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college students ready for real world

C

cuestakid

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Jun 14, 2006
1,792
50
San Fran
So I am writing a reaction paper for a psychology class. The question given to us was " College Graduates Aren't Ready for The Real World". We were given articles defending both sides. We must then pick a side.

So my question to you all is just that

Are Today's College Students Ready For the Real world? I likely will not use anyone's opinions here as they would be very hard to cite in a bibliography so feel free to say whatever you feel-I don't care which side you are on I am just interested in different people's thoughts.

This is kind of an awkward request but I am hoping that those who are already working or who have been working for a while can give me your thoughts-again I likely will not use these responses as sources but rather as just research that I may or may not use

thanks
 
I am going to say no most are not ready for the real world. I am saying this as a recent college grad (got my degree in dec)

Now most will have the basic down like they know they have to pay bills ect. The problem comes in for most the sudden increase in income. Going from just getting by with a little spending cash to all of a sudden getting a real income. For most that is a good size chunk of change. Problem is in the budgeting. Most do not know how to do it. Most college students are not paying for everything on there own yet. So now they have to take on those extra cost.

It is about controlling the cash flow. 2nd for a lot of students they are going to be stepping down in living style than what they grew up with. It is a safe bet that for a lot of people their parents are making quite a bit more than their starting salary.

I think it really the budgeting that most are not ready to hand. They are not ready to hand all the extra expensive they where not covering before. The vacation going from 3 months a year down to 2 weeks will hit some pretty hard. Lost of a lot of free time.

Now most do adjust after a few months and learn how to budget their money. It is a learning curve.
 
I don't think you can class all college students together. Maturity and the ready-to-be-an-adult thing is very variable from one person to another (some people have to be adults long before they get to college, unfortunately, while others get to enjoy being kids). Not every college student is the kid at NYU who has an iPhone and a Macbook Air and a BMW his parents lease for her. There are tons of college grads every year who... work their way through school while enrolling full time and make all kinds of other sacrifices. And there are tons of people in between.

With respect to the work aspect, I think there's a big difference in asking whether someone who gets a BS in a major engineering field (Mechanical, Chemical, Electrical, Aerospace, etc) and goes into a related engineering job is ready for it, and whether say, someone who majors in history and gets a job outside academics, is ready for that job. That's not an offense to anyone -- I went through engineering at Michigan, and I felt very prepared to do engineering. Now I almost have my doctorate in clinical psychology, and while I love clinical psychology, I wouldn't say the training an undergrad degree in psychology provides you is good for much other than letting you continue on to grad school to finish your education...
 
cuestakid said:
by ready it refers to world of work and adulthood
Click to expand...

I did read it, but didn't really give me an indication to any particular aspect, thats why I asked. :eek:

I think maturity is just as important, if not more important than the education. Dealing with stress of work related problems, dealing with fellow employees, being able to take responsibility, etc. Some grads may be able to do all those things and more and they'll be the better for it. Some may have to learn it, which is fine, as long as they do. Education is not the KEY factor in success in the real world, but it crucially important in many areas. I suppose one could say its not what you know, but what you do with what you know.

My grandfather, a college graduate and self employed business man, once told me that if nothing else, a college degree proves you have the ability to learn.

Sorry if this isn't quite the answer you were looking for, just the thoughts that came into my head on the subject :)
 
Rodimus Prime said:
I am going to say no most are not ready for the real world. I am saying this as a recent college grad (got my degree in dec)

Now most will have the basic down like they know they have to pay bills ect. The problem comes in for most the sudden increase in income. Going from just getting by with a little spending cash to all of a sudden getting a real income. For most that is a good size chunk of change. Problem is in the budgeting. Most do not know how to do it. Most college students are not paying for everything on there own yet. So now they have to take on those extra cost.

It is about controlling the cash flow. 2nd for a lot of students they are going to be stepping down in living style than what they grew up with. It is a safe bet that for a lot of people their parents are making quite a bit more than their starting salary.

I think it really the budgeting that most are not ready to hand. They are not ready to hand all the extra expensive they where not covering before. The vacation going from 3 months a year down to 2 weeks will hit some pretty hard. Lost of a lot of free time.

Now most do adjust after a few months and learn how to budget their money. It is a learning curve.
Click to expand...
Yep and yep. That's probably the hardest thing to learn unless the parents taught their children well (most don't).
 
I can tell you for sure that the majority of the kids at my school will have no preparation for the real world.

First the schools faults. There are virtually no courses that teach people how to take care of themselves in any way. No home economics, no shop, nothing to teach students how to survive financially and regularly. They have a "Business and Entrepreneurship" program, but that's it really and I'm not in high school so I can't take it. The cafeteria overcharges massively too. A pizza literally the size of a CD with some salad costs about $6.00 and they don't accept cash. To further trick kids into paying, they've given everyone a convenient card with a barcode so we just scan and go. (Sounds familiar, no?) You can't prepay, just get the bill and hope you're standing behind something soft.

Now the students. It seems that they have their parents attached by strings like marionettes, because most kids get whatever they want. (No joke..) There are kids that get laptops for almost no reason and on no occasion, if their iPod breaks or they lose it they get a new one. I've seen grade 4's with Blackberry Pearls and a grade 8 sold a 7250 to a kid for $2 because they got a Curve which they browse the internet (Facebook mainly) like mad, which isn't even close to cheap in Canada. (We did buy the Blackberry for $20, a good deal if you ask me) I overheard someone saying they got a $1200 phone bill (HOW??) and they didn't get a slap on the wrist. I doubt any of them have heard of signing contracts with carriers. They just do whatever they want and don't think of what it could cost them. If there's a new phone, they get it, and of course they won't be paying full price. Most of these kids expect at least a Lexus or something when they turn 16 (Legal driving age here) and I'm sure many will get luxury cars and the like. I doubt they'll be paying insurance or for gas.

So there you have it, why "University Preparatory" schools won't do a damn to help students past schooling. (Hence why I'm leaving for a public school that does IB instead of AP and a bunch more courses)
 
I don't know about others, I can only speak about myself. I kind of don't like the term "real world" since college is part of the real world, and at least for me, since graduating from college, my life has gotten much easier, more enjoyable, less stressful etc. I have plenty of money, much more free time and all in all just a lot less to worry about than when I was in school full time and working with almost no money. Of course, I was already living on my own, paying all my own bills, etc and working in my chosen field (engineering) before I graduated from school, and I suppose that things would be different for someone moving out of their parents' house for the first time after college. Of course, in that case I think the transition is much less about graduating from college than moving out your own.
 
mkrishnan said:
Not every college student is the kid at NYU who has an iPhone and a Macbook Air and a BMW his parents lease for her.
Click to expand...

We don't all have iPhones, Macbook Airs, or BMWs. I guess some might but a lot of us are poor college students barely scrapping for money! Factor in the high COL here, and we're basically screwed!!
 
Rodimus Prime said:
I am going to say no most are not ready for the real world. I am saying this as a recent college grad (got my degree in dec)

Now most will have the basic down like they know they have to pay bills ect.
Click to expand...


It's sad how everyone is boiling down the "real world" to money. First off, I think the average American spends $1.05 or something for every $1 they earn or so goes the statistic. So in my opinion, the real world isn't really about money.

I think it's about functioning in the real world. And in my opinion, college graduates are no more ready than high school grads who forgo college to work.

To me being an adult means:
1. Moving out from home
2. Not relying on parents or some institution (like university)
3. Getting a Job

In my opinion, the largest part about being an adult is doing everything on your own, finding a place to live, making rent, buying furniture, paying taxes, cooking for yourself, cleaning your own place, etc.

Going to college only helps you with the financial side of being an adult, in my opinion.

I'm a recent grad (May '07).
 
mduser63 said:
I don't know about others, I can only speak about myself. I kind of don't like the term "real world" since college is part of the real world, and at least for me, since graduating from college, my life has gotten much easier, more enjoyable, less stressful etc. I have plenty of money, much more free time and all in all just a lot less to worry about than when I was in school full time and working with almost no money. Of course, I was already living on my own, paying all my own bills, etc and working in my chosen field (engineering) before I graduated from school, and I suppose that things would be different for someone moving out of their parents' house for the first time after college. Of course, in that case I think the transition is much less about graduating from college than moving out your own.
Click to expand...

I've had a similar experience to you. I find I have more free time because you can easily "switch off" when 5.30 comes around (or 5.00 if you have a job with better hours than mine hehe). I have much more money. In fact, I earn a pretty penny for someone who has only been graduated for less than 2 years. I am doing well in my job and I am respected by my colleagues. It's all worked out pretty nicely.

One thing I have noticed is that living away from home at University is the norm here in the UK. It's rare that people stay at home to go to Uni. Is this the same in the US? This makes a big difference if you ask me.
 
I think the only way to be ready for the real world is to live in the real world...no amount of college will make you any more or less prepared
 
Yeah, Im a freshmen in college. Both my cousins who used to live in my moms house temp. (they got kicked out) were in a hurry to be on their own. They kept talking about getting an apartment and jobs and cars. They ruined one car cause they didn take care of it and now they're both out on their own.

One works at McDonalds, and flunked out of High School in that matter. The other went to Georgia Community College and got kicked out. Both SAT scores were below 900,and now they both live together, one still working at Mickey D's and the other....still trying to figure out what to do with his life (both 21, twins).

My family already told them out, and admitted they werent ready. The one at Mickey D's knows and is trying to put his life back together (has his own apartment and is going to try to start school again), the other insists on not listening to anyone else and trying to do everything on his own.

When I think about the real world, I use them as an example of not being ready.
 
I graduated in Dec '06. I had a job before I graduated, I moved about 1000 miles away from everyone I know to take that job and its been great. I'm 22 but most people assume I'm 25, and I don't at all look very old, I just kind of project based on confidence / attitude.

I've been renting / living with random roommates and everything is good.

I grew up a lot because I moved away ... was I ready before i left, sure.

If you have any specific questions or would like to interview me at all, I'd love to help you out, send me a PM.
 
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