Why do colleges and universities give their students unrealistic expectations?
The other day, my daughter called me from college. She is majoring in Public Relations and was reading about salaries in her text book.
“The book says that a person out of college will make between $25K – $50K during their first year,” she said. “After 10 years in the field, PR professionals make $150K.”
We both laughed. “I interview so many people,” I told her, “and they all think they will be millionaires within a year…. It’s ridiculous! I really don’t know why schools do this. It’s so unrealistic!”
That afternoon I went out to lunch with my Vice Presidents. I told them about the conversation I had with my daughter and how the salaries actually appeared in her textbook.
“When I first started here 9 years ago,” said Kristie Galvani. “I was expecting $50,000 a year without experience because that’s what our school told us we would be making!”
“I agree,” said Lori Alexy. “When I was searching through my papers the other day, I found my first paycheck. It was such a small amount.”
So why do you think colleges and universities do this to their students? Is it that they want more students to major in a particular subject so they mark up the salaries to entice more students? I would love to hear your response.
