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The distinctive differences in preparing undergraduates for a career and for life are both

useful in producing a successful individual. There are a lot of difficulties that graduates face

once they enter the job market. With both of these preparations, graduates will be able to

cope better and lead successful lives.

In the global world that we live in the competition for a job has heightened. This means that

itis becoming increasingly difficult to find a job and therefore it could be very important that

graduates are prepared for a career. Having a degree alone does not necessarily mean you will

get the first and best job you apply for because there are 100 other applicants with the same

qualification as you. What sets you apart? Experience in the work place is the difference that

employers look for when they have two possible employees with the same degree. However

the problem that arises is when a graduate has no specific career he/she can enter into with

that particular degree. This means that gaining such a type of experience is difficult.

A Commerce degree does not offer students much choice in the courses they could enter.

Normally there are a set of core courses in the first year and during the second year it narrows

down in terms of their respective fields whereas with liberal art degrees there is more variety.

The variety offered could be what sets each humanity student apart from the next.

Commerce, law and medical degrees all have specific roles in society. This does not imply

that Humanity or arts do not attain these similar roles.

The problem in this occurs when undergraduates choose their courses. They lack the

experience and knowledge to choose courses that will form a four year degree that should

direct them into a possible career. (Bok, 1974). Because of the misdirection in terms of the

undergraduates decision making, the universityscareer counsellors should therefore guide

them when choosing their courses.

The ability to compete in the international job market after graduation could be an advantage

in terms of job seeking. Internationally, the supply outweighs the demand of and for skilled

workers. Results of one of the largest independent surveys of final year university studentsever conducted in the UK published on Thursday 27th May 2010 warns that just 36% of

those finishing undergraduate degrees this summer expect to find a graduate job after

university and that confidence in the graduate employment market is now at its lowest for

fifteen years.(Ltd, 2010)Why are graduates still finding it difficult to find work? It could

bethe demand for certain graduates being higher than others.In a survey done in the UK only

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25% of students from arts or humanities courses expect to land a graduate job at the end of

their degrees, compared with 47% of IT students, 54% of those on business or finance

courses. As a result, almost half of all arts and humanities graduates either have no definite

plans for life after university. Therefore they expect to take time away or they will end up

doing temporary jobs.(Ltd, 2010) The results of arts and humanities graduates couldhave a

large influence on the lack of career specific education. The percentage of graduates without

a secure plan after graduation couldcontribute to a high unemployment rate which would

not necessarily benefit society.

Tertiary education should be the way out of poverty and unemployment; it should lead to an

increase in economic growth and economic development in a country. Students who are well

orientated bothcareerwise and socially have a greater opportunity to contribute to society than

students who lack both of those important aspects to life. Day after another, the role of aqualified and well- trained individual or what is called the human capital is growing. These

individuals form the educated and well-trained human resources who are part of the advance

of the society (Shaban, 2006) (Al-Smadi & Njadat, 2009).Economic development as well

as economic growth would increase in a country where the human resources are increasing

and improving. The more skilled workers there are the better the productivity in any work

force would be. There will be an increase in GDP and a decrease in unemployment and this is

what any government would want.

It is not only tertiary education that prepares students for life. There could be other influences

such as parents, high school and personal events in life from which many who do not

experience tertiary education can also be influenced by. So students lacking education for

possible occupations could find their degree less useful to them than they could have

expected (in the sense of finding work) once they have graduated or they could possibly end

up doing something they did not initially think of studying. Then associating the time spent at

university as being a waste could be misdirected because no matter what the degree, the

preparation for life and skills learnt will help any graduate through life. Those life skills and

academic values in all university degrees that allow graduates to go into possible occupations

without having to have had studied in that field with such a depth before. If the preparation of

a graduate is narrow, resulting in the graduate just being educated towards a career, the

outcome could be a narrow minded human being. Theyll be unable to appreciate the culture

around them, incapable of enjoying their leisure hours, and bereft of resources for the period

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late in life when they no longer have their careers to sustain them. These handicaps will

become more important in the next generation when the number of college-educated persons

begins to exceed the number of jobs traditionally associated with a college degree. (Bok,

1974)

Any degree is a preparation or stepping stone for what individuals would want to do in life

and how they would live their lives. A field of study cannot be one dimensional. Everything

in life is related directly or indirectly which is why students need to be educated not only in

business courses but, courses with lasting values as well. Students learn how to make correct

decisions, think and learn how to formulate their own opinions through courses with lasting

value. Lasting values are: moral character, communication, creating knowledge, critical

thinking, maturity, researching, adaptability and flexibility.

The preparation that commerce undergraduates need to be taught is how to think critically,

how to communicate in a professional manner and they should be cultivated into adaptable,

flexible and agile people. The information and knowledge that undergraduates leave

university with helps them in their first couple of years working (Bok, 1974) soon enough

they will have to rely on their lasting values learnt, with which a person gains their own

experience and learns as they move forward.

Education towards a career is relevant nowadays as it insures prosperity for the individual

and for society.It is important that a righteous graduate is produced in both life and careerskills are important in an individual.