16 years old. Most kids at this age are thinking about driving, having sex, grades (maybe), finding a job. I did a high school/college program called running start, in which you can take up to full-time (which I did) college classes in place of high school courses and fulfill requirements of both your high school diploma and your undergraduate degree. So at this ripe, young age I was faced with the task of figuring out a degree path. I was in college, after all. Influenced by people around me, I chose the field of computer science since that seemed like a safe field. It’s constantly growing, tech is in high demand and you can work almost anywhere if you’re good enough.
18 years old. Most kids just now are starting college, and just now starting to pick a major. I had two years already completed, and was now transferring to the University of Washington to finish my education. Now when you’ve reached junior status in college, you’re supposed to either be in your major, or applying/applied to. But I was really at an impasse in my head. After doing some more growing up and thinking, I realized that I was not at all a fan of computer science. Programming was a foreign language to me. I didn’t really understand Calculus very well. I wasn’t interested in taking Physics and Chemistry classes when I didn’t have much interest in science or math. So I bit the bullet and decided to choose another major, Accounting.
19 years old. Since I was originally on the computer science track, I ended up having to take a full year of pre-requisite courses to be accepted into the Business major. Because of this, I had three years of college done, but still had two full years left to complete. I lost a full year head start I had from the Running Start program. Oh yeah, did I mention that Running Start paid for 90% of your tuition? So I also went an unnecessary full extra year of time and tuition loans because I decided to change my mind.
21 years old. Just recently graduated. Got a fancy piece of paper with my name on it and a bunch of words in official-looking fonts. It says I have a degree in Business Administration: Accounting. But you know what’s really funny? I hate Accounting. I hate every single aspect of it. And I knew this before I even graduated. The fact that I had never tried to intern, never went to recruitment sessions, and didn’t plan to study for the CPA all were little red flags that became obvious in hindsight. I don’t want to look at spreadsheets and numbers for the rest of my life. I don’t want to talk money and business every day. I want creative space, room to explore my thoughts.
5 years. The number of years I spent in college to receive a nice piece of paper for a degree I’ll never pursue. I did, however learn various useful skills throughout my education. There is no doubt that I could have chosen a better major and learned the same skills.
So I have a question. Why is the college degree career-path system so dysfunctional? Kids that are in their late teens and early twenties are still becoming fully formed adults. Our brains don’t even finish developing into our late twenties. How are we supposed to know what our career is, what we’ll devote our days to when we don’t even yet know who we are? How can someone decisively say they want to do xyz profession for 40 years when they’ve never done it themselves? They’ve never seen the day-to-day, nitty-gritty, behind-the-scenes action that actually happens beyond the glorified view that may be portrayed by the media/television. How can someone say they want to commit to something when they’ve never explored the world, gotten different perspectives, experienced thousands of different things?
How do we even fix this? The way life is these days, you need to have a four-year degree to get any kind of decent paying job. It doesn’t really matter what degree exactly, but just as long as you have some kind of degree. That isn’t the case obviously if you have a degree-dependent career (like Accounting). So the new generation that is freshly becoming adults and our leaders of the world are thrust into a hasty, life-deciding decision that will drown them in debt and leave them stressed and doubtful. Maybe you can’t fix it. Maybe life just isn’t fair, and sometimes we have to go through some tough shit to grow as a person and develop character. How can we ever grow if we don’t overcome challenges? I’m not saying that it’s okay the education system works like this, but I’m saying there is a silver lining. It prepares us for the world, because the world goes a million miles a minute and doesn’t slow down for anyone. We need to be prepared for the fast-paced environment of “life.” Or you can carve out a life for yourself that works. You don’t have to get a degree to make a nice living for yourself.
That’s where I’m here to tell you that everything is going to be okay. Honestly. If you don’t know what you want to do for the rest of your life, almost nobody else does either. That’s a really tough choice. So try to find something that doesn’t completely drive you nuts. Just because society tells you that you should do something a certain way or follow a certain path doesn’t mean you need to acquiesce. I think that your work ethic and dedication will define your career. It doesn’t necessarily matter what you choose. But I do feel there is a correlation between a choice you enjoy and higher levels of dedication and hard work. Pick something. Give it everything you have and you’re bound to find success. Success doesn’t come easy. Things aren’t going to be handed to you. As a millennial, it’s easy to unknowingly be entitled and spoiled by our generation’s inclination to consumption. That’s where I think maturity is supposed to occur when we realize that we have to buckle down and actually put hard work into something. What’s the worst that could happen? Why not follow your dreams? A piece of paper doesn’t have to decide your life.
