The age old mantra of liberal arts institutions. We went to a liberal arts school to get a "well-rounded" education and understand the finer points of things like philosophy and literature. If we just wanted a career, we could have gone to anyone of the hundreds of vocational schools, spent a lot less money, and probably be more gainfully employed generally. But, we took the high-brow road and spent over $100,000 on a piece of paper that says I write well and now how to communicate, or that my friends know a lot about political science, and will someday right all the wrongs in American foreign policy (that last part is just my idea). But what does that really mean? When I tell people that my degree is in public relations, the inevitable follow-up question is, "And what do you do with that?" So I explain my future plans, and the asker is politely impressed (or just polite) and the subject is changed because, to most people, what I do doesn't seem very practical. Those of us with humanities degrees don't make anything or build anything, we write or think or create or archive things. We also don't tend to make a lot of money.
I know I had professors telling me the last year of college that the degree I got meant that I was worth a decent paycheck. I don't know what kind of paycheck they were talking about, but I'm pretty sure it's not the one I'm getting right now. And after searching for nearly a year (yeah, I was one of those kids who started applying to jobs months before graduation), I'm still working two part-time jobs only one of which pays a living wage, and its not the one is actually in my field. So I spend two days a week doing what I love, and three days board to sleep just to pay my bills.
So, do we do what we love and just wait for fortune to follow?? And how long does fortune wait to catch up? I don't think I'm moving that quickly, and it's still lagging behind.
Every famous and/or successful person you talk to will tell the stories of their struggles starting out in their careers. You know the stories: I was sleeping on someone's floor, eating oatmeal for every meal, just scraping together rent each month... And then, along comes the elusive creature we all call 'the big break', and then they never looked back. So, on behalf of all recent grads, I will ask, 'How long do these struggling times need to last?' There does come a time when it just gets to be too much, and you think about giving up on what you love because of the costs of everyday living. Some of us are lucky to have the support of those around us to help fill in those gaps that pop up during these kinds of times, but now is not the best time to be asking for money from anyone. Do we let our true passions fall to the wayside in favor of keeping the heat on? The idealist in my wants to say no, but sometimes its just not practical. How long is it worth being dirt poor and barely eating to pursue our dreams and career goals?
I've always said that I want to do something that does real good in the community which generally implies nonprofit work--not exactly where the money is. I just want to feel fulfilled and not have to worry about money from day to day.
Somethings just got to give someday soon. I would hope that I will have some significant positive changes in wither (preferably both) my personal or professional life in the new year.
The one quote that has really spoken to me lately is: "Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, he turned into a butterfly."
I guess there's nothing we can do except keep fighting along until we find that mythical big break.