Turning What You Love into What You Do
By Patrick O’Connor
Many people think that if you go to college, you will graduate. Few realize there are many students who attend college without finishing. Estimates are that 33-40% of college freshman entering four-year colleges will leave without graduating in four years. They, along with college graduates, comprise an initial group of career starters.
The percentage of students who finish college is affected by many factors. Private colleges have higher completion rates than public colleges, which have higher rates than community colleges. A first-generation student graduates at an 11% rate while those from second-generation families have a 44% graduation rate; 36% of Americans have a bachelor’s degree.
Financial reasons top the list why students leave, along with maturity, support, preparation/readiness, and a good fit. Make no mistake, students who leave without graduating are intelligent people. Many universities have students who left without graduating and became very successful. Kent State University, for example, has three students, Joe Walsh, Drew Carey and Michael Keaton, who left without graduating and have all gone on to successful careers. Harvard University has the highest graduation rate of all universities. However, two notable students, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg, left without graduating.
Where do students go and what do they do after they leave college without graduating? Most return to their parents’ home and just sort of fade into society. Much of what they do can be referred to as zigzagging, which is moving from job to job, maybe relocating and trying out different career paths.
Zigzagging is good because it helps people explore options, learn their likes and dislikes, and gain valuable experience. As the saying goes, “experience is what you get when you don’t get what you want.” Often, these experiences help students mature and sharpen their focus, which is helpful to success in college. Some of these experiences may have been good for students before attending college.
A few of the more common zigzag experiences are:
- 24% continue college part-time. 40 % eventually graduate in 6 years.
- Some join the military with plans to return with financial government support.
- Most will go into service occupations with low pay, few benefits and little career path/opportunities. The hospitality industry is filled with servers, caterers, cooks, greeters and bartenders who attended but never finished college.
This group of students can turn what they love into what they do by reflecting on the following steps:
Examine – Did they really examine their interests, abilities, and potential areas to study before they arrived on campus? Did they have much work experience?
Explore – Did they do much exploring to find out what they wanted to study in college before they went? Did their major lead to a career path?
Envision – Did they have a sense of purpose or understanding for why they were in college? Erin Kelly (December 2021 blog) referred to herself as a “clueless freshman” on her arrival at Kent State in fall 2018.
One place some non-completers land is the Cleveland campus of Tech Elevator. (Cleveland Coding Bootcamp | Tech Elevator Coding Bootcamp). This coding boot camp is where many former college students have found their career. It is connected to many employers in Northeast Ohio who are looking for qualified IT workers. As such, it has selective admissions and a high placement rate, which is attractive to students and employers. Tech Elevator functions like a broker connecting IT labor demand and supply.
Tech Elevator students have varied backgrounds and many left college without completing. Some may have attended more than one college. Most have zigged-zagged all they want and now envision a career with stability, security and a career path. Most have reached a tipping point where they want to take control of their life and career. A few samples of recent Tech Elevator graduates reveal a specific student profile.
- 24-year-old Seth worked part-time as a barista in between music gigs. The pandemic hit and he had to take a voluntary layoff. Also, all his music gigs completely stopped. He wanted a change but more importantly, he needed stability.
- Melissa was going through the motions at her banking job. She said it seemed very empty and she was always stressed out. The pandemic really made her realize it’s either now or never. Tech Elevator was the missing piece in her puzzle.
- Gabriel was a carpenter before enrolling at Tech Elevator. He took a few courses toward an associate degree in computer science but left before finishing. He then found Tech Elevator.
- Chris attended two universities but neither experience clicked for him. He spent about eight years working various jobs in assembly and light manufacturing and extensive time in hospitality, mainly in catering and tending bar. Though he liked and was very good at bartending, he wanted a more solid career path.
These examples indicate a population of workers who left college, learned some life lessons and are now ready to be fully engaged in their careers.
My next blog segment will examine people who have made voluntary mid-career changes to continue turning what the love into what they do.
Image courtesy pexels.com
