3 Ways Expert Career Counseling Puts Students on the Right Path

How do we make sure this assessment doesn't steer students/adults down the wrong path?

A question every career counselor asks themselves when selecting the right assessments and technology for their students. But what if you could ensure you were directing young minds the right way?  What if you offered comprehensive career counseling that would put your students on the right path? Unlike a high school aptitude test that simply labels students with certain skills, a game-changing career assessment can guide individuals along a worthwhile career track. 

For many, the decision to attend college is the first step in the journey towards a fulfilling career. The next big step in that process is deciding on the right major and right career field. It’s typically a very stressful, difficult decision and many college graduates feel as if they get it wrong.

In fact, 61% of college graduates would change their majors if they could go back and do it again. While those same students believe their bachelor’s degree was a good investment, how much time was wasted on their path to greatness?

Since there are no do-overs, college advisors and career counselors should consider ways to help individuals make the right choice the first time. A comprehensive career assessment backed by experts and vetted science can shed light on the right career path while saving significant amounts of time and money. 

Ensure Career Alignment

“I want to pursue my passion…”

These are likely words you’ve heard uttered by countless students (and friends and family) over the years. Pursuing one’s passion may not feel like “never working a day in your life” as the old adage claims, but it certainly does make the 9 to 5 a little easier. And the generations entering college right now, aren’t really interested in doing anything without a purpose. 

Having a haphazard or unclear career path is frustrating for anyone, but especially so for young, ambitious professionals eager to make their mark on the world. And that is Gen Z to a T. These brilliant young minds want to ensure they are choosing correctly, the very first time.

With a university degree at its highest cost in history (adjusted for inflation) students (and their parents) are looking for an efficient education pathway that can avoid wasted semesters and frivolous credits that come with hefty fees. 

Innovative career assessments, like Pathway U, are built using predictive science to give real advice, not just based on skills, but on passion and personality. These assessments are designed to help busy young students take just ten minutes to determine the course of their future and give them a defined path with a clear picture of their ideal education to a career pathway.

Passion? Pursued. 

Save Time and Money

It’s no secret universities and colleges are under increasing pressure to show value in the current environment. Of all the students who walk through your doors (virtual, ivy-covered, or bulletin-board adjacent) just a smidge over 60% will graduate. For those that do (and the number may be higher among students who take longer to graduate), it’s imperative for career counseling and placement centers to show value and become a profit and proof center instead of a cost center. 

Bottom line? Choosing the right major the first time increases the odds that students will stay the course over the next four years, reducing attrition rates and supercharging matriculation. Students with purpose and passion for the next step stick around. And that’s a good thing, because whether you help students in community college or the Big 10, higher education is not cheap. You have a high bar to hit. 

The latest student loan debt statistics for 2021 show that there are 45 million borrowers who collectively owe nearly $1.7 trillion in student loan debt in the U.S. 

DYK? Student loan debt is now the second-highest consumer debt category — second only to mortgage debt and higher than debt for both credit cards and auto loans. 

At $1.7 trillion, U.S. student loan debt is now higher than it has ever been. Students considering postsecondary education in this environment should be attempting to garner a seamless, clear education process. Constantly changing majors or remaining undeclared too long is a tell-tale sign of indecision, and, in the current college environment, indecision is expensive. 

An institution using a reliable career assessment tool can boast about a concrete means of saving their students time and money. 

Career counselors can use a comprehensive career assessment tool as an intake measure that will allow students and candidates to explicitly express and consider their options. Streamlining this process would save time for both advisors, administrators, and career professionals. 

More Awareness of Possible Career Choices

You don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone. You know what else is true? You don’t know what you don’t know. 

Companies all over the world and the nation are looking for specific skill sets in jobs that were just invented and planning for roles that haven't been invented yet. Either way, with 80% of college students changing their major at least once, there is room for improvement in the beginning of the process.  

As a career guidance expert, you know this better than anyone. You can clock a future lawyer at 50 paces, and spy a communications major coming a mile away. Helping your students see this as clearly as you do takes some convincing. 

That’s where a scientifically based assessment comes in. 

Instead of multiple major changes, extending their bill and their patience, a comprehensive assessment that takes the whole student into consideration (and not just one facet of their personality) can save countless, fruitless credit hours. It can also support the development of every student that walks through your doors.

What would you give to have started on your dream career path from the start? 

Giving this opportunity to today’s students allows us to invest in better. Better than what we had access to at the time, and a clearer, better path to a job that suits their purpose, and lights them up inside. 

Expert-backed career assessments are a useful tool in alleviating many of the stresses that come with building a career. They can make individuals aware of all the paths available to them, they save time and money, and they aid proper career alignment. 

Universities and career counselors can use these tools as an important value add. Involving a good career assessment in the advisory process streamlines the college major decision process, should aid graduation rates, and will have an impact on long-term graduate satisfaction. 

Are you thinking what I’m thinking? PathwayU is the logical next step for your university. Let us take you on a (virtual) tour and give you the inside scoop on lighting up the next generation.