Is it just me or do any other rising juniors or soon to be graduates feel like they are this close to having a full on quarter-life crisis? It’s a week after midterms, and even though most of my focus is on making sure President Hanbury hands me my diploma, I’m also scouring job boards with the intensity of the BAU unit of “Criminal Minds.” Yet, despite using every single keyword and skill buzzwords in my arsenal in three different states, I still can’t find a job I’m qualified for.
Most of the jobs I found want eight or more years of experience in the field, a masters or doctorate degree, or my personal favorite, the jobs are unpaid or just slightly above minimum wage.
I am not graduating college with a mountain of debt from student loans, but it’s definitely a hikable hill with a view. I can’t afford to get another unpaid internship or scrape the bottom of my savings account. So, what does that leave me with? Right back to square one: scrolling for hours, silently crying onto my keyboard and lying on my floor ranting to my graduate-school roommate about how I’m afraid I won’t be able to get a job, and in reality, have no clue what I’m going to do with my life.
Now, I know what you are going to say. “Go to CAPs and get advice from friends and peers.” Been there, done that. I’ve spoken to two professors so far as well as CAPs and they did give good advice, but I still think the job market is way too saturated to make a decision right now that makes sense. At this point, I’m looking at a temporary job to try and downgrade that hikable hill with a view to an elevated street. Even if I talk to family or friends, most of them aren’t familiar enough with my field to offer anything more helpful than “minimum wage is not enough to live on” or the simple “you’ll find a job.” Not to mention that we are going through a pandemic right now. It’s not exactly easy to enter the workforce for your first “big girl” job that primarily is in a virtual space with not many companies or other places hiring because of COVID-19 restrictions.
According to a Forbes article in 2019, more recent college graduates are unemployed or underemployed, meaning working for a job that doesn’t require their degree, than in past generations. I don’t think that means that we are all just “giving up” on finding a job. I think it means it’s getting harder and harder to find a job to fit our means and wants. It’s important to note that I’m not talking about the “need” to own a BMW. I mean the need to pay off our student loan debt.
As excited as I am to graduate from NSU and earn my bachelors degree, it’s becoming hard to enjoy this recent success when the prospects of future success for myself and the future life I’d like to build for myself seem slim.
