EPISODE · May 7, 2025 · 40 MIN
Ned Scott Laff and Scott Carlson: Authors of Hacking College: Why the Major Doesn't Matter and What Really Does
from WorkforceRx · host Futuro Health
Too many students go through college focused on fulfilling course requirements for their major with insufficient attention to their actual personal and career interests. The result is they earn empty college degrees that are not connected to the life that comes after graduation. Those provocative conclusions come from a new book called Hacking College: Why the Major Doesn't Matter and What Really Does by veteran college administrator Ned Scott Laff, and Scott Carlson, senior writer for The Chronicle of Higher Education. “A singular focus on the major winds up confusing students and not allowing them to take advantage of all the other things that are in the college space and how they could marry some of these things to their actual interests,” says Carlson. To make their college education more relevant to them, Laff says it’s critical that advisers help students determine what they are really interested in. “All of a sudden, a sociology major can be a pre-med program or a business program or a marketing program. When you change the conversation, students begin to see the learning opportunities on campus and the whole nature of the college changes without the structure of the college changing at all. It's just how students take advantage of the opportunities that are right there.” Join Futuro Health CEO Van Ton-Quinlivan for a fascinating exploration of how students can explore the college system, the surrounding community, and the hidden job market to connect their learning with their true interests and get on the path to building a fulfilling career.
What this episode covers
Too many students go through college focused on fulfilling course requirements for their major with insufficient attention to their actual personal and career interests. The result is they earn empty college degrees that are not connected to the life that comes after graduation. Those provocative conclusions come from a new book called Hacking College: Why the Major Doesn't Matter and What Really Does by veteran college administrator Ned Scott Laff, and Scott Carlson, senior writer for The Chronicle of Higher Education. “A singular focus on the major winds up confusing students and not allowing them to take advantage of all the other things that are in the college space and how they could marry some of these things to their actual interests,” says Carlson. To make their college education more relevant to them, Laff says it’s critical that advisers help students determine what they are really interested in. “All of a sudden, a sociology major can be a pre-med program or a business program or a marketing program. When you change the conversation, students begin to see the learning opportunities on campus and the whole nature of the college changes without the structure of the college changing at all. It's just how students take advantage of the opportunities that are right there.” Join Futuro Health CEO Van Ton-Quinlivan for a fascinating exploration of how students can explore the college system, the surrounding community, and the hidden job market to connect their learning with their true interests and get on the path to building a fulfilling career.
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Ned Scott Laff and Scott Carlson: Authors of Hacking College: Why the Major Doesn't Matter and What Really Does
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