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In the News

Prestige or Public Service? A Tough Choice for Recent Graduates

A professor of education at Harvard University has begun teaching seminars to get prospective graduates thinking about what the true motivating force is behind obtaining their college degree. These seminars are intended to motivate students to consider careers outside of the increasingly popular finance and consulting fields, which so many recent graduates have elected to pursue. The message behind these seminars has gained great popularity among the students, faculty and new president of Harvard University.

Other top schools are beginning to question whether too many students are being lured by high-paying corporate jobs, as well. Being that competition for these types of jobs is stiff, when students are recruited by representatives from companies on Wall St. and the like, it is difficult to turn them down. Naturally, this is not to say that securing a position with such companies is a bad thing, it just brings up the question of whether or not schools should be encouraging students to consider alternative professional paths, particularly those in public service.

Schools like Harvard undoubtedly acknowledge the appeal of jobs that students are being recruited for; namely money, exciting work, and security. However, some school officials have begun to urge students to investigate careers that are not only rewarding on a financial level, but personally and socially, as well.

Some schools have begun offering to pay off college loans for graduates who choose careers in the public service industry, so that students do not feel that it is imperative for them to pursue a lucrative career in order to pay back their debts. The reasoning behind this generous act is that Harvard and others truly do wish to have their graduates make the world a better place in some way.

Source: NY Times