Female undergraduate students outnumber their male counterparts, yet there is a great underrepresentation of women in majors considered to be traditionally male. This has led to a disproportionately small number of women in STEM areas of concentration: science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. These disparities persist despite women’s interest in STEM fields. It is crucial for colleges and universities to impact those statistics by counteracting the factors that enforce gender roles.
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Students who wait until they are faced with an obstacle to generate alternative opportunities in career development can experience a shock that they are not prepared to deal with. Their initial plan is the only direction they have considered, and when the road blocks appear, students cannot see beyond them.
The author remembers that his advisor never gave up on him. Not only did that experience change his life, it also allowed him the opportunity to change the lives of others.
Whether a student is attending a community college, a private liberal arts college, or anything in between, the inclusion of career competency or soft skill development into conversations with undecided students is important because it sets students up to apply, transfer, and integrate various aspects of their experiences.
It is critical that students become self-aware and develop a sense of purpose and life direction that informs both their decisions on choice of major as well as their career path. How do higher education professionals help students navigate their most important choice in college, find their purpose and passion, and apply it to a major and career path?
