I am registered at a professional web site called Linkedin. At this site I am a member of several groups, including an alumni group for Governors State University (GSU), where I earned my Masters of Science in Science Teaching. Through a group, members can initiate a discussion thread by posting a question or comment. Last week a comment was posted from a disgruntled alum who is upset that he spent “thousands of dollars” on an education, but can’t find a job. He claims he has sent out over 1000 applications/resumes, but has only been offered a job that pays $9/hr. His degree is in “Interdisciplinary Studies, (IDSS).”
The economy is as bad as I have ever seen in my 50+ years, many recent grads being unable to find gainful employment in their fields of study. I just can’t help but wonder what a degree in IDSS qualifies you to do. I went to the GSU website and attempted to find out what IDSS was, but after reading all the information there am still clueless. Apparently, IDDS is for students who started college at some point, but quit before finishing a degree. IDSS allows a student to use previous credits, “life experiences”, and at least 60 hours at GSU to earn a degree. Nowhere on the GSU site does it say exactly what area the 60 credits must be in. Apparently they can be in anything; so with no area of concentration it is no surprise that graduates of this program have a college degree, but no skills to land a real job.
I attach significant blame here to any university that would offer such a worthless degree and charge tuition for it. Have they no shame? I suggest he take the $9/hr job where he might actually gain some marketable skills.
The situation reminds me of a student I taught in the mid 80’s. She was brilliant, one of the best I have ever taught. After graduation, she went off to university where she planned on studying to become a doctor. I ran into her mother several years later and was surprised to find that the girl had changed her major to “Women’s Studies”, graduated, and began working in a woman’s shelter as a counselor. The mother was understandably upset, feeling her daughter had thrown away a chance to make something out of herself, and asked be to talk to the daughter. I contacted her and we had a long, interesting conversation. The young woman argued that the women she worked with needed help and she felt responsible (as a woman) to assist them. I pointed out that if she went to Med School or Law School she could be much more helpful as a doctor or Attorney/Advocate for the women at the shelter. She replied that if she went to Med School or Law School she would not be able to help these women for many more years, and they needed help now. I never saw her again and don’t know what she is doing now. Fortunately she is the exception; most promising students actually do get a degree that really qualifies them the get a job and actually help people in a meaningful way.
The expectations students have for their lives illustrates how little they know about life and how to prepare for it. Last week my homeroom class filled out a questionere concerning their “life goals.” One of the questions asked them to state their goals. Most comment were reasonable. Things like; “I want to be successful”, “I want to be healthy and happy”, and “I would like to stay religious, and keep in touch with my friends and family.” Others were not quite so realistic. One boy wanted to live in a castle. Another girl wrote, “I want a splendid, unforgettable, remarkable, perfect life.” The most interesting comment was by my worst student that period. She is in Honors Chemistry and has gotten the lowest grade on each of the first three exams—though she is not the least capable of my students. Her comment was, “I want to be a doctor or a lawyer. I want to live in a huge house, at least three floors, and have three maids, a butler, and a chef.”
She will probably end up working in a woman’s shelter.
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