For many students, regardless of classification, life after graduation is a sea of uncertainty. Some have their sights set on continuing in higher education. Others aim to go straight to work in their field. No matter the goal, once senior year hits, everything starts to feel scary.
It’s no secret that some majors ensure more future job security than others. This is not new. Business Insider magazine released a list of the top 10 worst majors based on initial unemployment rates and starting salaries. The list is fairly predictable, with fine arts, liberal arts, philosophy and religious studies ranking high. Inversely, the Princeton Review outlined the top 10 college majors based on the same factors. The list included biology, business and economics majors.
We seem to see a similar breakdown at Baylor. According to the placement data provided by Baylor Business Career Management, 56 percent of Hankamer Business School undergraduates were placed in jobs by graduation in 2014. Accounting, Distribution Management, Professional Selling, Management Information Systems (MIS), Sports Sponsorship and Sales and Entrepreneurship had placement activity higher than 60 percent during the same academic year.
Tracking down job placement data for other programs at Baylor was difficult. In fact, we found nothing. Perhaps if we dug deeper we could find something, but the fact that we have to dig says something in itself. It seems like no other school at Baylor finds its placement data brag-worthy, whereas the business school has it posted on its website for all to see. This begs the question, is it the general field of study that proves successful or is it the school? Perhaps it is a mixture of both. Either way, it is clear that the average business student will have an easier time finding a job than, say, a journalism major.
Obviously, the field of study and overall opportunity after graduation will play the largest role in a student’s future success. Clearly, this is not a great time to major in journalism with the hopes of going into traditional print media. The phrase “dying field” is all too familiar for many who reside in Castellaw Communications Center. The journalism, public relations and new media department has had to adapt to changing times, as have many other departments with advances in technology. But maybe this is another place where the business school excels. Perhaps its job placement is higher because it has adapted faster.
Comparison aside, Baylor as a whole has been recognized for providing exemplary education. There is no doubt that it is a privilege to attend Baylor. However, the imbalance in job placement, while somewhat warranted based on field of study, could be lessened by providing the same opportunities across all colleges.
For example, the Sports, Sponsorship and Sales major holds an annual board meeting where students get to meet top professionals in their field. Many of them walk away with a job as early as October. While other majors offer special societies or clubs students can join to get the same opportunity, few majors offer equal opportunity to all enrolled students. If a student does not have time to join a society, they may reach graduation having never met a professional in their field. Without having connections, it can be very hard to find a job, which is why many of us are here.
