Career Paper Assignment
Due: September 23, 2004
The goal of this paper is to examine the value of a college education for a specific career
or field of study. It may help to imagine that you are asked to advise a high school
student who has career goals that are similar to yours. Your paper should address the
following issues:
1. What is the value of a college education in this specific field of study?
-Could you have a career in this field without a college degree?
-How would lack of a college degree affect work choices and economic
benefits?
2. What kind of college should someone with these career goals apply to?
3. What admissions standards are there for majors related to this field? Do some
schools have specific requirements for this major or field of study? (If there are
not specific requirements, you may want to speculate on what admissions
standards should be important for this major.)
4. What should a person with these career goals study when in college? Are there
important extra-curricular activities that they should include?
5. Are advanced degrees (beyond a bachelor’s degree) needed? How does one
prepare for this while in college?
Papers should be typed, double spaced, and not be longer than 2-3 pages. Narrow your
target career as needed if you find your paper getting too long. As with all written work,
cite sources and proofread carefully! Points will be deducted for grammar and spelling
errors, and all sources (even if they are personal interviews or websites) must be
acknowledged in either MLA or APA style. The writing center is available free of charge
if you need help with writing or proofreading.
Papers are due at the start of class on Thursday, September 23rd. E-mail submissions will
not be accepted. Late papers will be docked one full letter grade per day.