Question of the Week: Students Share Thoughts on Career Pathways

The Career Pathways courses in the general education curriculum have been a hot topic in both student and faculty circles. Are the courses effective? Do students find them helpful? What are the pros and cons? We thought we’d ask BU students to share their thoughts on Career Pathways classes.

• Kaleb Morgan, Exercise and Sport Science

  Overall, I do agree that they were beneficial to my development both professionally and personally.

  As a Sports Management major preparing to graduate, pursue professional basketball overseas, and work toward earning my master’s degree, I already had a general vision for my future. However, the Career Pathways course helped me think more strategically about how to structure those goals in a realistic and intentional way. It pushed me to clarify both my short-term and long-term plans, while also identifying the transferable skills I’ve developed through athletics, academics, and internships.

  The course was especially helpful in strengthening my resume, refining my professional communication skills, and improving my understanding of networking and career preparation. As a student-athlete, it can be easy to focus solely on sports, but this class emphasized the importance of preparing for life beyond competition. That perspective is something I truly value.

  Overall, I believe Career Pathways serves as an important bridge between college and the professional world. It encourages students to take ownership of their future and provides practical tools that extend beyond the classroom.

• Blake Carter, Applied Music with a concentration in Piano Performance

  We adopt the frame-of-mind of the author(s) of a curriculum when using it. Much of the Career Pathways curriculum is delegated to secular sources (Clifton Strengths, Ethics Games, LinkedIn, etc.) that approach it from such a frame-of-mind. They do not share the same ultimate purpose for life that we do, so how they go about framing fundamental things such as personality or ethics will be incomplete or even deleterious. Romans 12:2 gives us the ultimate purpose for Christian education, and James 4:13-15 warns us against losing sight of God in our earthly ambitions. These things should be guiding our frame of mind when making a curriculum about future careers. God works through the intention we carry ourselves with. 

• Elei Haynes, Theatre and Digital Marketing

  I think that there are some positive things about it. It demonstrates some really valuable qualities and makes you access your critical thinking and problem-solving skills, but in spite of this, it also can be extremely hard to understand and navigate. I found that a lot of the exercises are just busy work and very hard to comprehend. A lot of the platforms that are used have also been difficult to use and would not cooperate. I think that there is possibly a way to revitalize the class and make it into something that is engaging and profitable. The classes have potential, but the confusion that they hold at the moment makes them frustrating to even attend. 

• John Thompson, Graphic Communication
  I think it is a great idea, trying to prepare for work forces and perhaps life in general, but it needs to be condensed and more geared toward independent thought and helping develop student approaches to philosophy, politics, religion, and questions in general. The current course feels very corporate, redundant, and just falls short of actual workplace and life preparation.
• Tristen Gillenwater, Business Administration with a concentration in Management

  I personally like that the Career Pathways courses teach you things that you need to know for your future. For example, building a resume, how to use Excel, and other information that is valuable to specific majors and life after college!