Universities throughout the nation are facing a crisis. Hopefully, that crisis begins to fix itself as the pandemic is handled, but things are changing.
The nation is full of young people who want to earn degrees where the jobs are secure, which is leaving some degrees behind like
Schools that have departments that focus on that are seeing a dramatic drop in enrollments and general interest.
COVID-19 has changed young people’s minds, and college administrators want to help these folks navigate this new direction.
Why is the Art and Design Sector Suffering?
The pandemic has shut down many businesses. People had to isolate themselves from the world and concentrate on the bare necessities and nothing more.
When folks focus on the necessities, people start to see what jobs are truly essential and which ones aren’t. The pandemic made it clear that even grocery store workers and truckers were essential for society.
Regrettably, art and design did not make the cut. No one seems to care about art right now, nor do they care about design. These types of jobs might have looked secure before the pandemic, but now people are seeing that may not be the case.
Students want to feel like they’re investing in careers that’ll last. They want something that’ll support their lifestyles, which is why many are pivoting away from these types of degrees.
Running Towards Security
Students are running towards financial security, and that means medicine, law, and MBAs. Medicine in particular is likely to see a large pool of applicants. The pandemic has helped folks redefine what careers matter. This goes beyond careers that offer financial security.
Folks are also paying attention to the types of jobs that one could look for. Everyone knows doctors and nurses have stepped up during the pandemic. People have fallen in love with these types of careers because they know these folks put their lives on the line.
On top of being able to live a life of dignity, people love to know their job positively contributes to society. This is one reason why the hunger for careers in medicine is going to grow. The problem is it might grow so much that space is going to become limited. This means it’s going to be harder for applicants to get noticed.
Administrators are anticipating the problem by creating roadmaps for applicants that should help them improve their chances. One of the most interesting additions to these road maps is a focus on personal brand.
Yes, administrators think it’s important for applicants to invest in brand identity design to improve their chances. Brand identity has always been a good thing in the business world. Folks would use it to improve their chances of getting noticed by the right employers, but it seems like the same tactic has to be used for university applications.
Careers in law have also seen new interest because they seem like reliable careers to choose from. Applicants are going to have to compete because the list of applicants will likely be pretty big, so they have to pay attention to things like their LSAT score along with their GPA. This is on top of everything else like the personal brand design just mentioned.
Folks who are looking to get into law value it because the law has been pretty important during the pandemic, too. It’s lawyers who are going to help protect workers from some of the issues they’re facing. It’s lawyers who have been helping to fight systemic issues that were only highlighted during the pandemic.
Some students are seeking an MBA right now, and they’re doing so by making sure their GPA and GMAT scores are great. While businesses may be closing right now, the pandemic has also given rise to new businesses.
Students who care about business and can spot opportunities are hungry to get started. When the pandemic is finally handled, a lot of people are going to want to go back out and start spending money. Business-minded people know this and want to capitalize on it. The best way to do that is to get their degrees now so that they’re prepared once the opportunity finally presents itself.
Things have been turned upside down because of the pandemic including education. Some of the trends like the ones mentioned here are easy enough to see, but there are bound to be others that might take some time to take hold. Hopefully, some of this helps students think about the future and what they want to do with their lives.