Readers:  As I mentioned before, The Million Dollar Question, blog has received more comments than any other. It has certainly opened up quite a conversation.

This comment on the blog from Mrim Boutia, Career Coach. It contained links to three thought provoking and helpful articles she has written.  Therefore, I wanted to share it with readers of this blog.  My only caveat is that "the development of an internal compass of goals and priorities" needs to begin long before higher education.  And, that's the subject of my next blog.

"Thank you for this blog post Carol, I couldn't agree more!

I have been a career coach for liberal arts students at Brown and for MBAs at the Kelley School of Business (Indiana University), and at both places, I have seen far too many students having no idea what they wanted to learn and/or how to translate their education into a career that will enable them to meet their financial obligations.
 

Last year, I wrote a couple of blog posts on student debts, especially for students/working professionals interested in socially responsible careers:

Part 1: http://www.justmeans.com/Student-loans-your-responsible-career-series-Part-1/21375.html
Part 2: http://www.justmeans.com/Student-loans-your-responsible-career-series-Part-2/21578.html

I also wrote a piece on who's responsibility is it to engage students in thinking about their careers while pursuing their university education - http://www.justmeans.com/Education-Career-Management-Whose-Responsibility-Is-It/26351.html

I am a strong believer in the value of higher education (after all I myself earned a PhD), and I also believe that the most important part of higher education is to develop an internal compass of goals and priorities. This compass enables us to make informed personal and professional decisions on how we want use the skills and knowledge toolbox we gain through formal education to make a living while contributing to something we believe in.

I am thrilled to learn more about your work with teens, because based on my work with emerging and established leaders, these questions of 'what are you going to do with your degree?' and 'how are you going to make a living?' don't go away, they are ongoing, and the earlier we equip people with self-leadership and career search skills, the better off they will be.

Thank you for facilitating this conversation, and I look forward to future conversations!"
Posted by Mrim Boutla, PhD, GCDF