Let's depict a conversation I've grown to hate.
Anonymous Person- "So what is your major?"
Me- "American Studies/History"
Anonymous Person- "Oh... what are you going to do with that?"
Me- *Looks for something to bang my head against*
Three of my really good friends graduated (or will soon graduate) with engineering degrees this year. All of them did very well academically in college and landed decent to excellent internships over the past few summers. Of the three, one of them is going to graduate school at the university of Michigan. Another one might go to graduate school in the future. The other one has no plans to continue schooling. Of the two who are not entering graduate school in the fall, neither one of them has a full-time job lined up. The most they have as of now, are temporary summer jobs in the engineering field.
There is certainly nothing wrong with taking a temporary job while one looks for something more permanent. What I do find interesting is that the two of my good friends, who went to the job fields that were supposedly the MOST employable, do not have jobs after graduation! Indeed, I would be so bold as to claim that these are not isolated incidents. The job market is unsteady enough right now. One must also remember that many people hold various jobs over their lifetime. How many people actually end up working in jobs they went to college for?
Perhaps this reality should make us question the so called "employable" jobs. Maybe vocational/practical education is not the only thing America needs as we look to the future. I wonder if the purpose of education might be a little bit more than simply job training people who may either not have a job after college, or will work in a field completely different than they expected. It seems as if the world is full of professionally and well-educated people. The problems within our culture seem to go a bit deeper than a lack of sufficiently educated people who have at least some form of a college "degree."
This should lead us to examine ourselves and think about the way we do education. Maybe college is more about getting job. From my experience, I would sure hope so. Hillsdale has changed me a lot, but the most important changes have nothing to do with what job I will have someday... although they will definitely influence how I will view that job.
More on these thoughts in coming posts... It was definitely time to move on from the bleakness of modernity... ;)
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If there is one thing I have learned since being at Hillsdale, it is this: even if the job you get [after graduation] is only a part time, summer job, treat it as if you will do it for the rest of your life. Invest yourself in the people, make the most of the experience, be as professional as you can be, and do what you were hired to do. Even if it has nothing to do with your major.
That said, if my college education were only job training, then it seems that the only jobs I should look for are those having something to do with the German language. But because that is not all my education is, I am excited to work anywhere, whether or not it has anything to do with German. It's life training. It's teaching me how to be a grownup.
I kinda like answering "I have no idea" when people ask me what I'm going to do with a German major. To me, it means that I'm not limiting myself and I can use my entire education anywhere. (Maybe not as an engineer...but maybe as a secretary to one.) :) Just a thought....
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