{"id":469,"date":"2025-07-22T20:11:17","date_gmt":"2025-07-22T20:11:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/csueng100101fall2023\/?post_type=chapter&p=469"},"modified":"2026-03-11T20:53:57","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T20:53:57","slug":"13-3-the-first-year-writing-program-and-your-career","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu\/csueng100101fall2023\/chapter\/13-3-the-first-year-writing-program-and-your-career\/","title":{"rendered":"13.2 The First-Year Writing Program and Your Career"},"content":{"raw":"In the recent featured report by Gallup<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/span>, The State of Higher Education 2025<\/em>, the most important motivator for individuals enrolling in higher education after high school is \u201cexpected future job opportunities.\u201d As stated in the same report, \u201cCareer outcomes remain the primary motivation for pursuing additional formal education after high school, regardless of whether students are still in college or have paused their education\u201d (16).\r\n\r\nAt Cleveland State University (CSU), faculty and staff understand that you attend CSU to better yourselves academically and individually, but of course, practically and professionally with the hopes of becoming employable and experiencing consistent growth in your future careers. As a Career Specialist in the Office of Career Development and Exploration at CSU, and a part-time instructor for the Department of English\u2019s First-Year Writing (FYW) program, and the Jack, Joseph, and Morton Mandel Honors College, I observe, firsthand, the ways you can better leverage your theoretical learning and classroom experiences into practical tools that bolster employability and professional development.\r\n\r\nPerhaps, most saliently, not only does the FYW program at CSU provide you with a tremendous opportunity to make substantive progress on your journey to employability but I often find that some students seem to overlook the potentialities that the FYW program offers that directly relate to career. Thus, as you progress through the FYW program, think about the things below:\r\n

Strategize the process of applying theoretical learning to the practical, \u201ccareer:\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\r\nThis takes a significant amount of time and critical thinking<\/em>, but concepts like rhetoric<\/em>, rhetorical awareness<\/em>, and audience <\/em>are all related to career (these are concepts that we cover in the FYW program). E.g., if you can write effectively for an audience<\/em> and, or, simply understand the concept of \u201caudience\/writing to an audience,\u201d<\/em> you have developed transferable skills that are directly related to marketing<\/em>.\r\n
Discussion: Is every industry in some way concerned about marketing?<\/em><\/div>\r\n

Approach Assignments as Opportunities:<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\r\nYou will be assigned various projects, research tasks, and essays in the FYW program, some of which will allow you to be creative and provide latitude in the topics that you explore or research. Try to be strategic and deliberate:\r\n