THE PROBLEM OF A PERSPECTIVE UNIVERSITY STUDENT: JOB SEEKING v. VALUE CREATION

Yesterday I was at dinner with some church members, a family and some young boys and girls. One of them – let's call her Cecilia – expressed her intentions to study Phsycology at university. She said that her introverted disposition and her ability and patience to listen to people would make her a good phsyc. I agree with her. Then she said she loves everything related to the human behaviour, the mind and social interactions studies. So she'd like to study Freud and friends next autumn. But there is a problem: she is afraid to study this subject for fear not to find a job after she'd graduate.

The change of perspective - non-linear thinking - could help to solve problems. Like in this image where you cannot state whether monks are descending or ascending, there is no right answer, just different point of views. (M C Escher, Ascending and descending, 1960)

Now, I want to help her. First, I think her fear it is a legitimate and honest issue: unemployment rate is high and the job market is very unstable. But I also believe that more important than to have a job, is our intention and ability to create value for others. If we start with this perspective we might end up in another place. So I'll design a question trail – just invented this name – in order to reframe the problem.

From a job- to a value-creation-approach to pick a university course

1. Why does Cecilia want to study Phsycology?
    1. What kind of people does she want to help?
    2. What kind of phsycological problems does she want to solve?
    3. What past experiences do lead her to be a phsycologyst?

These questions should lead Cecilia to understand her own drivers.

2. What value will her help bring to people?
    1. How to measure it?

This is a crucial question. Let's think about the kind of values a phsyc bring to people. They can be more happiness, a sense of lightness and understanding of his own self, a plan of reaction to adversity, more productivity, easier and more stable social relationships, a clear mind to look at new opportunities and achieve new goals. The higher the expected reward the higher the price she would be able to charge. (I don't mean the only option for Cecilia is to start a private practice after she'll graduate from University. These questions are designed to understand whether there is a demand for the services she'd offer. Once graduated she could still look at employers that meet that demand.)

3. How many potential people in need of her help are there?

The answer to this question really depends on where she live and how she will promote her work – this is the branding and marketing side of her job.

4. Will people helped aknowledge her help?

This is a tricky question. In latin countries – i.e. Italy – there is a general skepticism about intellectual professions – lawyers, consultants, phsycologists, software developers, designers, journalists – since people usually think they can do the same job by themselves. I think in order to aknowledge the job a phsyc does and the value she bring to his patients, Cecilia should choose a very specific field very hard to practice.

5. How much will those people willing to pay her?

Here there are two way to approach demand: the value-based side and the competition-based side. With a value-based approach the price should be a fair share of the economic value Cecilia would create to her patients. With a competition-based approach the price should be a slightly lower price that his competitors charge. (Competitors should be a very selected number of players, since phsycological assistance is very much based on personal preferences and so it's hard to compare two different phsycs. It has to be kept in mind that the default mode – doing nothing – is also a non-player competitor.)

What do you think? Are these questions a good way to tackle Cecilia's problem? What other ways do you think of?