Ask them “What do you want to learn?”

You hear the question all the time, "What do you want to be?" I'm even guilty of asking it myself. This is how we start advising our youth when they are considering colleges.

It's the wrong question. And it's part of a pervasive thinking causes kids to spin through multiple majors and spend more time in school than is necessary. We are programmed to think of university study as job training. It's not. And if you think I'm wrong, ask the most successful people you know if they are working in their field of study (very possibly not). Then ask them if college was a waste of time (most definitely not).

Instead, college is where we go to broaden our knowledge. It's where we sharpen communication skills. It's where we learn how to work independently; it's where we learn to work with others (and no, those aren't mutually exclusive). It's an opportunity to explore topics in depth because it interests us, rather than because we have to. And more importantly, it shows future employers that we can set a long range goal, work hard, and finish it successfully.

The right question then, is "what do you want to learn?" If the person already knows what she wants to be, then she probably already knows what she wants to learn. More importantly, though, if the thought of learning a subject is distasteful, then that career choice is not wise.

Now here's the tricky part for us adults giving guidance: how do we respond when the young man answers our question with "Literature" or "Philosophy"? Typically, the thought is "what kind of job can you get with that?" That is wrong thinking.

Literature? What business or agency couldn't benefit from a person who has deep knowledge of communication?
Philosophy? What business or agency couldn't benefit from a person who has deep understanding of how people are motivated?

Most importantly, though, when a student considers what they want to learn; And when they spend time exploring that subject; they will find ways to apply that knowledge to other areas. Their new knowledge will guide them into an appropriate career. So as crazy as it may seem, the study of the oceans can help a person with a later career in sales. Or the study of music can help enrich one's later family life.

So next time you are congratulating a high school senior on their graduation, ask the right question. Ask them, "so now what do you want to learn."

It’s education, not job training.

Several years ago I found myself behind a podium in a packed gymnasium. Hundreds of people stared up at me and yet the cavernous room was almost silent. Half the crowd were high school graduates; the others their proud parents and families. I was giving the commencement address. Next to me, on the floor, I had a bag of props; a vinyl record album, Michael Jackson. A compact disk, Pearl Jam. A cell phone.

The topic of my speech was how fast the world changes. And as examples I displayed my props and explained how that, in only the time the students had been going to school, changing technology dramatically affected our lives. The tie-in to the day, the commencement, was that their education needed make them ready for this changing technology, rather than the common notion of learning the current technology itself. Because, as they could already see, their world was evolving fast.

It's one of the most common mistakes made by people in general; the mistaken belief that the purpose of schooling is to provide job training. It's why graduates are rarely asked what they want to study, instead they are asked what they want to be (or do). It's why philosophy majors are asked "what are you going to do with that?"

While this may seem very subtle, instead it's a huge leap to understand the greater purpose of education is to prepare us to have careers; not train us in a career. Education, especially college degrees, demonstrate the abilities to apply oneself toward a goal that takes years to achieve; often without direct guidance or intervention from parents. Imagine you are hiring for an entry level marketing position in an established corporation. All things being equal, would you pick an English student who finished in four years, or a business student who took six years and changed majors? Obviously it's not the material studied, but the work habits formed that is the important learning.

The thing is, careers (and life in general) require a strong foundation of skills that everyone needs to learn. Basic math. Proper writing. Fundamentals of science. Even history and art. You can even make an argument that it's important to understand demand curves and probabilities and logic. Providing these kinds skills should be the goal of every educational system. Then freed of the stress of "what job will I find", students can apply themselves in areas of interest. Then those that have an interest in health can learn to be doctors; and those that like to build things can learn to be engineers.

So this summer, when you are making small talk with recent graduates, don't ask them what they intend to do; instead ask them what they want to study. Then remind them that the real learning is finding their way to the finish.