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Today, higher education has come under question鈥攊s the debt worth it, are students graduating at sufficient rates, are we educating聽enough of our population, are students actually learning what they need?

In this environment, the value of higher education increasingly is being聽defined鈥攂y parents and prospective students alike鈥攁s 鈥済etting a good聽job.鈥� In fact, this is the No. 1 reason cited by U.S. respondents in the 2012聽Gallup/Lumina poll for pursuing education beyond high school. And the second聽reason? To earn more money.

鈥淲hen college students and their parents think about the value聽of higher education, they typically think about it too narrowly,鈥澛爏aid Brandon Busteed, executive director of Gallup Education.聽鈥淧eople tend to get caught up with things鈥攍ike potential聽income or getting a job with a 鈥榖lue chip鈥� company鈥攖hat don鈥檛聽matter鈥� when it comes to predicting career success and satisfaction,聽Busteed said. 鈥淔ocusing on those things is not the best聽way to think about a great job and a great life.鈥�

鈥淲ELLBEING鈥� AS A MEASURE OF CAREER SUCCESS

What factors do predict career success? According to Gallup,聽it鈥檚 being able to respond affirmatively to statements like the聽following:

• 鈥淚 like what I do each day.鈥�
• 鈥淚 do what I do best every day.鈥�
• 鈥淢y supervisor cares about my development.鈥�
• 鈥淚 have a best friend at work.鈥�

Agreeing with statements like these indicates that a person聽is engaged in interesting and meaningful activities at work,聽is using his or her strengths to achieve goals, is motivated by聽the team leader, and is supported by colleagues who share a聽common purpose. Those characteristics, according to Gallup鈥檚聽鈥渨ellbeing鈥� research, correlate more with top performance than聽income or title or working for a prestigious organization.

Gallup has been studying wellbeing, on a global basis,聽since the 1930s.

鈥淲ellbeing is not 鈥榳ellness,鈥欌�� Busteed said. 鈥淚t is a multidimensional measure of how people rate their lives.鈥�

In the past several decades, Gallup鈥檚 study of people in聽more than 150 countries has revealed five universal, interconnected聽elements that shape our lives: career wellbeing, social聽wellbeing, financial wellbeing, physical wellbeing, and community聽wellbeing.

鈥淲e didn鈥檛 invent these categories,鈥� Busteed said. 鈥淭he聽factors that correlate with wellbeing are what we found from the聽data collected over time and across populations.鈥� Of those five聽interconnected elements of wellbeing, career wellbeing is the聽most important, Busteed said.

鈥淥ur careers are a fundamental piece of how we define聽ourselves,鈥� Busteed said. 鈥淧lus, work is where you spend the聽majority of your waking hours,鈥� so it is going to have a major聽impact on your life evaluation鈥攏ot to mention your social,聽financial, and physical wellbeing.

Gallup鈥檚 research shows that those who have high career聽wellbeing are 4.5 times more likely to be 鈥渢hriving鈥濃�攙ersus聽merely surviving or, worse, suffering鈥攊n life. However, just 31聽percent of the U.S. population has very high career wellbeing.

WELLBEING AND WORKPLACE ENGAGEMENT

The career wellbeing issue is connected with low worker聽engagement, Busteed said. According to Gallup鈥檚 2012 鈥淪tate聽of the American Workplace鈥� report, only 30 percent of full-time聽U.S. workers are engaged and inspired at work. Fifty percent聽are not engaged, the report states鈥斺�渢hey鈥檙e just kind of present,聽but not inspired by their work or their managers.鈥� The聽remaining 20 percent of all full-time U.S. workers are actively聽disengaged in their jobs.

One significant driver of high or low engagement is a person鈥檚聽manager, Busteed said. People looking for a 鈥済ood job鈥澛爁ocus so much on income and landing a position at a 鈥済ood鈥澛燾ompany, but finding a good manager is vastly more important聽than working for a well-known company, he explained.

Another factor causing low worker engagement is whether聽a person is using her or his strengths every day. 鈥淣ot just once聽in a while, not once every week or so, but every day,鈥� Busteed聽said. Among college graduates, he said, the lack of opportunity聽to use one鈥檚 strengths at work every day points to career misalignment鈥攅ither getting a degree in a field in which one isn鈥檛聽able to get a job or pursuing a field because of others鈥� expectations聽instead of based on one鈥檚 own strengths.

鈥淭he onus is certainly on the individual [student], but it is聽also on the college and mentors to make sure that students are聽asking themselves鈥� what they are truly good at, what engages聽and excites them, Busteed said.

EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES THAT SUPPORT CAREER SUCCESS

In addition to studying workplace dynamics that correspond聽with career wellbeing, Gallup also has identified specific college聽experiences that correlate with subsequent career success. In聽its research, Gallup has found two educational experiences聽that are twice as likely as other factors to predict high work聽performance:

1. Working on a long-term project that took several classes to聽complete, and
2. Using what was learned in class to develop solutions to聽real-world problems.

In short, Busteed said, 鈥渨hat works in school is 鈥榬eal work.鈥欌��

鈥淩eal work鈥濃�攊ncluding problem-solving and experiential聽education opportunities鈥攈elps prepare students for success聽after graduation, but Gallup also has done extensive research聽on the factors that predict success during college. Here,聽Busteed said, Gallup has found that 鈥渉ope鈥� is statistically a聽stronger predictor of educational outcomes than test scores or聽grade-point averages. (In fact, according to the work of Gallup聽Senior Scientist Shane Lopez, hope is the leading indicator of聽success in relationships, academics, career, and business鈥攁s聽well as of a healthier, happier life.)

HOPE: AN IMPORTANT FACTOR IN COLLEGE SUCCESS

鈥淗ope is a strategy,鈥� Busteed said. However, it is not just wishful聽thinking, he explained. Instead, it refers to one鈥檚 ideas and聽energy for the future and includes the following three elements:

1. Attainable goals,
2. The ability to see multiple pathways to achieve those goals,聽and
3. Agency鈥攊.e., a belief that you can achieve your goals.

Measures of hope, engagement, and wellbeing account for聽one-third of the variance of student success in college, Busteed聽reported. And, although college success is also driven by other聽things鈥攕uch as academic preparation and content knowledge鈥攖hose things are being measured fairly consistently and聽systematically through cognitive measures, such as tests.

鈥淏ut no one is paying attention to measuring the non-cognitive聽factors that account for a whopping one-third of聽student success,鈥� Busteed said. 鈥淲e need better balance and聽alignment around how we track and promote student success聽[in college].鈥�

The same is true for college outcomes, where job placement聽percentages and average salaries tell only part of the聽story. 鈥淲hat鈥檚 the ultimate outcome of an education?鈥� Busteed聽asked. 鈥淭o have a better life,鈥� he said. We need to pay attention聽to how we measure that.

AUGSBURG AND CAREER WELLBEING

MATCHING YOUR GIFTS TO THE NEEDS聽OF THE WORLD

According to Gallup, career wellbeing requires聽that people understand what they are truly good聽at and pursue career opportunities that allow聽them to use their strengths every day.

Augsburg calls this vocational discernment.

鈥淎ugsburg is about forming and shaping聽students to lead lives of meaning and purpose,鈥澛爏aid Mark Tranvik, professor of religion and聽director of Augsburg鈥檚 Bernhard Christensen聽Center for Vocation. 鈥淎t Augsburg, we encourage聽students to move beyond self-enhancement and聽think about their lives within a wider horizon. We聽want them to ask questions like, 鈥榃hat am I good聽at?鈥� and 鈥楬ow can my gifts best be used to make a聽difference in the world?鈥�

鈥淔or many at the College,鈥� Tranvik said,聽鈥渇aith plays an important role in how those questions聽are answered.鈥� The exploration of one鈥檚聽gifts is rooted deeply in the Lutheran theological聽tradition of vocation, and it is a critical part of the聽educational journey at Augsburg鈥攆or students of聽all faith and spiritual backgrounds, Tranvik said.

FINDING THE RIGHT WORKPLACE聽ENVIRONMENT

Another important part of the self-discovery聽journey is determining what types of work environments聽might suit you best, said Keith Munson,聽director of the Clair and Gladys Strommen聽Center for Meaningful Work. 鈥淵ou can get a job聽doing something you love, but if that job is not聽in the right place鈥攖he right work environment聽or culture鈥攜ou won鈥檛 be able to sustain your聽motivation for the job very long,鈥� he said.

In other words, you need to pay attention to聽where and how your gifts will be used.

A good way to learn about work environments聽is through informational interviews,聽Munson said. 鈥淣etworking, of course, ensures聽that people learn more about you than can be聽picked up from your r茅sum茅, but that鈥檚 not聽the only reason to network,鈥� he said. It is as聽important 鈥渇or you to actually find out if a given聽company or department is a good place for you聽to work.鈥�

Determining whether a given work聽environment is a fit, however, requires that聽you understand what kind of work cultures and聽relationships are best for you. This involves聽self-reflection and, usually, some amount of聽coaching. But many students鈥攁nd many adults聽in job transitions, for that matter鈥攕kip that聽step and just focus on securing a job.

EXPANDING THE DEFINITION OF A聽鈥淕OOD JOB鈥�

Munson said he understands why students (and聽their parents) think it鈥檚 important to get a 鈥済ood聽job鈥� after college. 鈥淔or many students, following聽their passion without worrying or thinking about聽their income is not a realistic option,鈥� he said.聽鈥淚 always tell these students that it鈥檚 okay for聽them to think about the realities of their career聽choices. You can be practical about those matters聽and still pay attention to the other piece鈥濃�攖he search for work and work environments that suit you鈥攁s well.

鈥淵ou鈥檙e looking for a job anyway,鈥� Munson聽tells students. 鈥淲hy not also try to find something聽that you are going to like to do?鈥� In fact, Munson聽said, by actively seeking work environments that聽suit them, students tend to be more effective in聽the job search process. 鈥淲hen you are looking聽for something鈥攁nd someplace鈥攖hat鈥檚 interesting聽to you, you are likely to be more motivated聽in the job search,鈥� he said. You鈥檒l do more聽background preparation, seek more informational聽interviews, and ask more purposeful questions.

In the end, Munson said, students shouldn鈥檛聽think that they need to choose between following聽their hearts and getting a 鈥済ood job.鈥� You can鈥攁nd should鈥攄o both.