For many college seniors, myself included, finding a career path involves a waiting game for America to recover from an economic crisis and withdraw from the war in the Middle East to redirect government spending towards economic stimulus. Students are more conscious of learning the risks and rewards of applying to graduate school versus just getting that first job. For instance, law schools are losing allure, and non-profit organizations are gaining popularity.
The last thing that seniors want to hear is the future dollar value of their selected majors. People who speculate about which majors are most worthless, or how much debt students have aggregated, mistakenly assume that an education is all about profit and not simply learning. I once heard an economist equate graduating college anytime within three years of an economic recession to being born during a year of famine or plague.
College seniors despise being questioned about their plans after graduation, and even threaten to impose physical harm on those who dare to ask it. While they often admit they are "just kidding," everyone knows that there is always truth behind jest. The answer to "What do you want to be when you grow up?" becomes more elusive as graduation approaches. At least first graders have the courage and conviction to say, "I want to be a firefighter who saves people," which fosters beaming parents.
Perhaps reframing the question as, "What do you not want to do when you grow up?" will boost morale across college campuses. College is a consciousness-raising environment, where students keep their eyes and ears open and learn to recognize the issues of inefficiency and inequality both at home and abroad. We have seen our fair share of the good, the bad, and the ugly.
We are certain that we don't want to jump to conclusions about whether a country has weapons of mass destruction -- and we know the difference between having them, and threatening to use them. We know we don't want to partake in Ponzi schemes or corporate accounting fraud. We know that we don't want to fall into bad credit because we would not be caught dead filing for a Chapter 7 or 13 bankruptcy. Moreover, any financial irresponsibility that risks foreclosure is out of the question because life without a place to hook up or house our laptops, smartphones, mp3 players, tablets, or digital readers is meaningless.
Also, political leaders frequently warn that young people will inevitably compete for jobs and industries with those in rapidly developing countries -- such as China and India -- that are investing in education, research, and new technologies. But soon-to-be college graduates should rest assured about life ahead since we have already figured out so much at this point in time than those before us. While not all of us are as audacious as President Obama in publishing our memoirs at the ripe age of thirty-four, we should not forget our key role in electing the first black president of the United States as first-time voters in the 2008 Election.
If you take a snapshot of America today, it is laden with squabble over the "birther effect" or the degree to which William and Kate's kiss qualifies as a peck. If even our current business leaders and heads of state get caught up in a childish game of truth or dare, and political groups and the media act as enablers on the playground, then we should not stress ourselves by feeling the need to quickly find our best-fit places to contribute to the world.