issue 15/135 Educational institutions should actively encourage their students to choose fields of study that will prepare them for lucrative careers.
Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the claim. In developing and supporting your position, be sure to address the most compelling reasons and/or examples that could be used to challenge your position.
I strongly disagree that students should be encouraged to choose their study areas for future lucrative careers for two reasons. First, no studies in any given fields can guarantee the so-called lucrative careers in the future; moreover, students who choose the fields with the hope of lucrative careers may not enjoy their studies and their future works. While the educational institutions may be interested in cultivating future successful alumni, this policy may lead to dissatisfaction among the graduates.
To begin with, there are no such majors that can ensure that the graduates will necessarily enjoy a lucrative career later in their lives. To get a well-paid job and a successful career requires a combination of many things including a good degree with solid knowledge, a booming industry in which the graduate works, good interpersonal skills and a large amount of luck. Maybe pursuing a major in certain fields such as computer science and finance can increase the chance of getting into a field where more people can have lucrative careers. But the graduates also need many other things mentioned above to become successful. In other words, the notion that certain fields of study can “prepare” students for lucrative careers is nothing but wishful thinking.
Another reason why this policy is not desirable is that students may end up studying something they are not interested in. Without genuine interests in the field but driven by the extrinsic motivation from the promise of future “lucrative” careers, the students may find it difficult to understand the materials or commit themselves to the studies. Their academic performance may not meet the standards expected by the future employers and, as a result, they may not get good jobs in the fields. Even they do manage to start their careers in the fields, they may not enjoy their work and the lack of job satisfaction would render the “lucrative" careers less meaningful for the graduates. Their chance for long-term success will also be very small.
Some people may argue that by encouraging the students to choose majors that lead to lucrative careers the universities may cultivate future alumni with higher income, who will then donate more money to the institutions. With stronger financial support from the alumni, the schools will have more resources to improve their education and attract better faculty members and students. What is overlooked in the reasoning is the possibility that students who cannot find lucrative careers after studying majors they were encouraged to choose or do not enjoy their careers due to the lack of interests may not be willing to donate any money to the schools.
In conclusion, while it is understandable that educational institutions may want to encourage students to prepare for lucrative careers by choosing certain majors, this policy is not helpful for students as there are no majors that can guarantee lucrative careers in the future and students may end up with careers they do not enjoy if they follow the advice of the institutions rather than their hearts.