Does Going To A Community College Negatively Impact My Professional Career?
In the latest Federal data, about 7.7 million students were enrolled in public two-year colleges during the 2019–20 academic year. In Fall 2020, about 4.8 million students were enrolled in public two-year colleges, 29% of undergraduate students. About 1.6 million were full-time students, and 3.1 million were part-time.
Community colleges serve a very important and instrumental role in public education and based on federal data, are an attractive option for many students looking for an alternative to 4-year universities.
So does going to a community college negatively impact your career? No. And here’s why.
1. Academic Accessibility
Many community colleges require lower academic qualifications vs. 4-year universities. For some students, the only higher education path forward to them is community college. So if considering your career, wouldn't it be better to go to a community college and earn some type of professional degree vs. no degree at all? Of course!
Associate degrees (also known as 2-year degrees) can be earned at most community colleges and used as stand-alone qualifications to enter the job market or can be used to transfer into a bachelor’s program, cutting your 4-year degree down to 2.
Community colleges are more academically accessible, serve a wider variety of students and often have more support services for academically struggling or challenged students. Going to a community college can be a huge influence in your career choice and future opportunities.
2. Financial/Debt Relief
It’s no secret higher education is expensive and student loan debt is literally debilitating entire generations from owning homes, having children or investing in their future. Going to community college is often considerably less expensive than 4-year universities.
I work with many students who have the grades to go straight from high school to a 4-year school but decide to go to community college for two years to cut costs. If I was half as smart as students are today, I would have done that too when I was a college freshman 20+ years ago.
Community colleges typically do not offer fancy residence halls, expensive on-campus activities, athletics and/or state of the art facilities. Their goal is to educate students to go onto something bigger- the workforce or another school. So they don’t necessarily need to offer a bunch of expensive things students don't want to spend money on.
Saving money by going to a community college can make a huge difference as you start your career. How would you invest in yourself if you didn’t owe $500-800 a month in student loan payments?
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3. Technological Advances In Networking
One of the biggest complaints of students graduating from community colleges used to be that there were little to no networking opportunities as many students were “parking lot to classroom” students. By that I mean, students who come to campus, park, take their classes and then leave.
That’s different compared to students who live on-campus, who eat at the dining hall, work out at the recc center and organically network, bond and create community with folks based on physical proximity and/or shared interest.
Nowadays, technology, chiefly LinkedIn, has made it much easier for professionals to find, connect and cultivate relationships online vs. in-person. Informational interviews are a great way for community college students to network with industry professionals without having to rely on casual, in-person run-ins on-campus.
4. Flexibility
Community colleges offer the highest degree of flexible program completion. So say you are a working parent or a member of the military. You have responsibilities and obligations beyond yourself and you need a flexible degree option that works around your life.
Community colleges typically offer more remote classes, hybrid classes and different pathways to graduation vs. 4-year universities. From a career perspective, if you worked part-time or full-time throughout your entire college experience, can you imagine how much easier it would be for you to get a full-time job after graduation?
Flexible education offers more opportunity and with more opportunities, career professionals are often in better positions to take higher paying jobs, relocations or negotiate better benefits.
Lastly…
Just as 4-year education is not the best fit for every student, so is the case with community college. You should consider your needs, your wants and what resources you have when evaluating education options and that will help you decide what pathway is right for you.
Whether you end up at a community college or 4-year university, either way, when education is intentional and properly leveraged in the job search, it will serve as a positive in your career. Going to community college will not negatively impact your career, it can actually help you!
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Meet The Writer!
Hi! My name is Nadia Ibrahim-Taney and I help people design happy and fulfilling careers through authentic career coaching. My expertise includes career exploration guidance, resume writing, interview prep and LinkedIn profile optimization. My pronouns are She/ Her/ Hers and as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, I focus on how diverse identities impact and influence folks holistically and professionally. Please connect with me on LinkedIn or at Nadia@beyonddiscoverycoaching.com
