Q: What helps strengthen your personal skills and get a job after college?
A: Study Abroad!
That’s right. The data is clear. Not only can study abroad sometimes be more affordable than staying in the U.S., it also can be more beneficial - to you, your studies and your career. COVID-19 hasn’t changed that.
In fact, we at CIS Abroad are sending students abroad this spring. As the vaccine arrives, and we learn how to beat this virus, we expect there to be quite a rebound in 2021. But don’t take our word that studying abroad is still one of the best ways to invest in yourself, read on below to see the positive impacts of studying abroad (and share with your parents, in case they are interested!).
Every year the Institute of International Education (IIE) releases its Open Doors report, where they show last year’s data on U.S. students studying abroad, and international students coming to the United States. They estimate that only 10.9% of undergraduate students study abroad, despite the fact that employers value these skills. Put differently: the simple act of going abroad means you are doing something that differentiates you from 89.1% of your peers.
In their 2017 report, Gaining an Employment Edge: the Impact of Study Abroad, IIE explores if and how study abroad impacts the 15 competencies most sought after by employers.
They found a statistically significant impact on:
Now, what other semester can give you all that?
COVID-19 has introduced a lot of uncertainty into our world. To combat uncertainty, we need to be confident, ambitious, and open to change.
The study above showed that studying abroad helps students see more “…career possibilities, and the confidence to pursue these career paths. Studying abroad had unintended benefits in terms of not only developing skills and shifting attitudes, but also opening career pathways and opportunities that had been either previously unknown or simply unconsidered. It also helped participants feel more ambitious and less tentative in their careers.”
See what our students have to say about their study abroad experiences with CIS Abroad.
Ready to get started? Here are some ways to start searching for the right experience for you: