Ahhhh college. For decades we’ve been told that if we go to college, get a degree, and then get a good job, we’d be set for life. Well, my friend, if you’re reading this, you probably feel like you’ve been sold a lie.
I’m here to tell you that… yeah you kind of have. Oh but don’t feel bad. I’ve been sold that same lie. We can laugh about it together, and then take back control of our lives by DIY-ing it!
But first, here are some WILD and surprising (but not really) facts about having a college degree:
- 1 in 5 recent grads are working at jobs that are unrelated to their major.
- 34% of employed college grads could have gotten their current jobs without a college degree.
- 40% of recent grads still seeking employment have lowered their salary expectations.
- 2 in 3 recent grads earn less than $60K. Meanwhile, the average cost of college over the course of 4 years is $102,828.
- 8 in 10 recent grads had difficulty finding a job.
A modern college to corporate story:
Now! Here comes the motivational part!
Degrees matter, but… at the same time, they don’t matter.
I majored in Film & TV Production. And I’ve never really worked in that field, in the capacity that I learned about it.
I knew early on that I definitely was not going to be working on anyone’s set, running errands, answering phone calls for angry agents, or sweating bullets making sure I didn’t mess up on someone’s million-dollar movie budget just to one day be the one controlling that million dollar budget, all while only getting 3 hours of sleep.
Was I being dramatic? Maybe so, maybe not. Idk. I just knew that all of that gave me MAJOR anxiety, and I really couldn’t imagine that being my life. I never regretted my major or degree, because it was fun and exciting, and I got to live out my fantasies of being a film director for a bit, but I just knew I was meant for more!
I was realistic about my career goals before my career had even started. I was always plotting, but going into my junior year, my plotting went up by a lot. I knew I liked to sleep, my freedom, and to create all day, so I finessed my degree to work for my desired lifestyle and passions.
My advice for recent grads and early career professionals:
If you have a degree, be like me and make it work for you! It’s totally fine if you’re that 1 out of 5 who are working in a field that is not related to your major or college degree.
If you don’t have a college degree, and you don’t want one, don’t feel pressured to do it! There are other alternatives out there like boot camps, volunteer work, start-ups, apprenticeships, etc. Do some research!
Either way, new grads, and young pros, do you. Take stock of what you like and don’t like and follow your curiosity. That’s a better game plan than looking to your major or college degree to guide you to a dream life or dream career.
YOU GOT THIS!
Source: Resume Builder
