Linkedin Career - Business oriented social networking service provider LinkedIn has introduced some new tools specially designed to help students choose colleges and launch their careers this past week.

The tools - Decision Boards, University Outcome Rankings and University Finder - are reportedly supported by data-driven insights and contributions from LinkedIn users. They will assist prospective students to select their career paths based on their strengths and also guide them to choose the best university to study based on the likelihood that they will land their desired job after graduating from the school.

Officials from the company have noted that the new tools are expected to resolve problems associated with bad career choices, start-up difficulties and the disparity between the skills of graduates and the vacant jobs in the market.

Some experts have commended the fact that the tools are operated based on data collated from LinkedIn users and the fact the students will be able to get guidance from professionals in their chosen career paths. But the accuracy of the new tools has also been questioned. According to some commentators, the fact that a large percentage of the LinkedIn users in a given profession may not have attended a particular school does not imply in any way that the school should not be regarded as one of the best places to study in the chosen field for a successful career.

Reports indicate that LinkedIn will also introduce two other tools namely Field of Study and University Pages that will introduce users to a wide range of career paths and different universities worldwide respectively.

A blog post that announced the new LinkedIn career tools on the company's website on Wed. Oct 1, notes that "LinkedIn was built based on the belief that relationships matter for successful, satisfying lives. Over the years, we've heard many stories about how a person who offered the right advice at the right time changed the trajectory of someone's life...The best way to "change the world" is to help the next generation get a great start on the path to pursuing their passions.