Debate This!: A College Degree Does Not Guarantee a Job

I think I might start “debates” in the hope of generating more discussion here.

Recession creating a lost generation: high unemployment is damaging the future for America’s youth.

A worthy argument was made in the article: college graduates can’t find a job because of their a) youth, b) their inexperience, and c) the recession. This made me think. I’ve held a part-time or full-time job ever since I started my undergrad degree. Half against my will, half lulled by the promise of “financial independence.” I now have enough varied job experience to score a decent job which will be aided by my English/history degree.

It really surprises me when I hear of undergrads who completely support themselves and their college career on loans from banks or The First Bank of Mommy and Daddy, financial aid, and to a lesser degree, scholarships.

While I know the path I chose – working and going to school – doesn’t work for everybody, I think it should be an option. Not only does it arm you with much-needed job experience, the pressure of balancing both prepares you for Real Life. Balancing the responsibility forces you to grow up, if you ask me. I know there are undergrads like me who worked through school, but that’s not whom the article is implicitly addressing.

Let’s think about American life in general. We have been indoctrinated since birth that subliminal happiness can only be attained by being a good worker bee: going to school, getting good grades, acing your SATs, getting into a good college, marrying, having children, and settling into a career that will take you through to retirement. Let’s be honest: NO ONE can live their life like this, nor should they be beholden to such an impossible goal. This notion of supernatural perfection sickens me. We kill ourselves trying to get this unattainable goal, and it simply doesn’t work. I accept the argument that not everyone has these limitations placed on them, but the perfectionists do, that’s for sure.

Subliminal happiness and satisfaction about our lot in life should come from within ourselves, not because we can’t find a job due to the economy. We are Americans. We are resourceful, pigheaded, terrible with money and we never enforce the laws already on the books. We are imperfect, we are not omniscient, and we are incredibly primal and prideful. We come crashing in with guns blazing, taking prisoners, and killing the bad guy to save the damsel in distress but probably not without taking a few innocent civilians in the process. It’s this strength that we have that is inherently part of the mythos we have about being an American. And besides, working hard is part of the Dream.

So what I’m really trying to say is that graduating college is a milestone that we should be proud of, but it’s not a guarantee to the beginning of your life. If we continue to place that distinction on college degrees like that, we lose sight of what it should truly mean about you: that you received a good education. We should be worried about the quality of the education rather than the end goal of obtaining a college degree and the further expectation of getting a job because of it. Having an undergrad degree doesn’t guarantee a job. I applaud those who have four-year degrees. I am completely jealous, though I will be joining your ranks very soon. I envy those with graduate degrees. But if you go to school with the sole expectation of getting a job, I think it demeans getting a degree in the first place. You should look to it as a chance to grow.

Obviously this entire argument could be modified for different situations, i.e. those who leave school & return for career advancement, those who can’t work, and so on.