Why CareerDriven?

“What do you need to be successful in today’s work world?”

If I was asked this question as a high school student, my immediate response would be “college”.

We live in a society, in which the expectation is to obtain a “bachelor’s degree” in order to obtain professional success. Growing up, I was constantly told that I needed to attend college to gain a job and ultimately become financially successful.

However, my perspective has drastically shifted since obtaining a bachelor’s degree and even completing graduate coursework. I have plenty of friends and peers who have also pursued the “traditional” college pathway as a means to obtain a job. However, this journey often does not translate into employment and financial stability.

Many of us who attended college in the last couple of decades have accumulated a large amount of student loan debt and often struggle to obtain jobs, which pay enough to meet student loan payments and live an adequate quality of life. The amount of debt incurred from earning some bachelor’s degree and even master’s degrees often outweighs the earnings that people receive upon entering their careers.

Most people who pursue higher education, especially high school students, are not informed that many bachelor and master degree program do not lead to well-paying salaries. However, prior knowledge on the return on investment in certain programs would save them money and prevent them from taking out unnecessary student loans.

This issue is further complicated in that many individuals pursue a bachelor’s degree in hopes of figuring out a potential career for themselves. Personally, I, along with many college students, held this mindset. I wished that someone would have advised me on my interests, talents, and skills so that I could have made a well-informed decision in pursuing higher education.

Higher education is not solely limited to a bachelor’s degree although it can be advantageous in certain career fields. However, in our current work world, there are a myriad of opportunities that lead to career success, which may only require certificates, associate degrees, or other alternative training opportunities. Furthermore, beyond education, having working experience is especially important. People need to work for companies and take on internships and apprenticeships to showcase their skills beyond education in the current job market. 

These aforementioned requirements were also not told to me throughout my own life. I had to come to these realization from experience and research. Thus, I have created CareerDriven as an organization to support the career development of both youth and adults who were not exposed to the full array of educational and professional pathways that currently exist.

If asked the initial question in this blog about what it take to be successful in today’s work world, my response would be that “It depends”. However, it is important to note that a bachelor’s degree is not the sole pathway to success. It may take research, reflection, and guidance to learn about yourself and your career aspirations. People should be mindful of all of their educational options and choose the most lucrative journey to attain their career success.