Non-Traditional Students Dilemma

Imagine walking in the shoes of a single mother who has decided to return to college so she can have a better life for herself and children. As she pursues her education on top of her full time job and tries to balance her kid’s activities, she realizes that all of the jobs that are being posted here in the Greater Lansing area require you to have 3-5 years of experience. When she attends networking events to inquire on how to gain this experience, she has prominent business leaders tell her to do unpaid internships. How can she successfully do unpaid internships and afford shelter, food and clothing for herself and kids?

For far too long, Lansing businesses have cried out that there are not enough skilled workers to fill their highly skilled jobs. An increasing number of non-traditional college students have realized that in order to get ahead in life, they need their college degree in order to get ahead in life. These students take on college classes in addition to a full time job and family obligations.

Programs like Keep Learning… Our Future Depends on It emphasizes the true importance of getting a college education. We see their bright yellow advertisements within the Greater Lansing Business Monthly and even see them on the news stations. It’s apparent that lifelong learning and obtaining these vital educational degrees is essential for career success.

What has happened though is that while more non-traditional students are attending college, businesses are caught in the mind-set that all college students are very young adults who are attending and living on campus of Michigan State University. In the eyes of business professionals, these college students have no “real-world” experience. They encourage college students to volunteer and do unpaid internships.

The non-traditional college students are now facing a huge dilemma – either give up working and supporting their family to “invest” in their futures or not accept unpaid internships and be at a huge disadvantage among future employers. Rather than looking into the non-traditional college students’ backgrounds and work experience, companies in our area discount the transferable skills and expect them to “invest” in their future.