Impact of COVID-19 on University Students’ Professional Development

For many young adults, university is the last step toward finding and entering a field and a career that fits them. It’s a period of learning about different topics and eventually choosing a major, getting experience in their field through university organizations, and eventually company internships. Universities have emphasized that online learning is just as high quality and effective as traditional on-campus learning. The reality, however, seems to be less rosy; for students who wish to join the workforce straight after graduation or have chosen a major that involves a lot of hands-on experience or research, online learning (although necessary during the COVID-19 pandemic), has inadvertently caused over a year-long delay on many students’ career paths. If nothing is done about this, current college students, especially upperclassmen, will be affected by this for years to come; they will be less experienced and under-equipped to work in the same jobs that previous college graduates filled. Recognizing the impact that distance learning has had on students’ professional development is a crucial step toward recovering from one of the many consequences of this pandemic in higher education.

The four respondents referenced in this memo are Jane, Savannah, Nat, and Jay (all provided names are pseudonyms). Respondents were chosen based…