The discussion of college studies is surely one that begs the question of whether the focus should be on practical skills that will shape students towards their career or the classes should be on general subjects. In my opinion, due to the fact that it helps student succeed enormously at their workplace, supporting subjects that are focused towards real-life job skills will be the most apropos choice.
One clear fact is that, if the university focus on providing students with specialized skills that are targeted towards their career; it will help them immensely to succeed in their job. Take for instance, certain universities have mathematics as a subject in the first semester for computer engineering graduates, which is of no value. To illustrate this further, specific skill-oriented subjects like ‘programming using AI’ will be of use when they start their early career once they graduate. Hence, universities should switch to curriculum that lean more towards skill sets based.
Nevertheless, the focus should also be on the basic foundational skills. This is because, without a proper base, it would become difficult for students to succeed. To further explain this, subjects like mathematics and general knowledge are a no-brainer as it will shape them plus help them in their intellectual development. Therefore, some sort of importance should be given to these traditional subjects as well.
Overall, I still opine that a majority of focus should be on practical skill sets that are career focused. Another reason stems from the fact that, when universities educate their students on skills that are targeted towards their career; they will have a strong start in their jobs. Nonetheless, we cannot deny the basic education skills like maths and science.
To conclude, both sides present strong arguments. However, focusing on career related skill-sets will make a majority of students successful in their workplace. If only all the universities come up with an impactful career-oriented syllabus, the younger generation will find more success in their professional lives.