New program to help students jumpstart career search

When it comes to hiring, Matt Katz said he commonly hears the same thing from employers.
“What they say is, ‘we hire people, not majors’,” they’ve told him.

Students don’t always appreciate that, especially when pursuing degrees that don’t have a direct path into jobs, said Katz, a member of Central Michigan University’s philosophy, anthropology and religion department faculty.

The College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences is opening the CLASS HUB to connect their studies to a career early during their time at CMU. Katz will be the inaugural director of the program, which is located on the first floor of Anspach Hall.

“Our students deserve to study what they want without being afraid of how they will make living,” said Richard Rothaus, dean of CLASS. “We are going to match our majors with internships that make them career-ready.

“As a philosopher Prof. Katz teaches our students how to be rigorous in their thought.  He has taught me to think rigorously about our obligations to the liberal arts students of the 21st century.”

In the past, students might have taken a year or two after graduation to figure out how to make a living with a liberal arts degree. Through the CLASS Hub, students can start that before they’ve even stepped foot in a CMU classroom.

“It’s doing it here and now rather than later on your own,” Katz said.

One part of that is bringing employers to campus to help students understand that they often look for people with the skills required to earn a degree.

Earning a degree requires organizational skills, punctuality, people skills and the ability to conduct research. Employers are looking for people who can bring those skills to their workplaces, Katz said.

Some students, worried about debt after graduation, might forego pursuing a discipline they’re passionate about for one that might translate more directly into a career, he said. Resources available through the CLASS Hub could convince them to follow their passion.

“The degree doesn’t determine the job,” he said.

During the 2023-24 academic year, employers were brought to campus twice a semester to talk to students, he said. The plan is to double that.

There might also be creative ways to put a degree to use. Degrees in foreign literature are often criticized for having little application in the workforce, but that’s not true, Katz said.

People fluent in foreign languages are in demand by companies that need bilingual employees. Government agencies also need them. A degree in foreign literature or a language helps secure those jobs, he said.

The CLASS Hub  could also help students find other resources on campus, like those through the Career Development Center. Students in CLASS don’t always know those services or events like job fairs are available, he said.

Next to Katz’s office is the college’s recruitment and community outreach coordinator, Josh Adams. The idea is to pair the two services so that students pursuing degrees in a CLASS program receive career support their entire time at CMU.

The suite of spaces also has room for registered student organizations to meet. Those programs provide opportunities for students to develop valuable skills that translate degrees into careers.