View from the Senior Seminar Professor

Susan Carlson

A major goal of the English Department's one-credit capstone course, ENGL 699 Senior Seminar, is to teach employment survival skills. Over the past five years, English Department alumni have done well: 95-97% of our graduates have gained either full-employment or admission to graduate school. However, major forces are reshaping both business and public education and are challenging how the Department prepares students for the "real world."

The first change is economic and affects the job market for all college graduates, not just those in English. Since 2000, the world has been connected via the internet. Now, as Thomas Friedman writes in The World is Flat, people, "using computers, e-mail, networks, teleconferencing, and dynamic new software," can work for employers anywhere in the world in real time. For example, workers in a call center in India are now fielding baggage claim calls for Delta Airlines. This outsourcing is rapidly replacing the jobs PSU graduates have relied on in all industries. In light of this trend, Friedman argues that college graduates can survive and flourish in the job market by picking a field that is "anchored . . .in a specific location involving face-to-face contact with a customer, client, patient, or audience." Fortunately for our graduates, teaching is one of the "anchored" fields.

The other way graduates can gain a competitive edge, Friedman says, is to develop combinations of skills. For example, a student wanting a career as a writer/editor, besides taking writing and editing courses, would be well advised to learn desktop publishing skills, intern with publishing companies, build a portfolio of writing samples, and volunteer in school organizations that offer experience in leadership and teamwork.

Another career option for English graduates is government work. Although federal positions don't pay as well as corporate jobs, they still offer full-time work for good wages with better job security. In the past, finding a federal job was a nightmare, but its much easier now due to a new reference, The Student's Federal Career Guide (2004), which includes practical advice on applying for federal jobs. The author, Kathryn K. Troutman, also has a website, , with information on the hottest government fields and the most positive job prospects.

The job market has also changed for the roughly half of English majors wanting to teach. The most powerful change has been No Child Left Behind (NCLB), the 2002 law which requires mandatory testing for students in public schools. Superintendents and principals in Kansas expect prospective teachers to be fully conversant with the legislation, so we advise our English Education students of the need to track NCLB issues by reading professional publications, by monitoring the Kansas Board of Education website (www.ksbe.state.ks.us), and by attending local school board meetings or teachers' conventions.

The change from teaching certification to licensure has also affected the job market. Prospective teachers are now required to pass the Praxis exam, which covers English literature, grammar, and pedagogy, before they can be licensed to teach in the State of Kansas. To prepare the English Education students in Senior Seminar, we require them to take the mock Praxis exam, designed by the Educational Testing Service.

Other factors in preparing English Education students involve constantly changing conditions in the schools. For example, many students lag behind grade level or have developmental or social problems. Prospective teachers, therefore, need training in developmental writing and reading, as well as in working with students with special needs (from the gifted to those with learning disabilities or behavioral disorders). We also encourage PSU students to acquire training in TESOL (Teaching English as a Second language) and, beyond that, to develop fluency in a second language (Spanish, for example), so they can work effectively with the increasing number of second-language learners.

These are some of the things I have learned, from teaching the Senior Seminar, about what our students most need to compete for jobs. Now, I'd like to hear what you have to say about this subject, from your perspective in the "real world of work." You can reach me via e-mail at scarlson@pittstate.edu.

Thank you, and I look forward to hearing from you!