07.22.08
My Degree Has Failed Me Miserably
The economy is in a crunch. I’ve been in denial about it until now. I was told by older people that this day would come. As I sit and ponder my financial situation and life in general, I’m wondering what I’ve really accomplished since graduating from college. It’s nice to throw around my university’s name and occasionally get surprised looks, or more commonly jokes from people who struggle to compensate for their inferiority complex. It’s nice for people to stop by my apartment and notice my shiny diploma frame hanging evenly on the wall. As a matter a fact, it’s probably the only thing in my living room that I dust reguarly. But that piece of paper between the glass and the wood…what does it really mean?
Being that I opted not to go to graduate school, where I hear having this piece of paper is helpful in admissions, I’m finding out how little it’s worth when the economy is tough like it is now. A degree from *insert Ivy League school other than Harvard, Yale, or Princeton* does not guarantee that you will have your dream job or be raking in the dough. Some of us have been fortunate enough to beat the odds; but for the rest of us, we toil on in our daily drudgery. A degree from an Ivy in this economy is on the same piece of paper as a degree from Shucka Jive College in Sanbow, NM. Though I am employed full time, my degree doesn’t allow me to magically leap away from my current job and into the new position of my dreams. There’s a lot of competition out there nowadays. Then again, I guess there’s always been a lot of competition. I just never really noticed it until now. A recession definitely levels the playing field.
I look at my degree, and where I was supposed to be according to the expectations of myself and everyone else. My major indicates that I should’ve been a lawyer. Oops, gotta go to grad school for that. Or maybe, just maybe I could’ve been an arbitrator or sports agent, or something else cool…oops, gotta go to grad school for that stuff too. Either that or have the ultimate connection to pull me up the ladder. Anyway, maybe I should have went into the financial services field..then again, I wouldn’t want someone to have to clean the bloody mess off my desk after beating my head against it on the day that I finally snapped.
I could’ve went a few other ways as well, but somehow I ended up in sales and then in the field of recruiting (which is somehow related to my major). I feel like I’ve done a lot of stuff right over the years. I’ve put on the sharp suit. I’ve presented myself as articulate, polished, and highly intelligent. I’ve taken many of the steps that were “supposed” to lead me to success beyond graduating from college. Yet, I feel pretty unaccomplished and somewhat unhappy with my current predicament (Blogging is merely an outlet to stop one of my talents from going to waste). Of course things could be worse, but that doesn’t mitigate the significance of my personal circumstances. I see people making less money that are a lot happier. I see people chasing their dreams, whether it be music or running their own popular website. I see people making filthy bucks that appear to be on this earth solely to be miserable. I guess at times, I feel like I fall somewhere in between. People have said “you only live once”, and I have spent money according to that statement since graduation. It may have brought me temporary happiness at the time, but as I continue to dip into my account for expenses I’d rather not deal with, I find myself using the same words that my parents and other older folks use when trying to instill some knowledge…
“Only if I had the chance to go back and do it again.”
Whoever believes that the “live once” logic is a good excuse to blow your cash must have a trust fund or some financial cushion lurking in the shadows. I sure as hell wish I hadn’t taken that approach. Even if tomorrow is not promised, I wanna be able to live stress free when it becomes today. Lord willin’ of course.
And no, I’m not broke. But after having to dip into my savings a few times as of recent, I’ve realized I’m far from where I expected to be. And I’m even further away from where others expected me to be. As much as I’d like to pass the blame elsewhere for my circumstances, the reality is that I can only blame myself. Had I paid attention to what would make me happy from the beginning and been a bit more calculating, I probably wouldn’t be feeling the way I do now. I certainly wouldn’t be wearing a suit everyday. Perhaps I would have rode the initial blogging wave, and I’d be paid to sit in my apartment in my boxers writing about whatever feels good. Maybe I should be more optimistic despite the downward spiral of the economy and it’s effect on my life. Maybe the line between dream and reality isn’t so distinct. A dream is what you strive to achieve. And reality…well, that’s just what you accept. Strangely enough, many people base reality on the perception of others, which adds to the stress people place on themselves. Perhaps that’s why people are so miserable. Then again, misery does love company, and I figured I’d be kind enough to share mine with you. Go figure…
It always takes a tragedy or a series of unpleasant occurrences to give someone a “reality check”. I’m getting one everyday that I drive by the financially back-breaking gas station, and every month when I cut that crippling rent check that has surged an additional 100 bux per month. I sometimes feel like a college student all over again. I do kinda wish I could go back. Where would I go? You already know…right to that point before I got this seemingly worthless degree.
danaofthebells said,
July 22, 2008 at 8:42 pm
Forty years ago, a high school diploma was all you needed to land a dream job. Twenty years ago, college became the big thing. People with a master’s degree could get extremely far. Now, it’s graduate school that seems to be required to make ends meet according to the ideal. I fear for those twenty years in the future.
In some ways, we’re a lost generation. We are told that college is all we need to go far. An investment in time and money that we don’t feel that we have free to give up, but we give anyway in hopes of chasing the dream. We run ourselves ragged and still end up with a shiny piece of paper that means very little in the end. We all can’t be doctors, lawyers, or cooperate jockeys making six figures a year. The unfortunate thing is, many of the adults around us wanted us to succeed so badly that they never voiced the negative what ifs. We were told to be what we wanted to be, rather than look down the road logically and objectively and figure out whether or not our prospective career would be viable in the four/five years it would take us to get out of the world of academia.
We’re waking up, but not until we have the paper.
slimjackson said,
July 22, 2008 at 8:58 pm
Excellent comment. It’s interesting talking to different people and getting his/her perception on what defines success. I talk to people looking for jobs everyday with high school educations that wouldn’t have had a problem finding work a couple decades ago. I can’t even do anything for them, despite how great they may be. I know I’ve saved myself for the next 20 years, but there has to be more than this. Pretty soon you’ll need a degree or some type of certification to have people take your blog seriously…
shaferfinancial said,
July 22, 2008 at 9:48 pm
No your degree has not failed you. But you are intelligent enough to recognize something is wrong. Thirty years ago industry decided a stable work force was not something they wanted to invest in. That was the start of a very different work environment, one with layoffs and 401K’s instead of pensions and temporary workers instead of life long work entaglements. In the 1990’s Harvard’s 25 year alumni meetings started to have a sub-committee dedicated to laid off and underemployed alumni. Harvard folks that should have been at the peak of their work power!
You need to apply your skills and go to the library to do some research. Research on how people become financially well off or more directly financially independent. Here is a suggestion, you can start at my blog: http://shaferfinancial.wordpress.com which is a adjunct to my business http://www.shaferwealthacademy.com. Ignore my self serving selling of the business and really read the blog, it is full of great information, all for free. Go to the library and do the research on how people get wealthy yourself.
By the way that piece of paper means you have the ability to do anything you want to, but you have to want to. And you have to break through the thought patterns that served you well in school, but fail in our current work environment!
Good luck!
danaofthebells said,
July 22, 2008 at 11:57 pm
That concept essentially exemplifies what is wrong with the system.
Here… work yourself dead for a degree that is only worth something once you unlearn all of the tactics and methods that helped you survive that. For a system that claims to prepare and teach us all that we will need to succeed in the world ahead, how many issues those of us who have graduated the esteemed collegial establishment sure points the finger at some serious figures.
Everywhere you go, even out of college, requires real-world experience that no one offers. That means, you have to do a temp, intern job (often for no pay) while you’re currently in college and are working to pay off your school debt. How is this not a broken system?
I personally see success as being happy and in a lifestyle that you can maintain safely that meets your needs. Currently, I’m fine with my 1bd/1 ba 700sqft apartment in the middle of the city. In a few years, when I intend to have children, that won’t be the same if things haven’t expanded for me. For my age group and experience, I view myself as successful.
The only issue is it never seems to ramp up proportionally. There is always something lacking. There are glass ceilings everywhere you go. To start, you don’t have enough experience. Get it, and you have too much. You’re too young when you’re fresh out of college. Give it a decade and you’re too old, too long out of the system to know the cutting edge of things. The world moves fast, but does it have to leave what it considers it’s future behind?
We teach the children now in high school to work towards passing a single test. They do not learn anything, but rather spit out things by rote onto a piece of notebook paper. The teachers themselves bemoan this predicament, but cannot do anything about it. Where do we say ‘enough’ and begin to allow creativity into the system, allow individuals to thrive rather than cut them down with the standardized tests?
shaferfinancial said,
July 23, 2008 at 7:42 pm
Don’t bemoan something that was never there. The school system is just a system designed to create a 20th century work force. Universities for the most part the same. Consider it a right of passage and move on. Now you will find out how to make it through the world the way everyone does, trial and error. Believe me, it doesn’t ever get to the point where you know everything, not even close. That’s what makes life worth living, constant surprises, constant errors, and constant successes. It sounds trite, but it is true; its not the destination but the trip that counts!
Derk Frazier said,
July 23, 2008 at 7:44 pm
Since 2008 began I have lost my studio, went into debt, 4 months behind on mortgage, and such and such..
However,
I am smarter now.
I decided to call the shots even when the curtain was falling. I came out with a few fitness DVDs. http://www.kettlesthenics.com and http://www.derekfrazier.net.Passive income forever now.
Also, You never know whats going to happen.
Take care of someone else when you start thinking about yourself.
I was sad when I went out of business. I wasnt able to train.
However, I did coach a young 16 year old that was obese, he lost 25 pounds in 3 months. I changed his life with him. And said goodbye.
I got on the news 2 times for that.
It will certainly help my credibility in the future,
Dont be sad.
Think big
Like that other guy said,
read things from outside your discipline.
{S.T.U.F.F.} said,
February 25, 2009 at 6:50 pm
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! You bought the HYPE!!!
WAKE UP!! Nobody promised you a rose garden!
Unfortunately, what you learned while in pursuit of your paper dream, was how to be a GREAT employee!!
If you would have taken off the rose coloured glassess…you would have learned the REAL LESSON!…
….OWN YOUR OWN SH*T!!!…
…now that’s the REAL DREAM!!! *{insert adjective if you must}
* a word to keep tucked away…while you find your way…
” You never have to jump like Jordan, if you own the team “
RaiulBaztepo said,
March 28, 2009 at 7:21 pm
Hello!
Very Interesting post! Thank you for such interesting resource!
PS: Sorry for my bad english, I’v just started to learn this language
See you!
Your, Raiul Baztepo