Major in Happiness

Major in Happiness
Debunking the College Major
Fallacies

Michael Edmondson, Ph.D.

Major in Happiness: Debunking the College Major Fallacies

Copyright Business Expert Press, LLC, 2016
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First published in 2016 by
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Dedication
To my parents Bernard and Lillian
They made sure I majored in happiness

Advanced Quotes for

Major in Happiness
Edmondson clearly debunks the myth that only certain college majors
achieve greater success than others. More importantly, he maps a process
to achieve and retain success and happiness which are two sides of a
coin. A must read for parents and students thinking of going to college.
Arun Tilak,
Director - Center for Emerging
Technology & Entrepreneurial Studies,
Cameron University.
Using strong research blended with a practical, clear writing style,
Dr. Edmondson provides perspective and advice that the current generation of students (and parents) desperately needs to hear. So many young
people quickly abandon their passions and dreams to pursue majors and
careers that they believe are necessary to achieve success and satisfaction
in their vocational and personal lives. Edmondson pulls back the curtain
on the misconceptions and fallacies that fuel that thinking, and outlines a
compelling argument for the pursuit of a life driven by calling, purpose,
and passion. As a professor in one of the disciplines that is often marginalized, I frequently work with students who are wrestling with the exact
tensions that Edmondson describes, and I will certainly recommend this
book as a resource for those students in the future.
Jeremy Osborn, Ph. D.,
Associate Professor of Communication,
Cornerstone University.
An eye-opening presentation of the unique challenges of the 21st
century college student. Edmondson offers more than just data to support his beliefs that perseverance, adaptability and life-long learning are
keys to success. He provides an array of self-assessment tools to help
students and professionals alike evaluate their unique value to corporations and the world. As a professor, this book has changed the way I

viii

ADVANCED QUOTES FOR MAJOR IN HAPPINESS

will mentor my students. A must-read for all of us navigating through

this quickly-changing landscape and trying to find our place in it.
Laura Grayson Roselli, Professor,
Rowan College at Burlington County, and
Biopharmaceutical Consultant,
Kinetic Knowledge, LLC.
As a career professional this is truly a thought provoking book. This
book certainly puts majors in perspective and the importance of doing what
you love. This is a must read for all parents of college bound students.
Cindy Szadokierski,
Executive Director, The Edge Program,
Randolph-Macon College
Edmondson offers a timely and much needed perspective to the
conventional thought that that certain majors have more market value
than others and indicates the importance of liberal learning as a better
signifier of employability. He exposes the crude assumptions that permeate the idea of return on investment and argues that enthusiasm for
so called valuable majors is misplaced. He convincingly argues that
what matters is that students focus on areas that have meaning for them
and that the chosen major makes them happy. Those choices enhance
rather than damage potential career prospects and can lead to a more
meaningful and successful career This argument effectively disrupts conventional assumptions about the relationship between the world of academia and the world of work. Edmondsons theories are accompanied
by practical exercises that will be of value to students and their parents
as they navigate a pathway through the complex interactions of study
and work. He also points to two critical skills: team work and listening
skills we expect and rarely teach This book adds significantly to the debate about education and employability and should be a must read for
incoming and exiting graduates and their parents.
John Christian,
President/CEO,
CAPA, The Global Education Network

Abstract
The preconceptions and suspicions about how things operate in todays
challenging global marketplace often compel people to forge correlations
with causations without any substantial evidence. Unfortunately, this flawed
thinking is the foundation upon which many students declare their undergraduate major. With the repayment of college loans as a paramount issue
for students and their families, the major is often viewed as the stepping
stone for a career that can repay those loans instead of the first step to a
meaningful life based on leadership, purpose, and service. Students should
declare a major that makes them happy. Doing so substantially increases
their chances of pursuing careers paths that ignite their passion, identify
with their purpose, and spark a commitment to lifelong learning. All too
often, however, students are exposed to the myopic valuable versus useless
paradigm of decision-making process when it comes to declaring a major.
According to this paradigm, a valuable major is useful, can teach a specific
skill, and provides one with a lifetime of employment and riches. Accounting, marketing, engineering, and computer science are just a few examples.
A worthless major, on the other hand, is more intellectual and therefore
has little, or no, practical application for employment purposes. Majors that
generally fall into this category include history, English, philosophy, and
sociology among others. This dichotomy between the valuable versus useless
majors is based on flawed mental models and ingrained assumptions about
how the world works that lead to a series of fallacies surrounding the college
major. Major in Happiness: Debunking the College Major Fallacies examines a
variety of assumptions prevalent in the mental models of undergraduates,
parents, educators, higher education leaders, administrators, and policymakers that cause people to fall into a series of mental traps when selecting a
major. Divided into three parts, this publication presents a situational analysis on choosing a college major, dissects the mental models and traps people
rely on, and offers a variety of assessments that can help increase ones selfawareness prior to declaring a major.

KEYWORDS

Keywords
higher education, career development, vocational guidance, college majors, academic programs, undergraduate education, personal development, professional development

Why You Should

Read This Book
This book is for anyone interested in learning about the decision-making
process related to an undergraduate student declaring an academic major.
Part I presents a situational analysis regarding the selection of a college
major and sets the foundation for the remaining two parts of the publication. In Part II of Major in Happiness, undergraduates, parents, family
members, professors, higher education administrators, politicians, and
other concerned stakeholders will learn about the fallacies and flawed
mental models that have plagued the selection of college majors for decades. Students will find Part III particularly valuable since it contains assessments to complete prior to, and then after, declaring a major. Each
assessment allows the student an opportunity to increase their selfawareness. Doing so is critical if the student wants to advance their selfdetermination. If you are currently a high school student or graduate considering college, or if you are already an undergraduate, you should read
this book if you want to:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Major in happiness.
Gain insight into the fallacies and myths behind certain majors.
Declare the major you believe is best for you.
Advocate for yourself.
Assess your skills, traits, and talents.
Exercise self-determination in order to develop into the person you
want to be.
7. Separate fact from fiction regarding the application and value of
different majors.
8. Understand how to better prepare yourself for tomorrows challenges.
9. Increase your self-awareness.
10. Develop a better sense of purpose in your professional life.

xii

WHY YOU SHOULD READ THIS BOOK

In fall 2014, some 20 million students attended over 4,000 American

colleges and universities.1 Since each student needs to declare a major that
means 20 million individuals asked, or previously asked, themselves the
same question: What major do I select? This question is asked at community
colleges, residential liberal arts colleges, and 4-year private institutions, as
well as major public research universities. Students ask each other, consult
with family members, discuss their options with professors, and reflect upon
their own wishes. It is a difficult question to answer for most. Trying to
figure out the answer often causes anxiety, depression, and confusion. It
doesnt have to be this way. Major in Happiness provides valuable insight
that students can immediately use as they search for an answer to the question: What major do I declare? Many students will also ask themselves
since I dont like my major, which one should I switch to? The answer to
both should be the major that allows you to be happy. The last thing this
world needs is another miserable person working at a job they despise that
sadly falls short in helping them reach their potential. We have serious global
issues that require men and women to operate at their best intellectually,
physically, emotionally, and socially. Future generations need to increase
their autonomy, competency, and ability to connect with others. The next
generation cannot solve the problems of tomorrow if they are miserable and
living lives of mediocrity. Students must engage in self-determination in
order to find their purpose and contribute their true and potential selves to
tomorrows solutions, but they must first major in happiness.

Contents
Forward: The Liberal Art ..................................................................... xv
Preface: Explaining Happiness ............................................................ xvii
Acknowledgments ................................................................................ xix
Introduction ..................................................................................... xxiii

Part I

The Situation .................................................. 1

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4

The Information Technology Revolution .........................3

The State of the College Major .........................................7
Selecting a Major ............................................................13
The Fallacies ...................................................................17

Part II

The Mental Traps ......................................... 27

Chapter 5

Trap One: Your Major Determines Your LongTerm Earning Potential ..................................................29
Trap Two: You Need to Land Your Dream Job and
Figure out What You Want to Do with the Rest of
Your Life ........................................................................43
Trap Three: You Can Apply to Jobs Related to
Only Your Major ............................................................55
Trap Four: Employers Care about Only Your Major
and Grade Point Average ................................................67
Trap Five: Students Must Specialize in One Major in
Order to Succeed ............................................................77

Chapter 6

Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9

Part III

Assessments ................................................... 97

Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19

Build Your Bridge .........................................................103

Career Target................................................................107
AIM for Your Purpose ..................................................109
The Greater Fool Theory ..............................................111
The Milkshake..............................................................113
The Openness and Awareness Index .............................115
Career Vision................................................................119
Soft Skills .....................................................................123
How Good Do You Want to Be?...............................127
Professional Skills Assessment .......................................129

xiv

CONTENTS

Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23

Personal Assessment of Traits and Habits to Success .... 133

Emotional Intelligence Assessment ............................... 141
Social Media Quiz ....................................................... 145
Communicate Your Value Assessments ........................ 149

Appendix A: List of Majors from the University of Michigan ................ 157

Appendix B: Famous People and Their Majors .................................... 161
Appendix C: Extinct, New, and Future Careers................................... 167
Index ................................................................................................ 173

Foreword: The Liberal Arts

When I was an undergraduate student at a liberal arts college, one of my
favorite professors said to me Nobody is really looking for the liberal
arts, but they are so glad when they find it. What did she mean? In
over 10 years of working with young adults and their parents, I have
come to understand that when most students and families begin the
college search, there is no real understanding of how all of the pieces of
the college experience, including but not limited to the college major,
work together to create well rounded and appreciative graduates who are
actually very well prepared to begin their professional lives. In Major in
Happiness, Dr. Michael Edmondson debunks some prevalent myths
regarding majors, careers, and possibilities for the future. In doing so,
he helps students and parents understand that college is the time to find
the liminal or in-between spaces where students explore foundational
questions about who they are, what they like and dont like, and how
that will use who they are to make an impact on the needs of their various communities.
Dr. Edmondsons vision for navigating the chaos of the career search
process is that each student would have the tools to understand and articulate to wide audiences that their time in college is not simply a separate time of life that is designed to prepare them for one, singular future
path. Instead, Major in Happiness-presents a counter-narrative to the
college major fallacy that helps students understand that their undergraduate experience is more like a pilgrimage that helps them prepare
for the destination of life that will keep evolving. It is exciting for me to
think about a new generation of college students who will not only imagine what is possible when they embrace who they are in the classroom,
in a residence hall, on the athletic field, on the stage, in an office, or in
another country but that they might also practice being themselves so
that they might articulate their value to wide audiences. This is the
foundation for a rewarding and gainful, and happy professional life.
I have spent all of my post-college years continuing to be grateful for
finding the liberal arts experience. It is my great hope that Major in
Happiness will help students to find their own happiness not only as a

xvi

FOREWORD: THE LIBERAL ARTS

post-college reflection or appreciation, but as an active part of their college search and daily lives as undergraduate students.
Rev. Kristen Glass Perez
Chaplain and Director for Vocational Exploration
Augustana College
Rock Island, Illinois

Preface: Explaining
Happiness
It is both useful and necessary to understand how I am defining the term
happiness. Happiness refers to the pursuit of meaning through a life of
purpose, leadership, and service to others. Undergraduates can best
achieve this pursuit through a gradual increase in their self-awareness
fostered by adventures in disequilibrium that destabilize their level of
comfort, challenge their assumptions about life, and allow them an opportunity to accommodate new information. Perhaps now more than
ever, the world needs college students on campuses large and small
around the globe to declare a major in happiness. We are both witnesses
and participants in a global epidemic of unhappiness, disengagement,
and negativity. According to Gallups 142-country study on the State of
the Global Workplace, only 13 percent of employees worldwide are engaged at work. In other words, about one in eight workersroughly
180 million employees in the countries studiedare psychologically
committed to their jobs and likely to be making positive contributions to
their organizations.2 Statistics for the United States echo global attitudes. Less than one-third (31.5 percent) of U.S. workers were engaged
in their jobs in 2014 and just 33 percent of Americans said that they
were very happy, remaining consistent with happiness levels in 2011 but
dropping from the 35 percent who reported being very happy in 2008
and 2009.3 Unfortunately, the happiness factor for undergraduates mimics the statistics on both the global and U.S. levels. This has to stop.
If todays undergraduates are going to help solve tomorrows problems, they need to understand that the pursuit of a college degree has to
be more than a collection of rsum building experiences designed to attract employers and land a high-paying job after graduation. Getting a
good paying job is important, but it is also relative. Achieving financial
independence for young professionals should indeed be a priority. After
all, graduates have loans to repay, health insurance costs to satisfy, and
living expenses to cover. However, if we teach undergraduates, the only
thing that matters, the only thing that will make them happy, is a high

xviii

PREFACE: EXPLAINING HAPPINESS

starting salary, we are providing a tremendous disservice. The research is

overwhelmingly clear: the pressure to be happy makes people less happy.
Organizing your life around trying to become happier, making happiness
the primary objective of life gets in the way of actually becoming happy.4
Research within the field of positive psychology continues to illustrate that
having purpose and meaning in life increases overall well-being and life
satisfaction, improves mental and physical health, enhances resiliency,
ameliorates self-esteem, and decreases the chances of depression.5 Happiness without meaning characterizes a relatively shallow, self-absorbed, or
even selfish life. What sets human beings apart from animals is not the
pursuit of happiness, which occurs all across the natural world, but the
pursuit of meaning, which is unique to humans.6 To major in happiness
is to pursue a life of purpose, leadership, and service to others. In todays
volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous global marketplace, the
world needs individuals to pursue a life of meaning more than ever.

Acknowledgments
As a first-generation college student, my two main acknowledgments go
to my parents Bernard and Lillian Edmondson. They made sure that I
attended Cabrini College in Radnor, Pennsylvania, and never once pressured me into selecting a specific major. Their lack of knowledge about
higher education and its policies served as a blessing in disguise. If ignorance is bliss, then my parents ignorance about college majors was indeed
my bliss. I declared accounting as my first major and quickly switched to
one more to my likinghistory. Mom and dad never challenged me
about my decision to change majors. They never asked me what I was
going to do with a history degree. Many people, then as well as now, label
history one of the useless majors. Nothing could be further from the
truth. There is no such thing as a useless major. Without knowing it,
mom and dad allowed me to major in happiness. More of todays students
need to major in happiness. The substantial rise in depression and anxiety
among todays undergraduates is frighteningly alarming. All too often
todays undergraduates are pressured by their parents or their own perceptions of how the world operates to go into the right school, declare the
right major, secure the right job, get the right salary, and have the right
life. Such thinking is outrageous. Yet this is exactly what has been happening, is happening, and will continue to happen until the insanity stops.
Major in Happiness: Debunking the College Major Fallacies is my small
attempt to stop the insanity. Parents, professors, higher education officials,
and other stakeholders have a responsibility to educate our students and
each other on the major in happiness campaign.
During the last few weeks of working on this manuscript, my father
died. He and my mom went for their daily swim on June 1 and by July
10 he had passed away. In less than 40 days, stage 4 lung cancer eviscerated my father faster than any of us thought possible. His passing devastated my family, especially my mother who had a 59-year relationship
with him. During one of his last days, dad told me he was proud of me.
He never mentioned my undergraduate major. He was proud of the man,
father, and son I had become. In a book about undergraduate majors, this
is an important point to acknowledge. The selection of a college major is

xx

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

an important decision, but it is just one of many important decisions an

individual will make throughout the journey of life. What you declare as
a major has little, if anything, to do with your character, ability to demonstrate empathy, or the manner in which you treat others. Unbeknownst to
them, my parents taught me that a college major was merely one element
of a very dynamic life. We have lost that perspective today. As a nation,
we have failed our young people. Lost in a tsunami of news about college
loans, global unemployment, cyber-attacks, and domestic terrorism, we
have scared the younger generations into a state of perpetual anxiety, depression, and sadness. The hyper-focus on starting salaries, landing the
proverbial dream job, and securing full-time employment has taken
precedence over a career built on purpose, leadership, and service. I say all
this to acknowledge that my parents focused on developing a man who
was responsible to himself, his family and to those he encountered. I am
forever grateful for that lesson as it has formed the bedrock of my life.
In addition to my parents, I need to acknowledge my staff in the
Career Development Office at Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois,
in the Careers/Opportunities/Research/Exploration (CORE) Center.
These professionals dedicate their lives to helping students understand the
major in happiness campaign. Thank you: Keri Bass, Kevin Carton, Judy
Butler, James Connon, Beth Ducey, Rebecca Marion-Flesch, Pastor Kristen Glass Perez, Karen Petersen, Leslie Scheck, Andrew Shearhouse, Lisa
Slater, Doug Tschopp, Clarissa Thompson, and Alex Washington. To
President Steve Bahls, Provost Pareena Lawrence, the Board of Trustees
and the entire Augie community, thank you for your daily support and
guidance. Several Augustana students helped with some of the research for
this book, including Shylee Garrett, Michelle Dempster, and Cori Duncan. The illustrations included in this publication were created by students in the EDGE Center at Augustana. I would like to thank EDGE
Director Doug Tschopp and his students Brittney Cox, Shavaun Grant,
Marisa Lara, and Holly Scholl for their assistance in translating my
thoughts to the images included in this book.
A special thank you also needs to go out to the thousands of students
that I have taught over the past 25 years. I have been fortunate enough
to teach at the elementary, secondary, and university levels. Unfortu-

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

xxi

nately, I have witnessed the deep concern that middle school students
and parents have over getting their child into the right high school that
will lead to the right college and then land the dream job to have the
perfect life; or the high school student who takes every AP class imaginable and gets involved in multiple activities only to get rejected by every college he or she thinks has the magic elixir to a successful career.
Those thousands of encounters formed the genesis of this book. Some
students and parents understood the major in happiness campaign.
Most did not. I am grateful for all of those conversations.
To the entire team at Business Expert Press, including Stewart
Mattson, Rob Zwettler, Charlene Kronstedt, Sean Kaneski, Sheri Dean,
and Karen Amundson, I owe my deepest appreciation and gratitude for
their constant support. Major in Happiness is my second book with Business Expert Press as they published Marketing Your Value: Nine Steps to
Navigate Your Career in 2015 for me. Special thanks to John Christian,
Jeremy Osborn, Pastor Kristen Glass Perez, Cindy Szadokierski, Laura
Grayson Roselli, and Arun Tilak for their thoughts on a draft of this
manuscript. I would also like to extend a special acknowledgment and
thank you to my family and friends for their daily guidance and support,
including my wife Lori Joyce who made sure that our children Amanda
Haley and Jonathan Victor majored in happiness. They provide a much
needed perspective and are a constant reminder that a college major is but
one small component of a life well-lived.

Introduction: Five Questions

for Parents
The most loving parents and relatives commit murder with smiles on their faces.
They force us to destroy the person we really are: a subtle kind of murder.7
Jim Morrison
You have good intentions and love your child. You want your child to
get into a good college, declare the right major, and land that dream job.
You want your child to be financially independent. You want to make
sure that you get a return on your investment of high-priced college
tuition. You want your child to be a homeowner. You want to make
sure that your child can pay back their college loans. All of this, of
course, is what you want. As one parent declared, Its incredibly competitive out there, and I dont want my child left in the dust.8 Another
way of stating that is I want my child to get ahead. Childhood, starting at its earliest ages is now a race. But a race to where? And what is the
prize? More importantly, who determines the prize?
A 2009 documentary entitled Race to Nowhere examines the lives of
young people across the United States who have been pushed to the
brink, educators who are burned out and worried that students arent
developing the skills they need, and parents who are trying to do whats
best for their children.9 To paraphrase a quote from Dr. Wendy Mogel,
parents need to understand that it is their job to prepare children for the
road, not to prepare the road for children.10 Have you prepared the road
for your child? Have you walked around campus with your first-year student to check out all of their classrooms during orientation? Have you substituted your voice for your childs? For those well-intentioned parents,
have you asked your child what he/she wants? How do you know what
they want? How often do you ask about their dreams? And if you do ask,
how often do you listen to their answer? Do you engage in a common
doublespeak that has emerged recently? Parents might tell their child that
All I care about is that youre happy, but when the kid walks in the door is
the first question you ask how did you do on the math test?11

xxiv

INTRODUCTION: FIVE QUESTIONS FOR PARENTS

Throughout the last 30 years, I have studied, taught, hired, worked

alongside, and trained undergraduates. My wife and I raised two children;
one graduated from a major research university and one is currently
attending college. Along the way I discovered that the self-determination
theory (SDT), an approach to human motivation and personality, formed
the foundation of my decision-making process. SDT articulates that
enhanced performance, persistence, and creativity, arguably three critical
skills everyone needs to succeed, are best fostered by an individual developing a sense of autonomy, competence, and relatedness.12 Another
way to think of SDT comes from author Frank A. Clark who once wrote
The most important thing that parents can teach their children is how to
get along without them.13
Unfortunately, many parents with good intentions are failing by
prohibiting their childs self-determination. An epidemic of hyperinvolvement known as helicopter parenting has emerged during the last
three decades.14 Helicopter parents often micromanage every decision,
dictate schedules, and control relationships for their children.15 In the
world of academics or anything that could be interpreted as competitive,
helicopter parenting kicks into high gear. In communities where academic expectations run highest parents obsess over their child acing an
exam, burnishing the transcript, and keeping up with high-achieving
peers.16 Such intrusiveness has led to children being co-dependent on
their parent. Subsequently, high school students of helicopter parents
who attend college are left with feelings of incompetence and isolation.
These feelings have directly or indirectly contributed to increased rates
of depression, anxiety, and sadness found on campuses across the country.
In its 2013 survey of approximately 100,000 college students spanning
over 150 different campuses around the United States, the American
College Health Association discovered some very troubling statistics on
how students felt at some point during the previous 12 months: 84.3 percent felt overwhelmed by all they had to do, 60.5 percent felt very sad,
and 57.0 percent felt very lonely.17 In another survey, 95 percent of college counseling center directors reported that the number of students
with significant psychological problems is a growing concern on their
campus.18 When coupled with other health issues such as the lack of
sleep19 and eating disorders,20 its clear that undergraduates are under
tremendous stress both physically and mentally.

INTRODUCTION: FIVE QUESTIONS FOR PARENTS

xxv

Unfortunately, further evidence of the severity of intrusive parenting

continues when students apply to graduate school. With hard-to-break
habits of excessive coddling, the ubiquitous helicopter parent in undergraduate admissions has invaded the graduate-school admissions process
as well. Some of these parents have become so aggressive that theyve
required a new moniker: snowplow parents, for their impulse to push
obstacles out of their adult childrens way.21 This is even more so with
professional schools, especially business and law. Professional-school
applicants, who often apply directly out of college, dont always have a
clear sense of their career goals, creating an opening for parents to intervene.22 The intrusion is so severe that some graduate admissions officers have set up events where they inform prospective students that even
if a parent is nearby, do not allow them to influence your decision or
application materials. For these parents who also wonder when their
child will grow up, I ask you, when will you allow them to do so?
This invasive parenting occurring at both the undergraduate and graduate levels prohibits students from creating the sense of autonomy, competence, and connectedness required to determine their own sense of self. This
level of involvement actually sends the wrong message to children.23 For
those parents who contact the college admissions officer, professor, or coach
with the intention of trying to resolve a situation on behalf of their child,
they are sending an unintentional message that their child is incompetent.
Harvard Psychiatrist Dr. Dan Kindlon concluded that parents who protect
children from discomfort or failure actually insulate them from experiences
that can facilitate growth and resilience.24 By interfering, the parent is undermining a childs ability to problem-solve, communicate, and persevere
through a difficult situation. These are three critical skills every professional
needs to develop throughout his or her entire career. Stunting their growth
early on places students at a disadvantage when they graduate since they
have had little exposure to them. When adult children dont get to practice
problem-solving skills, they cant solve these problems in the future.25
Well-meaning and misguided parents inadvertently foster a sense of existential impotence whereby their child lacks the self-awareness, is unable to
make choices, and has difficulty coping with setbacks.26 Staying connected
via technology has only exacerbated the problem. By constantly texting,
Facebook messaging, or Skyping for daily check-ins, parents further their
childs co-dependency on them. Such hovering is counter-productive to a

xxvi

INTRODUCTION: FIVE QUESTIONS FOR PARENTS

childs maturity. As one mother said, when you hover, you take away that
sense of self-esteem.27 Self-determination demands that a child resolves
problems, works through challenging situations, and has difficult conversations with others on his or her own. The journey to self-discovery is lifelong
and best made with the child learning how to navigate his or her own life.
One such stop along the journey is the declaration of an undergraduate
major.
Students often approach the college major decision with a good deal
of anxiety, confusion, and doubt. It is no surprise that many students
will change their major at least once during their undergraduate experience. Students ask themselves a variety of questions such as: What is the
right major? What major will help me with the rest of my life? What
major will make me the most money? What major do employers want
me to have? Unfortunately some students also find themselves asking
questions such as: Will my parents still pay my tuition if I declare this as
a major? Will my parents be mad at me with this decision? Will my parents stop talking to me if I declare this as a major? As they often do,
helicopter parents attempt to answer or influence how their child answers these questions. This might be difficult to hear but when it comes
to the declaration of a college major, parents may not know best. As
journalist H.L. Mencken once quipped, The older I grow the more I
distrust the familiar doctrine that age brings wisdom.28 You may indeed
be older and have more professional experience than your child, but
those two characteristics are far from being qualified to mandate your
college students undergraduate major.
Many parents feel as though that since they are paying tuition they
get to dictate what their child declares as a major. These questions and
related approaches on how to answer them frequently strike terror in the
hearts and minds of students for the simple fact that they believe if they
choose the wrong major their life is ruined. Nothing could be further
from the truth. Intrusive parents who encourage this type of thinking
are placing their child at a severe disadvantage. For many traditional
undergraduates aged 1824, they are unsure as to what they want to do
following graduation. Since cognitive development continues well in the
20s, it is no surprise that a good portion of students buy into the notion
that their parents know best. But parents may not know best. Instead of
knowing answers, or at least pretending to do so, parents should instead

INTRODUCTION: FIVE QUESTIONS FOR PARENTS

xxvii

encourage students to explore. Such an approach allows the student to

proactively engage in their own self-determination. The helicopter parenting epidemic is so serious; however, one expert proclaimed that parents who dont encourage their sons and daughters to be independent
are guilty of psychological abuse.29
To increase your self-awareness and better understand the extent to
which you encourage your childs independence here are five questions
to answer. While these questions are pertinent for all parents, they are
especially relevant for those who have a child in high school or college.
There are many more questions to ask of course, but these five will provide some much needed insight into how often you exhibit the key traits
and habits that can help a child develop the autonomy, competence, and
connectedness contributing to their own self-determination. Approach
each question with the phrase how often do you? instead of do
you? This method allows you to view each item as a trait or habit to
practice instead of an either-or situation. For example, instead of asking
yourself: Do you support your childs self-determination? where you
have a yes-or-no dichotomy ask yourself: How often do you support
your childs self-determination? This approach allows you to select
from a Likert scale of options: never, rarely, sometimes, often, or always
for an answer. If you are honest with yourself and conclude that you
sometimes support your childs self-determination, then perhaps a
reasonable goal for the upcoming months is for you to increase how
often you practice that trait.

xxviii

INTRODUCTION: FIVE QUESTIONS FOR PARENTS

1. How often do you support your childs self-determination? Another way to ask this question is: How often do you foster autonomy, competence, and connectedness when dealing with your child?
Do you find yourself making decisions for them or do you allow
them to freely decide? Do you complete a task for them thereby
sending the message that the child is incompetent? Fostering selfdetermination in your child is hard work, so the more you interfere, disrupt, or prohibit their progress, the more challenging it is
for them to have a sense of self. Supporting a childs ability to selfdetermine involves nurturing their skills and abilities, understanding their thoughts and feelings, and enabling them to dream and
aspire. When parents decide for their children rather than help
them to decide for themselves, children become dependent, not independent, compliant rather than adventurous.30 When it comes
to discussing declaring a college major, parents can support their
childs self-determination by recalling the work of Hazel Rose
Markus and Paula Nurius who introduced the concept of three
possible selves: the ideal self that we would like to become, that we
could become, and that we are afraid of becoming. To suggest
that there is a single self to which one can be true or an authentic
self that one can know is to deny the rich network of potential that
surrounds individuals and that is important in identifying and descriptive of them.31
Consider supporting your childs decision to declare a major that
fosters the development of who they would like to become but also
provides them with experiences that allow them to explore who they
could become. For those parents courageous enough, encourage your
child to explore experiences and learning opportunities that could help
them become the person they are afraid of becoming! The four
remaining questions are directly linked to self-determination. The
more likely you are to foster your childs self-determination, the more
likely you are to practice the following traits as well.

INTRODUCTION: FIVE QUESTIONS FOR PARENTS

xxix

2. How often do you allow your child to experience failure, disappointment, or discomfort? Part of self-determination is experiencing failure, disappointment, and discomfort and learning how to
work through each situation. Unfortunately, helicopter or snowplowing parents shield their children from even the slightest degree
of discomfort. Failure is a distant shore that children of intrusive
parents seldom see. Children are sometimes home schooled to prevent them from being exposed to people, ideas, and materials the
parents deem inappropriate. Prohibiting children from people or
ideas you deem uncomfortable for your child to process and then
expecting them to mature into well-adjusted, autonomous adults
able to connect with others is simply unrealistic.32 As one mother
said, we need to let our kids chart their own course and make their
own mistakes.33 Competence is one of the three foundational elements of self-determination, but children need to learn that they
cant be good at everything. To learn lessons of failure, disappointment or discomfort college students need to experience disequilibrium. The experience of psychological and cognitive disequilibrium
produces feelings of internal dissonance that manifests itself as uncertainty, and sometimes as conflict and even threat.34 But it is the
experience of such dissonance that opens up the possibility for learning and growth because it nudges students into confronting and
considering new ways of understanding, thinking, and acting that
help to unsettle the old and integrate it with the new.35
UCLA psychiatrist Paul Bohn believes many parents will do
anything to avoid having their child experience even mild discomfort, anxiety, or disappointment.36 Shielding a child from psychological and cognitive disequilibrium, failure, or discomfort provides
a tremendous disservice; with the result that when, as adults, they
experience the normal frustrations of life, they think something
must be terribly wrong.37 It is essential for students learning and
growth in college to have challenging stimuli and experiences of
positive restlessness because these provide the creative disequilibrium and intellectual foment that drive personal exploration and
development.38

xxx

INTRODUCTION: FIVE QUESTIONS FOR PARENTS

3. How often do you demand perfection from your child? New research indicates that perfection parenting can cause significant
stress and anxiety in children; therefore, the more parents back
off from pushing their children, the better the outcomes for the
child.39 If you foster self-determination for your child, then you
seldom, if ever, demand perfection. As a parent in todays hypercompetitive, dynamic, and ever-changing global marketplace, you
understand that perfectionism rigidifies behavior. Demanding perfection from a child constricts behavior. To successfully launch and
navigate a career today, one needs to maintain flexibility of mind,
be comfortable with ambiguity, and quickly adapt to changing situations. Parents who demand perfection from a child are unrealistic. Pressure on children to achieve is rampant, because parents
now seek much of their status from the performance of their
kids.40 How often do you demand that your child achieve perfection? Do you demand that your child selects the perfect college major? If so, do you even know what that means? Do you realize that
perfectionism is a form of parental control? Because it lowers the
ability to take risks, perfectionism lowers the ability to take calculated risks, reduces creativity, and stifles innovation. Therefore, a
child pressured into achieving perfection is highly unlikely to be
engaged in self-determination.
Psychologists today differentiate between positive perfectionism, which is adaptive and healthy, and negative perfectionism,
which is maladaptive and neurotic.41 In Tal Ben-Shahars book The
Pursuit of Perfect, he refers to negative perfectionism simply as perfectionism and to positive perfectionism as optimalism. For BenShahar, the optimist embraces the constraints of reality while a perfectionist rejects those constraints. A child engaged in selfdetermination learns to accept the constraints of reality, adjusts his
or her goals and aspirations accordingly, and demonstrates his or her
commitment to discovering the self the child would like to become.

INTRODUCTION: FIVE QUESTIONS FOR PARENTS

xxxi

4. How often are you certain? Parents who interfere with their childs
decision to declare their undergraduate major often do so out of
certainty. The parent is certain that major x is right for their child,
but this certainty often interferes with a childs self-determination.
In higher education circles, there is an adage that every student
has two majors: the one their parents want them to have and the
one they want to declare. Being certain about the employability of
a major provides a student with false hope and is terribly misleading. In todays ever-changing global marketplace, business executives care more about their new hires thinking, communication,
and problem-solving skills than they do about their undergraduate
majors.42 New research also shows that the vast majority of employers (88 percent) are looking for a cultural fit over skills in
their next hire as more and more companies focus on attrition
rates.43 Today, its not just about finding the person that can do the
job, but finding someone who can fit into the corporate culture.
Companies are looking to hire people who demonstrate uniqueness and creativity and can market themselves to match the company culture.44 For example, a common misbelief expressed by
parents to children is that established fields such as banking, medicine, or law provide a sweet salary and job security; but such assurances are quickly becoming a thing of the past.45 When you are
expressing any level of certainty about a college major, it would behoove you to recall the conclusion Philip Tetlock reached in Expert
Political Judgment: How Good Is It? How Can We Know? The average expert was found to be only slightly more accurate than a dartthrowing chimpanzee. Many experts would have done better if they
had made random guesses.46

xxxii

INTRODUCTION: FIVE QUESTIONS FOR PARENTS

5. How often do you equate high salaries with your childs happiness? Many parents that help pay their childs college tuition want
an immediate return on their investment (ROI). That ROI usually
comes in the form of a high starting salary. Intrusive parents dictate
that their child can accept a job offer only over a certain dollar
amount. These parents equate a high starting salary with their
childs happiness. Once again this type of thinking interferes with a
childs ability to engage in self-determination. For those recent college graduates who are pressured by their parents, they too equate
job satisfaction with a high starting salary. The research indicates
otherwise. In his 1967 publication The Motivation to Work, Frederick Herzberg identified two different categories of factors affecting
the motivation to work: hygiene and motivation. Hygiene factors
include extrinsic factors such as technical supervision, interpersonal
relations, physical working conditions, salary, company policies
and administrative practices, benefits, and job security. In comparison, motivation factors include intrinsic factors such as achievement, recognition and status, responsibility, challenging work, and
advancement in the organization. Herzbergs theory postulates that
only motivation factors have the potential of increasing job satisfaction. The results indicate that the association between salary and
job satisfaction is very weak. When employees are focused on external rewards, the effects of intrinsic motives on engagement are
significantly diminished. This means that employees who are intrinsically motivated are three times more engaged than employees
who are extrinsically motivated (such as by money). Quite simply,
youre more likely to like your job if you focus on the work itself,
and less likely to enjoy it if youre focused on money.47 Daniel
Pinks Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us makes
the same observation. While many people believe that the best way
to motivate others is with external rewards like money, the reality is
that high performance and satisfaction is rooted in the three elements of true motivation: autonomy, mastery, and purpose. When
you are discussing potential employment opportunities with your
child, do you focus solely on salary and the ability to repay college

INTRODUCTION: FIVE QUESTIONS FOR PARENTS

xxxiii

loans or do you also consider the myriad of other factors that go into job satisfaction? If you are solely focused on salary, what do you
think that does to your childs ability to engage in selfdetermination?
Here is a list of the five questions. Remember, your options are: never,
rarely, sometimes, often, or always.
1. How often do you support your childs self-determination?
2. How often do you allow your child to experience failure, disappointment, or discomfort?
3. How often do you demand perfection from your child?
4. How often are you certain when discussing the future?
5. How often do you equate high salaries with your childs happiness?

Conclusion
These five questions allow parents to reflect on a quote by Chuck
Palahniuk, author of Fight Club: First your parents, they give you your
life, but then they try to give you their life.48 Instead of giving your
children your life, try allowing them to create their own life free from
interference. Provide a sense of hope. Allow them to have their own
dreams. As they translate their inspirations to reality, help them to find
their own way. Encourage instead of discourage. Allow your child an
opportunity to understand what Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote in 1841:
There is a time in every mans education when he arrives at the conviction that... no kernel of nourishing corn can come to him but through
his toil bestowed on that plot of ground which is given to him to till.49
How often do you help your child till their plot of ground? Or have you
tilled their plot of ground for them? Have you decided their college major for them? Or have you allowed your children to declare their own
college major? Students should be made aware that choosing a college
major that reflects their interests will give them a better chance of succeeding and could also contribute to their satisfaction and happiness in
school and on the job.50

Endnotes
1

6
7
8

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

Wikipedia, Higher Education in the United States, https://en.wikipedia

.org/wiki/Higher_education_in_the_United_States (accessed June 12,
2015). Also see National Center for Education Statistics, Fast Facts: Back
to School Statistics for more information.
Steve Crabtree, Worldwide, 13% of Employees Are Engaged at Work,
Gallup press release, October 8, 2013.
Carolyn Gregoire, Happiness Index: Only 1 in 3 Americans Are Very
Happy, According to Harris Poll, The Huffington Post, June 5, 2013.
Todd Kashdan, The Problem with Happiness, The Huffington Post,
November 17, 2011.
Emily Esfahani Smith, Theres More to Life Than Being Happy, The
Atlantic, January 9, 2013.
Ibid.
Lizze James, Interview with Jim Morrison, Creem Magazine, 1981.
Richard Weissbourd, The Parents We Mean to Be: How WellIntentioned Adults Undermine Childrens Moral and Emotional Development. Orlando: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009.
Wikipedia, Race to Nowhere, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_to_
Nowhere#cite_ref-Catsoulis_2-0 (accessed July 30, 2015).
Steve Baskin, The Gift of Failure, Psychology Today, December 31,
2011.
Matt Richtel, Push, Dont Crush, the Students, The New York Times,
April 24, 2015.
Self-determination Theory web site http://www.selfdeterminationtheory
.org/theory/ (accessed August 6, 2015).
What Will Matter, by Michael Josephson http://whatwillmatter.com
/2012/03/quotes-the-best-wise-and-witty-quotes-about-children-andparenting/ (accessed August 1, 2015).
Hara Estroff Marano, Helicopter Parenting-Its Worse Than You
Think, Psychology Today, January 31, 2014.
Julie Lythcott-Haims, Kids of Helicopter Parents Are Sputtering Out,
Slate, July 5, 2015.
Frank Bruni, Todays Exhausted Superkids, The New York Times, July
29, 2015.
American College Health Association National College Health Assessment, http://www.acha-ncha.org/docs/ACHA-NCHA-II_UNDERGRAD
_ReferenceGroup_ExecutiveSummary_Spring2013.pdf

xxxvi
18

19

20

21

22
23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

32

33
34

35
36

37

ENDNOTES

American Psychological Association, College Students Mental Health Is

a Growing Concern, Survey Finds, June 2013.
Katherine M. Keyes, et al., The Great Sleep Recessions: Changes in Sleep
Duration Among US Adolescents, 1991-2012, Journal of the American
Academy of Pediatrics, March 1, 2013.
Multi-Service Eating Disorders Association web site, http://www.medainc
.org/ (accessed July 14, 2015).
Benjamin Mueller, Parents Now Get Themselves Involved in Graduate
Admissions, Too, The Chronicle of Higher Education, January 27, 2014.
Ibid.
Kari Gude, College Students and Their Helicopter Parents: A Recipe for
Stress, Huffington Post, January 8, 2014.
Steve Baskin, The Gift of Failure, Psychology Today, December 31,
2011.
Bonnie Rochman, Hover No More: Helicopter Parents May Breed Depression and Incompetence in Their Children, Time, February 22, 2013.
Julie Scelfo, Suicide on Campus and the Pressure of Perfection, The
New York Times, July 27, 2015.
Amy Joyce, How Helicopter Parents Are Ruining College Students,
Washington Post, September 2, 2014.
Robert J. Sternberg and Jennifer Jordan, editors, A Handbook of Wisdom:
Psychological Perspectives, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England,2005.
Phillip Hodson, My Message to the Parents Who Cant Let Their Children Go: Grow Up, The Guardian, August 5, 2012.
Joseph D. Putti, Searching for Inspiration? Perspectives on Personal,
Family and Community Development, Trafford Publishing, Bloomington, Indiana, 2013.
How Many Selves Do We Have? Being Human web site (accessed July
2, 2015).
Kelly Wallace, Longing for the Carefree Parenting Style of Yesterday?,
CNN News, August 25, 2014.
Ibid.
Jon Dalton and Pamela Crosby, Challenging College Students to Learn
in Campus Cultures of Comfort, Convenience and Complacency, Journal of College and Character, February 1, 2008.
Ibid.
Kari Kubiszyn Kampakis, 10 Common Mistakes Parents Today Make,
Huffington Post, March 3, 1024.
Ibid.

ENDNOTES
38

39

40

41

42
43

44

45

46

47

48

49

50

xxxvii

Jon Dalton and Pamela Crosby, Challenging College Students to Learn

in Campus Cultures of Comfort, Convenience and Complacency, 2008.
Bonita Mersiades, Parents Demanding Perfection Are Helping No-one,
Motherpedia, March 11, 2013.
Hara Estroff Marano, Pitfalls of Perfectionism, Psychology Today, March
1, 2008.
Brian Johnson, The Guiding Star of Perfection, www.entheos.com (accessed August 3, 2015).
Zack Budryk, More Than a Major, Insider Higher Ed, April 10, 2013.
Meghan Casserly, Top Five Personality Traits Employers Hire Most,
Forbes, October 4, 2012.
Gail McMeekin, Dont Start a Job Hunt Until You Read This, Huffington Post College Blog, May 15, 2013.
Melissa Korn and Leslie Kwoh, No Such Thing As Job Security, Wall
Street Journal, September 14, 2012.
Philip Tetlock and Dan Gardner, Why Most Predictions Are So Bad,
Forbes, March 17, 2011.
Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, Does Money Really Affect Motivation? A
Review of the Research, Harvard Business Review, April 10, 2013.
Karl Gude, College Students and Their Helicopter Parents: A Recipe for
Stress, The Huffington Post, April 8, 2014.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Essays and Lectures, Self-Reliance essay first
published in 1841.
Many Students Select a College Major That Doesnt Fit Their Interests
Well, ACT Press Release, November 11, 2013.

PART I

The Situation
Too many students fail to engage in the process of figuring out what they
want to get out of their entire college experience.1
Jeffrey J. Selingo

CHAPTER 1

The Information
Technology Revolution
Higher education institutions do not operate in a vacuum and undergraduates do not declare their major in one either. Any discussion of
higher education in general, and the declaration of a college major specifically, needs to start with the driving force behind todays hypercompetitive global marketplacethe information technology revolution.
Dubbed the most significant revolution of the 21st century by Cambridge University political scientist David Runciman, the information
technology revolution has altered, and will continue to alter, the very
fabric of how people work, live, love, communicate, and do just about
everything else.2 New York Times editorialist and best-selling author
Thomas Friedman echoed similar sentiment and declared the information technology revolution the single most important trend in the
world today.3 Friedman summarized the impact of this revolution as the
world went from connected to hyper-connected during the 20002010
period thanks to cloud computing, robotics, 3G wireless connectivity,
Skype, Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Twitter, the iPad, and cheap Internet-enabled smartphones.4
During the 10 years from 2000 to 2010, world Internet usage increased
over 444 percent.5 The UNs International Telecommunication Union
observed that one-third of the worlds population, approximately 2 billion
people, have Internet access. Just a short 10 years ago, only 300 million
people had Internet access. Of the current 2 billion people with Internet
access, 555 million have a fixed broadband subscription, and 950 million
have mobile broadband.6 World population is expected to grow by over a
third, or 2.3 billion people between 2009 and 2050. If that occurs, by 2050
there will be a global population of approximately 9 billion people.7 With
more people alive, it is safe to assume that the number of Internet users will
continue to grow. For example, one estimate from the National Science
Foundation predicts that the Internet will have nearly 5 billion users by
2020.8

MAJOR IN HAPPINESS

The information technology revolution and transition from connected to hyperconnected has resulted in the creation of a volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) global environment, creating
an entirely new set of issues demanding higher education institutions
and other organizations large and small to rethink how they operate.
Noting the challenging economic times and the need to reconsider how
their schools function, 43 percent of New England college presidents
surveyed said that they didnt think small New England colleges will
remain an important fixture within the academic landscape for many
years to come.9 Eight in 10 CEOs expect their environment to grow
significantly more complex, and fewer than half believe they know how
to deal with it successfully.10 Leaders from organizations large and small
are more concerned than ever about the future because of the new
requirements to lead in the uncertain and ambiguous 21st-century marketplace. The answer, however, is not to have every student major in a
technical field. Fortune 500 CEOs are keenly aware of this as one-third
of them have a liberal arts degree.11 The information technology revolution now demands that college graduates effectively demonstrate skills
that transcend the knowledge they learn from their academic major. In
order to address the challenges, issues, and questions of todays volatile
economy, employers have identified marketing, sales, business, social
media, graphic design, and data analysis as six skills relevant for all college graduates regardless of major.12
Despite articulating the skills they need in graduates in order to stay
competitive, employers believe that higher education institutions are failing
to keep up with todays information technology revolution. Far too many
employers believe higher education institutions are producing graduates in
the 21st century with 20th-century skills.13 This skills mismatch has its
origins within the priorities of employers and educators. When asked to
select the two most important goals for postsecondary education, business
leaders placed the greatest premium on preparing individuals for success in
the workplace (56%) and providing individuals with core academic
knowledge and skills (51%).14 When asked the same question, education
leaders emphasized providing students with core academic knowledge and
skills (64%) and preparing individuals to be lifelong learners (47%).15 Such
opposing viewpoints need to be reconciled if higher education institutions

THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY REVOLUTION

want to enhance how they prepare todays students to solve tomorrows

problems. Key external stakeholders such as employers and politicians need
to think differently and recognize the impact of disruptive technologies
driving rapid change across most industries. Instead of viewing college as
simply filling workforce development needs, graduating students with narrow technical knowledge, employers and politicians need to recognize that
colleges have an obligation to prepare students, in the words of best-selling
author Daniel Pink, for their future and not our past. To deal with today, therefore we need not only new knowledge but new ways to think
about it.16 If future generations are going to help organizations achieve
and sustain growth in a VUCA environment, then they also need to learn
how to think differently about declaring an undergraduate major.

Index
Academic major. See College major
Adams, Scott, 46
Adulthood, emerging, 4950
AIM (Action, Individual, and
Mission), 109
American Bar Association, 83
American College Health
Association, 44
American College Test (ACT), 13
American Medical Association, 83
Analyzing, as cognitive skill, 71
Anderson, Lorin, 70
Anecdotal fallacy, 19
Applying, as cognitive skill, 71
Arnett, Jeffrey Jensen, 49
As I Lay Dying, 64
Associates degree, by college majors, 15
Association of American Colleges
and Universities (AAC&U),
3031
Association of American Medical
Colleges (AAMC), 83
The Atlantic, 84
Attendance, 125
Baby Boomers, 70
Bachelors degree, by college majors, 15
Biology majors, into medical school, 83
Bloom, Benjamin, 70
Blooms Taxonomy, 70
revised, 70---71
Bolles, Richard, 56
Bright, Jim, 57
Bront, Charlotte, 65
Brotberuf, 63
Bruni, Frank, 99
Businesses support liberal arts, 8082
BusinessWeek, 82
Capecchi, Mario Renato, 136

Caperton, Gaston, 9
Cappelli, Peter, 17
Careers
ability to marketing value, 35---36
chaos theory of, 57---59, 62
college major and, 17
critical importance of networking
and, 38---39
current economic situation for,
117---118
demonstrated preparedness, 36---39
extinct, new, and future, 52---53,
167---171
geography and, 31---33
grit in, 33---35
issue-based, 120---121
jungle gym metaphor and, 61---62
knowledge-based, 119---120
open and close mind, 117---118
paradoxes for decision making
process, 58---59
skill-based, 121
success, 61
emotional intelligence and, 74
grade point average in, 109
networking and, 116
target, 107---108
Casnocha, Ben, 47
Catch-22, 64
Cathy, S. Truett, 136
Causation fallacy, confusing
association with, 1718
Center for Workforce Development, 51
Chanel, Gabrielle Coco Bonheur,
134
Chaos theory, of careers, 5759, 62
The Chaos Theory of Careers: A New
Perspective on Working in the
Twenty-First Century, 57
Chenault, Ken, 81

174

INDEX

Chihuly, Dale, 137

Christensen, Clayton, 113
Cognitive and emotional empathy,
75, 142
Cognitive skills, 7072
classification of, 70---71
Coleman, Liz, 77
College degree. See also Higher
education
career preparedness and, 36
earnings and, 7---8
employment opportunities and, 89
College graduates. See also
Undergraduate education
AIM for purpose, 109---110
awareness relates to milkshake,
113---114
career preparedness, 36---39
career target, 107---108
career vision, 119---120
choosing geographical location,
31---33
cognitive skills of, 70---72
communication of value,
149---155
components of undergraduate
education, 103---104
description of, 49
dream job, 43
emotional intelligence, 74---76,
141---143
employment and. See Employment
opportunities
expected earnings, 45
information technology revolution, 4
internship and cultural fit, 68---70
jungle gym and, 62
openness and awareness index,
115---118
personal assessment of traits and
habits to success, 133---139
professional skills, 129---131
social media and, 145---147
soft skills of, 72---74, 123---125

College major
applying to jobs related to, 55---57
associates degree by, 15
bachelors degree by, 15
and career potential, 17
changing of, 13
declaration of, 3
and dream job, 43
and earnings, 18, 29---41
enjoyment and, 60---61
fallacies, 17---20
influence factors, 15---16
list from university of Michigan,
157---160
planning for, 13
principles, 58
selection of choices, 13---16
skills relevant for, 4
specialization, 77---85
traps when selecting, 20---21
Collegiate Learning Assessment Plus,
73
Colvin, Geoff, 34, 100
Comfort with ambiguity, 46
Communication, about value, 136
compelling, 76, 143
describing in one word, 149---151
by listening, writing, or speaking, 129
proposition exercise, 151---152
success factors exercise, 152---155
Community college, 9, 14
Comprehension, 123
Courage, definition of, 135
Creating, as cognitive skill, 71
Criticism, acceptance of, 76
Cultural fit, internship and, 6870
Currey, Mason, 64
Daily Rituals: How Artists Work, 64
Daniels, Jeff, 111
Data Driven: What Students Need to
Succeed in A Rapidly
Changing Business World,
100

INDEX

Daum, Kevin, 33
Deadlines, intermediate and final, 124
Degree completion rates, 9
Deloittes global survey of
Millennials, 59
Deng, Valentino, 135
Deresiewicz, William, 45
Diamond, Rebecca, 3132
Dimon, James, 81
Dorsey, Jack, 133134
Downey, John, 55
Dream job
changing, 50---53
flawed thinking with, 47
identifying, 43
landing in, 43---53
pursuit of, 62
Drive: The Surprising Truth about
What Motivates Us, 41
Duckworth, Angela, 3334
Dweck, Carol, 34
Earnings
ability to marketing value, 35---36
and college degree, 7---8
college major and, 29---41
demonstrated career preparedness
and, 36---39
geography and, 31---33
grit in, 33---35
Economic facts, 115
careers and, 117---118
Economic Policy Institute, 7
Emerging Adults in America: Coming
of Age in the 21st Century, 49
Emotional balance, 75
Emotional insight, 75, 141
Emotional intelligence (EI). See
Emotional quotient (EQ)
Emotional quotient (EQ), 7476
empathy, 142---143
relationship skills, 143
self-awareness, 141
self-management, 142

175

Empathy, 75
cognitive and emotional, 75
Empathy, 75, 142143
Employee engagement, lack of, 40
Employee satisfaction, 3941
Employment opportunities
chaos theory of career
development, 57---59
through jungle gym metaphor,
61---62
pursuit of living with purpose,
59---61
through subtle maneuvers, 63---65
Engaged, definition of, 39
Evaluating, as cognitive skill, 71
Facebook, 145146
Fallacies
college major, 17---20
definition of, 17
Faulkner, William, 64
Find The Thing Youre Most
Passionate About, Then
Do It On Nights And
Weekends For The Rest
Of Your Life, 64
Fortune, 61
Fosbury Flop technique, 135
Foundation, undergraduate
education and, 103, 105
Friedman, Thomas, 3, 62
Frost, Robert, 65
Gardner, Christopher Paul, 134
Gardner, John, 45
Gates, Bill, 7, 9
Gates, Melinda, 9
Gelatt, H. B., 58
Gen 2020, 70
Generations, of people, 6970
Gen X, 70
Geography
career and earnings, 31---33
variables for choosing, 32

176

INDEX

Georgetown Universitys Center on

Education and the
Workforce, 29
Gilson, Diana, 81
Gladwell, Malcolm, 34
Glass, Philip, 65
Goleman, Daniel, 74
Good jobs, war for, 56
Grade point average (GPA), 35, 109
in career success, 110
college major and, 67---76, 74
Graduate degree. See also Graduate
school
for corner office and success, 82
for richness, 84
Graduate school, fallacies related to,
8285
Greater fool theory, 111
Great Fire of London, 60
Green, Henry, 64
Grit
in career and earnings, 33---35
definition of, 34
Growth Mindset: The New Psychology
of Success, 34
GTCR, 82
Harmonium, 63
The Hartford Accident and
Indemnity Company, 63
Harvard Business, 34
Heldrich, John J., 51
Heller, Joseph, 64
Herzbergs theory, 40
Higher education, 3. See also College
degree
cost of, 10---11
economic conditions and, 12
ironies in, 10
payment method for, 11
History major, in knowledge-based
area, 119120
Hoffman, Reid, 47, 138
How Will You Measure Your Life, 113

Humans Are Underrated: What High

Achievers Know that Brilliant
Machines Never Will, 100
HuMed humanity-oriented program,
83
Hypercompetitive marketplace, 55
Immelt, Jeff, 81
Information technology revolution
college graduates and, 4---5
impact of, 3
and transition from connected to
hyperconnected, 4
Initiative/motivation, 123
An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes
of the Wealth of Nations, 81
International Telecommunication
Union, 3
Internet usage, in world, 3
Internship
and cultural fit, 68---70
definition of, 68
Issue-based careers, 120121
Ives, Charles, 64
The Job Crisis at Our Best Law
Schools is Much, Much
Worse Than You Think, 84
Jungle gym metaphor, 6162
Kafka, Franz, 63
Kaplan, Robert, 34
Knauss, Donald, 81
Knowledge-based careers, 119120
Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics
(BLS), 51
Labor Department statistics, 7
The Last Lecture: Really Achieving
Your Childhood Dreams,
137
Law school graduates, employment
rates and happiness, 8485
League, Ivy, 43

INDEX

Lean In: Women, Work and the Will

to Lead, 61, 137
Lewis, C. S., 61
Liberal arts
businesses support, 80---82
value within liberal education,
78---80
Liberal education, 7880
LinkedIn, 80, 145146
career and, 39
employment and, 59
overused profile buzzwords,
149---150
Listening, 76, 143
Mae, Sallie, 14
Marketing Your Value: 9 Steps to
Navigate Your Career, 149
Markus, Hazel Rose, 48
The MBA Bubble, 63
Medical school, biology majors into,
83
Mental health problems, college
students and, 44
Mental models
assumptions prevalent in, 20---21
college major and, 20
Miami, Minneapolis and, 30
Michigan Career Personnel
Association (MCPA), 154
Millennials, 5960, 70
Minneapolis, Miami and, 30
Mintzberg, Henry, 79
Mitchell, Jim, 81
Motivation, 123
factors affecting, 40
The Motivation to Work, 40
Munn, Olivia, 111
My Butterfly: An Elegy, 65
National Association of Colleges and
Employers (NACE), 29, 68
National Center for Education
Statistics, 14

177

The National Leadership Council, 77

National Science Foundation, 3, 84
National Student Clearinghouse
Research Center, 9, 10
National Survey of Counseling Center
Directors (NSCCD), 44
Networking
career success and, 116
critical importance of, 38---39
The Newsroom, 111
New York Times, 3, 99
Noncognitive skills. See Soft skills
Nurius, Paula, 48
Obama, Barack, 17
OBoyle, Ernest (Jr.), 74
One-word descriptor, in interview, 149
The Onion, 64
Orfalea, Paul, 136
Organizational culture, definition of,
69
Organization for Economic
Cooperation and
Development (OECD), 11
Outliers: The Story of Success, 34
Palmisano, Sam, 81
Pausch, Randy, 137138
Performance, challenge about level
of, 127
Personal Assessment of Traits and
Habits (PATH) to Success,
133
Personal growth, career and, 4648
Personal skills and traits, 116
assessment of, 133---138
open and close mind, 117---118
Petite, Philip, 137
Pink, Daniel, 5, 41, 71
Positive uncertainty, concept of, 58
Possible Selves, 48
Post hoc ergo propter hoc fallacy,
1819
Prelaw majors, 83

178

INDEX

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), 100

Problem solving, 123
Professionalism, 68, 124
Professionals, areas of creating
relevant for, 7172
Professional skills, assessment of,
129131
Pryor, Robert, 57
Public assistance utilization, 84
Pulitzer Prize, 6364
Realistic self-confidence, 75, 141
Relationship skills, 76, 143
Remembering, as cognitive skill, 71
Resilience, 75, 142
Resolving conflicts, 75
Responsibility, 125
Resume, success factors in, 152155
Robinson, Janet, 81
Roosevelt, Theodore, 110
Rostain, Anthony L., 44
Runciman, David, 3
Salary, job satisfaction and, 3941
Sandberg, Sheryl, 61, 137
Sanders, Jeff, 46
Sandove, Steve, 77, 79
Self-assessment tools, 99
Self-awareness, 48, 75, 141
Self-determination, 47
Self-discipline, 134
Self-evaluation, 123
Self-improvement, practice, 138
Self-management, 75, 142
Self-motivation, 75, 142
Sellers, Pattie, 61
Single-cause fallacy, 19
Skill-based careers, 121
Smith, Adam, 81
Smith, Fred, 136
Social media, professional
preparation and
understanding, 145147
Soft skills, 7274

evaluation of, 123---125

Specialization
college major, 77---85
proponents of, 78
The Start-up of You: Adapt to the
Future, Invest in Yourself, and
Transform Your Career, 46
47, 138
Stevens, Wallace, 63
Success factors, in resume, 152155
examples of, 154---155
Survivor investing. See Greater fool
theory
Sweeping generalization fallacy, 1920
Symphony, 72
Talent is Over-rated: What Really
Separates World-Class
Performers from Everybody
Else, 34
Tanner, Jennifer Lynn, 49
Team playing, 76, 143
Technology Entertainment Design
(TED), 77
Their Lives Ahead of Them: Myths and
Realities About Why So Many
Students Fail to Finish
College, 9
Thomas, Eric, 135
Time, 134
Time management, 124125
Traditionalists, 69
Treuhaft, Jeff, 81
Undergraduate education, 105. See
also College graduates
bridge illustration for, 103---104
components of, 103
Understanding, as cognitive skill, 71
Unemployment rate, 7
U.S. Department of Education, 14
Value proposition, in interview,
151152
Verbal interaction, 124

INDEX

Volatile, uncertain, complex, and

ambiguous (VUCA) global
environment, 41
Vonnegut, Kurt, 65
Wales, Jimmy, 136
Walker, Madame, 133
Wall Street, banking and working
on, 52
Wall Street Journal analysis, 13, 82
Wesch, Michael, 137
What Color is Your Parachute?, 56
Where You Go Is Not Who You'll Be:
An Antidote to the College
Admissions Mania, 99

179

A Whole New Mind: Why RightBrainers Will Rule the Future,

71
Williams, William Carlos, 65
Wilson, Charles Kemmons, 134
Wren, Christopher, 60
Wright, Orville, 135
Wright, Wilbur, 135
Zanetti, Mariana, 63