If you are planning to head back to school or are currently school, this post is for you.  I have put together a list of the top 10 mistakes that myself and my friends made when pursuing our undergraduate and graduate degrees.

Learn from us and don’t make these college mistakes!

The Top 10 College Mistakes That Will NOT Help You Find a Career:

1. Getting a degree where the only way you can get a job is by getting your masters or PhD.

2. Heading into a career field with no jobs available.

3. Getting a graduate degree that wasn’t necessary because you could have gotten the same job without it.

4. Not conducting informational interviews to find out that you hate your chosen career before you start working in it.

5. Not making a plan for what you are going to do after college so you just take the first job that popped up after graduation (that you hate).

6. Not building a network during college because you spent too much time studying or partying.

7. Picking a major where there is only one type of job after graduation instead of having many different options that you can pursue.

8. Picking a major that you are good at in school but you actually despise it.

9. Picking a major because someone else said that you should.

10. Since you can’t find a job after college, you decide to head to grad school instead (and still can’t find a job after grad school).

Did you make any of these college mistakes? Are you happy with your degree?

Note: This post was written in association with Kaplan Open Learning.  Progressing in your career can be difficult in the current competitive job market. Thanks to online distance learning schools like Kaplan Open Learning, even if you are already employed you can further expand your skills base by studying online.