Publication Date

1-1-2011

Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

First Advisor

Briscoe, Jon P.

Degree Name

B.S. (Bachelor of Science)

Legacy Department

Department of Management

Abstract

A common belief held by business students is that any type of involvement outside the classroom will translate into better prospects for one's career. It is important that students understand that each experience is unique and geared towards developing different skill sets. Through this research project the benefits of the 4 primary types of outside the classroom experiences, and how they relate to a student's confidence level and career preparation were pinpointed. The four main experiences encountered by organizational management students are: internships, studying abroad, student organizations, and the Experiential Learning Center projects. My research methods included gathering data from a survey that was given to all organizational management majors, along with individual interviews following survey completion. The survey data focuses on three main areas, which are current confidence level, plan moving forward following graduation, and amount of current professional networks. My findings concluded that both internships and studying abroad seem to be sure ways of increasing a student's confidence (both in self and actual abilities) and help with the decision making process concerning one's career. Student organization experience can be just as effective, but it requires the most motivation and from the student to take full advantage of such an opportunity. ELC projects are still in the beginning stages; however, the benefits are there for the taking and the opportunity seems to be emerging as a way to increase confidence and career development.

Comments

Includes bibliographical references.

Extent

50 pages

Language

eng

Publisher

Northern Illinois University

Rights Statement

In Copyright

Rights Statement 2

NIU theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from Huskie Commons for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without the written permission of the authors.

Media Type

Text

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