College: Did I Get My Money's Worth?

I got “knocked up” at eighteen, right out of high school. A few years later, married with two kids, I started looking at college. We all know the dream: go to college, get a good job, provide for my family and live comfortably ever after. Attending a traditional school would have required a very long commute and I needed to fit my classes around my husband’s work schedule so as to avoid needing childcare. I found a career college near home for my Associate’s Degree. Now, I have earned my degree and wonder, was it worth it?

Despite my attendance at a career college where every class is designed to make sure that you know how to do the job, the reputation of career colleges may negate any benefit derived from their teaching practices. Many still see these schools as repositories for people who weren’t smart enough to attend a traditional college or that these schools are giving out degrees for a substandard education. It is enough to make me wonder if the reputation of the school that I attended has negatively affected my employability, regardless of the fact that I have demonstrated the ability to draft legal documents correctly and do in-depth legal research with ease. Have the negative reputations of career colleges sabotaged my chances of a good job in my field? Will they in the future?

Career services are offered to the students of career colleges, at least in the college I went to. In fact, in the last quarter, students are required to take a class in how to create a resume and cover letter, as well as how to interview. It was drilled into us how to dress, what to say, and what not to say in an interview. I am very uncomfortable with subterfuge as a rule, so hiding things about myself makes me a little twitchy. Why shouldn’t I mention the important things like my children? Further, how am I to know and trust that the advice and instruction given are accurate to the individual career field we are entering? Aren’t the hiring processes for the legal field different than the practices for the medical field?

Internships are supposed to be a gateway to a glowing job offer. Prior to graduating, I was required to complete a three-month long internship. I decided to go out on a limb and approached the Co-Parent Court Pilot Program in Hennepin County. I was more than surprised when the Judge in charge of the program liked the idea of bringing in a paralegal intern. Typically, the interns in the courthouse are law students. Initially, I expected it to be the type of internship where I was a go-fer… go-fer coffee, go-fer copies, etc. Not quite. I was given much more responsibility than I ever expected to be. I drafted orders on the spot, made copies, and took notes during the hearings in the courtroom. Yes, in the courtroom. I had that nifty little seat next to the Judge. Cool, right? I was also responsible for copying the notes created by the Judge and others during the hearings, taking them all home and using all of the notes compiled to draft more in-depth orders from home after the hearings. It was a really unique experience and one that I am proud to have been a part of.

Finally, I am two years out of school and again, unemployed after a string of ever-so-lovely temporary assignments and one direct hire position… none of which paid enough to repay my student loans, let alone cover daycare costs each week. So, I’m $45k in the hole and wondering if it was worth it. Does anyone else out there feel like this after attending a career college in Minnesota?