“I’m not sure what I’d like to do with my degree.”
I have been teaching in higher education for over 15 years and I have had a number of frustrations and irritations along the way. Fortunately, many of those are minor setbacks that I can recover from quickly, but what has stuck with me the most are the dreaded conversations that I have had on graduation day with graduates, their families and friends. The chat typically starts with small talk and then, logically, I ask the question about future plans. At this point, the student will have a sheepish look on their face, look at their guest and then answer with a statement similar to the one mentioned above. At that point, I try to be helpful and supportive, but in my mind I cannot help but wonder how the student got to this point without having at least an inkling of a plan. I have come to believe that the answer is that fear has gotten in the way. I have spent the past few years trying to develop a solution, which is primarily based on applying aspects of exposure therapy, which I will detail in this article.
I think we first need to develop empathy for our students before we try to come in and heroically save the day. I am consistently surprised by how many students in my senior capstone course inform me that they have been told some version of the following statement: “You cannot do anything with a degree in psychology and you must go to graduate school.” This statement simply does not add up. Roughly 25 percent of psychology baccalaureates end up going to graduate school in psychology and another 18 percent go to graduate school, but not in psychology (Lin, Christidis & Stamm, 2017). This leaves a significant majority of our students that are workforce graduates. So, the above statement is simply not true, and it makes the stakes seem overly high and creates fear, and ultimately avoidance, in many students. It seems to me that there is a bit of a phobic response to thinking about post-graduation plans, which creates a cycle of avoidance and negative reinforcement that produces the awkward graduation drama.
The first step in attempting to break this cycle is to create a relaxed environment so that students can approach some of their fears without getting too overwhelmed. During the first day of our senior capstone course I have students voice their plans to the class about their future. Some have specific plans for graduate school or a job already lined up, but the majority of students do not have a clear plan in mind and they tend to start making comments that offer support to their fellow classmates. I, too, try to offer support and no judgment of their current situation. It can take time, but if this support is genuine, there is sense of collectiveness that starts to develop and I believe this allows students to start to approach their fears in a supportive community. They are not alone and they can relax, a bit.
The second step is to gradually expose students to the anxiety and reality of a job search or plans to further their education. I make a point of consistently bringing up post-graduation plans on a weekly, if not daily, basis. At first students appear to be tense at the mention of career plans, but in time they habituate and their responses become more relaxed. In addition, I try to help ward off irrational and maladaptive thoughts. I have heard many students worry that the choice to major in psychology will have little value in the workplace and that they are doomed to have a career that has nothing to do with their studies. Luckily, I can identify this as “catastrophizing” and give specific data from our recent graduates that refutes some of their concerns.
In addition, I try to help students change their perception of the effort that it will take to reach their career goals. Put simply, I try to help students see that they will likely have many hurdles on the way to finding their path. I often share my own struggles and times of disappointment, which helps them see that the path is not always rosy. These hurdles are to be expected, though, and should not be perceived as failures. It is a simple reframing strategy, but I find that many students think that if the task is difficult there must be something wrong. I tell them to expect challenges along the way and to see them as part of the process. This normalizing technique that mirrors Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (Forman et. al, 2007) can alter how students view the process and lead to more approach-type behaviors and increased ability to cope with initial struggles and disappointments.
These steps may sound simple, but I think that the fear of the unknown is far worse than the fear of what is. Once students have support and can think more rationally about the process, they tend to approach their future instead of avoiding it. We as teachers can have a significant impact on this process by creating a supportive environment and gradually exposing our students to thinking about their futures starting as early as the introductory psychology course until graduation. This process will likely be challenging, but ultimately well worth the effort.
References
Forman E.M., Herbert J.D., Moitra E, Yeomans P.D., Geller P.A. A randomized controlled effectiveness trial of acceptance and commitment therapy and cognitive therapy for anxiety and depression. Behavior Modification. November 2007; 31(6):772-799.
Lin, L., Christidis, P., & Stamm, K. (2017, October). The path to becoming a psychologist. Monitor on Psychology, 48(9), 17.
About the author
Daniel Niederjohn is an associate professor at Kennesaw State University. He teaches courses related to applied psychology and internships. His recent research has focused on helping students succeed in college and beyond, with a particular interest on the transferable skills within psychology. In addition to teaching, he maintains a small private practice in which he works with clients on issues of adjustment and anxiety.
