ShareThisI am so sick of reading articles about how desperate the job market is for recent graduates. If much of the literature out there propagates the notion that jobs are hard to come by, well guess what, that’s the attitude that will surface in our minds. Admittedly economic times have been better, but can we stop with all the bloody complaining! I picked up an article today titled “Is It A Really Bad Time To Be A Fresh College Graduate“, that heralds the gloom of today’s labour market and substantiates it with seemingly credible polls and surveys.
Sentences such as “Record numbers of college graduates cannot find jobs” and “student loan debts have become more crushing than ever” purport a very morose picture and suggest that today’s situation is such a deviation from the norm. I have so many issues with this article, as it sympathises with college graduates for the inevitable cyclical nature of the economy and it only affirms the delusion which the author is under, a double graduate himself. Let me critique it further.
“After spending tens of thousands of dollars and investing four (or more) years of their lives in an education, millions of recent college graduates find themselves waiting tables, tending bar, delivering pizzas and working next to (or subordinate to) people who never even went to college.” Come on, university has always cost in the realm of “tens of thousands of dollars” and takes several years to complete. Don’t exaggerate the scenario. Perhaps today more recent graduates are finding themselves performing what one would traditionally classify as “unskilled” work, but no one should feel that this type of work is beneath them. Some of the most successful business people started out “waiting tables” and it taught them the lesson about a hard day’s work. While you might find yourself having to work in such roles, it will be temporary and some experience is better than nothing.
Let me clarify something for our Gen-Y population out there. A college degree no longer means a guaranteed ticket to a career. If you think it does, wake up and smell the roses…or bougainvilleas.
“We were always told that a college degree was supposed to prepare us for life in the real world.” Who the hell told you that? They need their head checked. A college degree DOES NOT prepare you for “life in the real world”; LIFE prepares you for “life in the real world”. I’m sorry but spending four years in an institution, attending lectures, doing group assignments, sitting exams plus all the frivolity that accompanies one’s education is not an accurate picture of reality. Many graduates who feel otherwise often become disillusioned when they finally enter the workforce. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a strong advocate of tertiary studies, but the intention of a degree is to provide you with specialised knowledge appropriate to your field of choice and/or to stimulate you further intellectually.
The article then goes on to exemplify the dismal situation with the stories of two recent graduates that have been unable to secure a job, claiming that their plight is both “bizarre” and “unbelievable”. To Kyle Daley, the UCLA graduate with a number of prestigious internships, they by no means entitle you to a fantastic opportunity upon graduation. You can never assume that employers will be knocking down your door regardless of the state of the economy. And to the other job-seeker Kate, I find it very difficult to believe that retail stores aren’t hiring full-time labour. Have you really been tirelessly seeking work or have you resigned to the fact that “any other jobs don’t exist”. What does that even mean anyway? If they “don’t exist”, isn’t it a moot point?
These examples are as “bizarre” and “unbelievable” as sunshine in winter!
According to another survey, 28% of all U.S. households have at least one member that is currently looking for a full-time job. Is there anyone else that doesn’t really find this statistic that alarming? There will always be an element of frictional unemployment as people move between jobs. While this number might be higher than usual, it doesn’t portend of an economical apocalypse just yet.
Meanwhile, many of these college graduates are graduating with crushing student debt loads. Today, many students borrow 10, 20 or even 30 thousands dollars per year while they are in school. I’m not sure who told you tertiary education was free or cheap, but it’s something you need to be prepared for if you decide to pursue it. I myself am still paying off my university HECS debt (from Australia) that I accrued during university. I’m not complaining about it though as I knew I would be indebted to the state for some time, as it’s a price you have to pay. If this is a pressing issue in the USA, then it’s a separate matter and should be directed all the way up the ranks to federal policy makers. And to describe it as the “cruelest debt” ever as it cannot be discharged with bankruptcy is ridiculous! Why do college grads need to concern themselves with bankruptcy now? It’s just another attempt by the author to portray the situation as more severe than what it is and always has been.
The main problem with articles such as this, is that they spread anxiety and encourage people to bond on the negatives. Whenever a group of people all suffer the same hardship, it’s very easy for them to relate, vent indignantly and focus all that energy on complaining about their situation. This can cause a downward spiral as that negativity and despondence is magnified as others share their plight also.
Everyone suffered to some extent with the recent global financial crisis, whether they realised it or not, not just graduates. In fact while we hear about all the doom and gloom of the job market, thousands of young job-seekers have landed great jobs and advanced their career; we just don’t hear about it as much as heartbreaking stories like the above make better news. We can foolishly ascribe the latest round of unemployment to the crisis or understand that this is a product of life, not the economy. The economy always experiences booms and busts, and just like there are period of massive growth as experienced by the BRIC countries, there are also periods of heavy downturns as we all encountered. It’s not new, and it surely will happen again for some reason or another.
Life throws us a curve-ball sometimes, and forces us to adapt in order to survive. It’s all part of growing up, so don’t blame it on the economy in an effort to justify your circumstances. For job-seekers, there is no way of building yourself up as a recession-proof entity. Regardless of how much experience or skills you possess, there is always a chance that the universe may work against you at some point in time. It’s your job to weather that storm and focus all your efforts on fighting another day. My advice is to start focusing on your personal brand as early as possible. It’s never too early to build your network either. I met a very conscientious student from Singapore Management University last night at an entrepreneurial networking event. He inspired me as he understood the importance of best insuring yourself in a downward economy and took a proactive stance to control his career.
Agreeably there are some distressing points made in the specified article; I’m not disputing that. But painting a picture that accentuates the issues instills the wrong attitude for society. The arguments are far-fetched, and job-seekers feed off this negativity. Remember, that your education in no way automatically qualifies you for your ideal career. Candidates need to take initiative and remain positive at all times. No one wants to listen to your woeful stories and it could stand against you in your future job search.
Okay, my rant is over. Now it’s your turn.
