Aleah Wilson Susan Lago ENG 1100 College Writing College Majors and The Workplace Before going

into majors and secondary education, what could happen to students who decide not to continue their education after high school? As a college freshman I know how it feels to be a high school graduate who cant get a job. Surprisingly, even some fast food places that I applied for because my education didnt qualify or I didnt have enough experience. It is difficult for me to find a job, it must be a lot harder for an adult years older than me with no secondary education to actually start a career. Carnevale, Cheah, and Strohl state in College Majors Unemployment and Earnings: Not All College Degrees are Created Equal that unemployment for students with a new bachelors degrees is an unacceptable 8.9 percent, but its a catastrophic 22.9 percent for job seekers with a recent high school diploma- and an unthinkable 31.5 percent for recent high school dropouts (297). My mother was not a high school dropout, but after graduating, she decided not to proceed onto college. At the time, more than 20 years ago not having a college degree wasnt a big deal, but as time moved on employment became more difficult. Recently, keeping a stable job had become more difficult. After being laid off from her job as a manager at Walmart of 11 years, finding income was very difficult. The authors of College Majors Unemployment and Earnings: Not All College Degrees are Created Equal say, The risk of unemployment among recent college graduates depends on their majors (Carnevale,Cheah,and Strohl 297). Former business owner Dylan Frasier experienced this first hand. With a bachelors degree in Business Management, Frasier had been bartending for the last five years. As a college student, Frasier had aspiring dreams of owning a bicycle shop. After graduating, he went through a number of jobs to pay off college loans and save up for his dream. Once Frasier believed he had enough money, he opened his

shop. Luckily while in college Frasier received his certification in bartending. Between the time where Frasiers shop closed down and he began bartending, he was unemployed for about 3 years. Having a bachelors degree in Athletic Training and a masters degree in Exercise Science has done Amanda Precelli pretty well, being a full-time Athletic Trainer a major sports league sports team. Though Prescelli is well along now, she says making it where I am now wasnt always easy. After graduating, Precelli went to intern at a Division 1 university for 5 years. After realizing that her internship wasnt getting her anywhere money wise, she went back to school for her Masters in Exercise Science. With her master;s Prescelli went back to intern at the same Division 1 university but this time with a paid internship for 4 years. Being where she is now, Prescilli states Only having a Bachelors degree wasnt going to take me where I wanted to, it wasnt going to bring me to the income I wanted to make, what I make now. Before continuing on to higher education, high school students should really consider looking into the major they want to pursue. In order to make more money, most majors require you have a higher education level. For students who decide not to continue their education, a bachelors degree is now said to be equal to a high school diploma. So a high school diploma is almost equal to nothing. In present day, only having a high school diploma may get a full time job but not a degree.