There is a problem that has been well documented in a number of different places that’s been prevalent for some time now regarding education. A child attends school under the umbrella of parents and teachers. Then, many pursue higher education and give 4 years and tens of thousands of dollars towards a college degree, assumedly under the oversight of professors and universities. 

On graduation day, these soon-to-be young professionals are given a diploma and figuratively launched out into the world with a “Go get ‘em champ”. While the problem began long before this day, this is where the tip of the iceberg really manifests itself. These 20-somethings are no longer directly under parental or university guidance, so hopefully the college degree has prepared them to make this leap into the deep end of the real world, right?

Speak with any recent grad that you know and you will quickly find out that this group is NOT effectively equipped for what comes next. Corporate job interviews, budgeting, buying vs. renting a residence, navigating workplace dynamics, and many more large challenges arrive all at once like an avalanche for these unprepared young adults.

What’s really going on here?

Last year I polled 30 young professionals for something I was working on, and 73% of them said they were prepared for post graduate adult life a 3 out of 5 or LESS. Listen to a few of these responses given when asked “What did you think would prepare you for grownup life that has actually NOT done so as you wished?”

-At times I would’ve wished classes would have some more practical application to carry into life after academics.

-My college education did not prepare me the way I expected. After graduating, I still didn’t know much about taxes, what things I need to do when buying a house, how to budget correctly, etc.

-I thought I was taught how I learned best but i was not

-More school, it doesn’t actually train, it just puts off the full immersion

-Education has helped a little bit, but it has surprised me in how unprepared I feel.

-The connotation that comes with having a degree from ___________ College of Business.

-My college years did not prepare me for the independence that it always promises to. My independence was learned from outside sources instead of the University that I went to.

-Every aspect of college. I fully expected my classes, both the university required ones and my major classes, to educate me for a career.

-I have not felt particularly unprepared but the first 3 years of my degree were largely inapplicable to my career now.

-College lol

-College classes. They are basically just orders of when to show up to class and when work should be done. The real world is not as black and white. It’s more fluid in my opinion.

-I thought classes would give me a more applicable skill set in the workforce, but I have learned much more on the job than in classes.

***There were 10 other mentions of “college classes” that I did not include here from the feedback listed above.

While 30 people is hardly a representative sample size for the entire young professional population in America, the feedback here is clear and scathing. Beyond this though, this is incredibly sad and even scary! What are all these young adults now supposed to do? Will this be the same situation for my two sons in a handful of years from now when they enter their late teens and twenties? 

Part of life consists of learning through challenges and succeeding even when it’s difficult. The problem here is that A) someone is being paid large amounts of money (not to mention the TIME) for an outcome that is clearly not actually being achieved. And B) it’s pretty hard to begin building a life and career without the know-how AND without the needed tools. 

Can a 22 year old effectively start building a career for themselves without a good “floor plan”? How about with some form of a plan, can a house be built using bare hands? Of course not.

What are the financial costs?

Just Google search things like “Tuition cost increase” and “Student loan debt” and you will read things like: “The average cost of in-state tuition at a public university in the state of Georgia is just shy of $40,000 over 4 years”. “Average annual cost of college in the U.S. increased by 36.9% in last decade”. “The average federal student loan debt is $37,853 per borrower”. “If you’re a recent college graduate with a mountain of student loan debt — say $100,000 or more — paying off such a large amount could be a major struggle…Assuming a 7% interest rate, you’re looking at payments of over $1,000 per month”.

As I said, SAD AND SCARY. TERRIFYING really!

Who is to blame?

Surely these young professionals themselves are partly at fault here. A small percentage of this population work challenging jobs during school, seek out mentorship, and read and take in growth-focused content. But many do not go above and beyond until sometimes after they are out of college, or even wait until 3-5 years later to get with the program. No doubt there is a finger to be pointed at these young adults. In their defense, they have more or less just followed the instructions of parents and educators, and many are shocked by how ill-equipped they actually are after following the advice of the more experienced grownups.

Surely educators are at fault as well. Think about it this way: if you paid someone $50,000 and then dedicated 4-5 years of your life to them, what would you expect in return? A lot more than what these graduates are receiving, no doubt about it! It seems pretty unclear as to what educators as a whole are trying to accomplish. Completing research? Achieving the status of a high national institutional ranking? Something else?

To be clear, there are some fantastic people doing great work in their small corner of education, a few of whom I have had the pleasure of meeting even in the past 6 months. The issue lies with the combination of entire universities, as well as their strategy as a whole. Why are these schools not reaching out to graduates for feedback in an effort to use this data to get better over time? Receiving customer feedback is a vital function of business, so why not of education? 

In the end, I believe that the education system as a whole most highly prioritizes the same thing that most organizations value: MAKING MONEY. There’s obviously nothing wrong with making money, and this is an integral part of health and survival. But from an outside perspective, it appears that the “rich keep on getting richer” as students pay more and more in order to receive a degree over time. In defense of educators, what incentive do they have to do anything different? Would you change direction under these same circumstances if you were them? Students still apply by the thousands, and on the surface all seems to be well. Without some kind of real incentive, this system could never course correct or take a good hard look in the mirror.

What’s the solution?

There’s no easy answer here that will magically fix this enormous problem. 20-something year olds are incapable of knowing what they don’t know. The education system will not choose to improve itself any time soon, and maybe ever.

The most clear solution lies in the hands of those who lead business and nonprofit organizations. As young people graduate and enter the workforce, they are hired into jobs by these organizations and enter into a relationship where positive progress can immediately begin. For organizations and their leaders, incentive really DOES exist here. Think about it, who benefits when a young professional is invested in and grown? EVERYONE DOES! The YoPro wins, the organization’s customers win, and ultimately the organization wins as this person performs for them at a higher level. Businesses and nonprofits have real incentive to attack this problem head on. The return is well worth the investment, but even if it wasn’t, who else will step in to bridge this gap?

After staring this problem directly in the eye for years now, this is why I have begun working to create tools to ease this painful transition for young professionals. A real problem exists here, but there is hope if leaders like you and me step up and use our experience to grow the young people in our sphere! The question is, will we step up to the plate?

One action for organizations:

Invest in and prioritize the growth of your people. Allocate time and money to developing your younger (and ALL of your) employees. Target not only skills that are specific to your business, but also transferable skills that will benefit the young employee in their life. It’s in YOUR best interest to do this, but it also gives you the opportunity to maximize your positive IMPACT on others over the long run!

One action for young professionals:

Seek out growth and development for yourself. Take in valuable content, seek out mentorship, put in time and effort to grow yourself. If you do not, you will regret it and will unfortunately pay the price in your life/career. Take ownership of your own growth and get after it!