In present times, most students further their education to profit off of their higher level of education in terms of a higher paying job. Education at its core, however, is meant to help people grow, evolve, and become enlightened. Arts is just that. Studying the arts helps you to deepen your understanding of all other fields of education. Like all education, the arts help to create better citizens.

Common majors:

This section will outline some common majors in the arts and what opportunities are present to students in these majors. Firstly, the skills developed in the major will be discussed and this will be followed by common job titles.

Major in Anthropology:

Majors in anthropology develop an array of both qualitative and quantitative skills. In terms of technical skills, anthropology majors are able to write papers, proposals, and reports, collect and analyze data, use statistics and computer science to engage in the problem solving process. Beyond these technical skills, majors in anthropology are equipped with the skills for social research, which allows them to conduct interviews, understand cultural sensitivities and group dynamics, and work cooperatively with others. Being immersed in social research leads anthropology majors to have a deeper understanding and knowledge of ecological, biological, and cultural factors that affect and influence human behaviour, which ultimately allows them to effectively trace and analyze social problems at their root. With an increasingly globalizing world and economy, the ability of anthropology majors to understand different cultures is a valuable skill.

Though a graduate degree is required for most professional jobs in anthropology, a bachelor degree alone will open up some job titles to help you gain experience in the field and use your undergraduate skills and knowledge. Gaining this relevant work experience, whether it be through volunteering, internships or part-time jobs in critical for a successful career with a degree in anthropology. In general, looking at the skills listed above, a degree in anthropology prepares students for jobs that involve people skills and require an understanding of cultural differences. Anthropology majors are equipped with basic skills that make them highly flexible in the job market. This flexibility makes it impossible to list all the possible areas where there is a demand for anthropology majors but some common areas where students may find success include: communications, archeology, non-profit organizations, or the government to name a few.

In the area of communications, students may consider a job in journalism, documentary film production, writing/editing, publishing etc. The strong writing skills developed in the anthropology major program equips students for jobs in communications which demand strong writing skills. Furthermore, having the ability to understand and respect differences between people and cultures allow anthropology students to create unbiased work, something that is key to a successful career in journalism. When applying, compile a portfolio of your work including ideas, writing samples and graphics. Finally, you should volunteer and work to improve your writing and communication skills through working for student-run publications, volunteering or working part time at a publishing house and submitting your own articles and writing for publication.

Help strengthen your chances of working in communications, work on developing an ability to meet tight deadlines and attention to details, which is crucial in the communications industry.

For the area of archeology, anthropology majors may consider a career in fieldwork, excavation, and research. The technical and research skills developed by anthropology majors is directly applicable to the area of archeology. To help strengthen your background for a career in archeology, get involved in research on campus and other research programs. To take it even a step further, look for a chance to volunteer at actual excavation sites as fieldwork experience is usually required for hands-on careers in archeology. Most importantly, a career in archeology is anything but stable as constant travel is required. Thus being able to appreciate and adapt to different cultures is another requirement of archeology that anthropology students are equipped to meet.

Non-profit organizations are a common area of employment for anthropology majors and many other arts majors. Anthropology majors may work as administrators, program managers and developers, counselors, researchers, and fundraisers to name a few positions. The key idea and values behind non-profit organizations is to provide a service for the unprivileged and raise awareness to common issues. Many non-profit organizations work in impoverished areas with cultures that greatly contrast with the west. Thus the ability for anthropology majors to understand these different cultures is a great asset for non-profit organizations. This understanding helps anthropology majors to better administer, design programs, manage, and raise funds to further the goals of the non-profit organization. To help strengthen your chances of getting a job at a non-profit organization, it is always beneficial to gain experience through volunteering at local non-profit organizations. Furthermore, it is advisable to improve your skills in public speaking and writing.

Areas of Government that hire anthropology majors include: surveying, archives, administration, cultural resource management, research, impact assessment, and translation/interpretation. Government workers need to have a tolerance and understanding of different cultures in order to perform their tasks as the workers helping to govern a country’s people. Thus, anthropology majors and the skills that they have acquired are a good fit for government jobs. Archives especially are a common area of employment for anthropology majors. Furthermore, areas of surveying, research and impact assessment apply the data collection and analyzing skills that are common to student studying anthropology. Finally, translation and interpretation services require knowledge of other cultures and languages which is often among the skill set of anthropology majors. In order to strengthen your chances of securing a job in the government, learning federal or provincial application procedures is necessary and a learning a foreign language is advisable. In addition, it is advisable to add to your current research methodologies by studying other methods to develop analytical, statistical, and computer skills. Also keep in mind that a graduate degree is often required to be considered for higher level positions in government.

Major in Sociology:

Sociology is a very common major or minor among undergraduate students. Though the field of sociology is vast there are some common skills developed among sociology majors. First of all, sociology majors develop technical skills such as the ability to read and analyze material accurately, conducting and explaining sociology research using different methodologies for data collection, analysis and evaluation. The technical problem solving skills of sociology majors are one of their greatest skill sets. Sociology majors are able to approach different topics and problems from various perspectives and analyze each angle of multidimensional problems. Using their keen analytical skills, sociology students are able to use their decision making skills to identify the problem and develop a solution. Greater still are the qualitative skills that sociology students possess. Sociology students have highly developed communication skills which allow them to explain ideas through writing and presenting information, arranging carefully reasoned reports, public speaking, and being able to listen and clarify their ideas. These communication skills heighten students’ aptitude for conflict mediation and resolution as well as a sensitivity towards others. In general terms, sociology majors have great people skills which is a necessity for all areas of employment.

A lot of the skills developed in sociology are transferrable, these include skills such as: organization, research, interpersonal, analytical, computer, teamwork, communication, and leadership skills. These skills allow sociology majors to be highly flexible and adaptable to a wide variety of jobs. Also, unlike a degree in anthropology, an undergraduate degree in sociology is sufficient for many entry-level positions though a graduate degree may be desirable in a more competitive job market. For a job in human or social services, sociology students should gain experience and knowledge of a segment of the population that interests them. For example, gaining experience through volunteering with children, or the elderly allows students to develop a multicultural sensitivity and understanding of these segments of the population. This sensitivity and understanding is important to securing a job in areas that work with these populations.

In order to help bolster your undergraduate degree in sociology, part-time jobs, internships and/or volunteer experiences are critical. These experiences help round you out and make you a better candidate for jobs that apply sociological skills and knowledge. Since sociology majors are highly flexible and adaptable, they are candidates for a wide array of jobs in several industries. Some areas of employment for sociology majors include but are not limited to: human services, social science research, environment and society, and criminal justice. In the areas of human services, sociology majors are equipped to work as programmers, administrators, counsellors, case managers, and human rights advocates. When working in the human services, people must have an understanding and sensitivity towards delicate situations and people. Thus the interpersonal and problem solving skills of sociology majors make them a great fit for the human services. These people and problem solving skills allow sociology majors to counsel and manage people and projects. Furthermore the communication skills developed by sociology majors make them great candidates for positions centered on advocacy and the associated public speaking. For example, undergraduates could spend summers and breaks volunteering at camps, social service agencies, or recreation centers. When choosing volunteering positions, it is important to concentrate your efforts to working in an area of interest such as youth, the elderly, poverty etc. Furthermore, it is important to keep developing your communication skills through participating in as much public speaking as possible. It would also be advisable to learn a second language to help you interact with different cultures and to increase your opportunities.

To help strengthen your chances of a position in the human services, it is important to gain experience and continue to develop your people skills through volunteer positions.

In the area of social science research, sociology majors are candidates for researchers. A researching position entails data analysis and information collection and using this data to study different demographics. The field of social science predominantly uses the research and analytical skills developed in sociology. Research work, however, is often done in teams so developing your people skills is important. This can be done