This Report Shows How College Students Are Thinking About Future Careers
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Many college students have changed their job preferences due to COVID-19. The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) recently released The 2022 Student Survey Report: Attitudes and Preferences of Associate Degree Students. The report details the expectations students attending two-year community colleges desire from employers after graduation.
Here are some of the most intriguing highlights from NACE’s August 2022 report.
Students’ perspectives on future jobs
According to the NACE, an equal percent of students (44%) of surveyed students said they prefer to work in a hybrid or in-person environment. These results coincide with NACE’s previous survey of employers, in which 40% said their new employees would begin working in a hybrid environment.
In addition, many associate degree college students believe job security, and the chance to develop existing skills like communication and leadership are essential components when pursuing a career.
Employee benefits are also crucial to two-year students. Some desired benefits include an employer-matched 401k retirement plan, tuition reimbursement, dental health insurance, fully paid health insurance, and family-friendly policies like maternity leave and childcare.
Post-graduation plans
45% of two-year college students are planning to continue their education on a full-time basis after graduation.
Of the graduating class of June 2022, 35.3% worked with their school’s career center to get assistance in transferring to a bachelor’s degree program.
The job hunt
When searching for job opportunities, 71.8% of students used employer websites, with 43% finding these resources helpful.
53.2% of students used LinkedIn for their job search, although only a quarter of them found the networking platform beneficial when applying for jobs.
Attending job fairs was a common resource for two-year students, with 42% attending school-sponsored career fairs and 40% attending job fairs within their communities or industries of interest.