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OUR HIGH SCHOOL principal returned from a teacher recruitment fair and announced to the school board, “Tell your children or grandchildren: Do not get a degree in elementary education.” He went to the recruitment fair looking to hire some very specific specialty teachers for the high school. He mostly met new grads with credentials to teach elementary school—who were looking for jobs that simply don’t exist in our region.
Our superintendent explained that our region had several large, well-known schools of education that turned out far more teachers than were needed locally. But he also noted that this was not a national issue. Ample signing bonuses were available for elementary school teachers in high-growth southern and western states.
New college grads are living in Mom and Dad’s basement because the degrees they earned didn’t translate into jobs. Career planning, preferably conducted in high school, should include an understanding of in-demand jobs. There are certain jobs where the openings greatly exceed the supply and where future growth is expected. In many cases, these in-demand jobs don’t require a college degree—and yet they’re more lucrative than many jobs that do. In our heavy-manufacturing area, employers are begging for welders and machinists. Skilled trades are another in-demand route.
As the elementary school teacher issue shows, “in demand” can vary geographically. As young people think about their career, they need to honestly assess where they’re willing to live. If they’re truly willing to move, it opens up more opportunities. For instance, there might be a huge need for aerospace engineers, but there are just a few specific areas of the country where those jobs will be plentiful.
In Ohio, where I live, the state jobs agency, Ohio Means Jobs, points students and adults to in-demand jobs in our state. Web searches can yield similar information for other states, including Michigan, North Carolina and Colorado. The Bureau of Labor Statistics identifies high-growth occupations from a national perspective. There’s also national data aimed specifically at women in the workforce.
These resources can be a good starting point. Students then need to consider how the data meshes with their skills and aptitude—and whether the location of these jobs matches up with their desires.
There is a tremendous demand for trades people (electricians, plumbers, HVAC techs, etc). Very few young people are pursuing these careers. Yet after apprenticeship, these people can make very good money and are not saddled with college debt. Many people excel in these fields but would not make it through 4 years of college. They are smart but in a different way.
What makes you think very few young people are pursuing jobs in the skilled trades?
Ethnicity and gender are both considered as requirements for many jobs…education not so much.
In Connecticut, those who want to teach can go to the University of Connecticut, which has a five year BA/MA program in the School of Education. However, admission is competitive, there are a limited number of spots, and you need to have high grades in your first two years of college to be admitted.
Curiously, the other universities in the state system also offer similar programs, which are much less competitive.
You can imagine what happens; nearly every graduate from the UConn program gets a job, even the ones who specialized in elementary education. But if you went to one of the lesser schools, you are might find a job, but probably won’t. Maybe you can go to Arizona or something, but here in Connecticut the hiring principals all know where the best prospects are going to come from.