What am I doing with my life?
The question seems like a joke, and it might be for many of us. It’s getting to that time, however, when upperclassmen need to take it seriously.
Part of the decision has already been made, at least – we went to a college or university, declared a major and performed the relevant coursework. But to seek a career immediately after graduation can be daunting. Is there no down time between higher education and a higher payroll?
Erica Laue, a senior at McGill University in Montreal, considers herself someone who has always planned ahead. In high school, she took the SAT test as a sophomore after having taken a pertinent biology class. She is currently majoring in women’s studies and cultural studies, pursuing the honors program in both. She would like attend graduate school, hopefully pursuing a career in social work afterward. All in all, Laue sees the road ahead of her quite clearly.
“It’s very exciting but also very intimidating to know how much of your future is actually in your hands,” Laue says.
Somewhere along that seemingly linear future, however, is the possibility of deviation. While Laue would like to go to graduate school in a year, it would require, as she puts it, “finding a magical pile of money.”
If no such pile is found, then a year of volunteering is Plan B, which is looking increasingly more likely. AmeriCorps, a network of more than 3,000 volunteer organizations, would provide Laue with an opportunity to apply her course of study outside the classroom. It would not be the first time either, as she interned at A Safe Place, an organization against domestic violence, two summers ago. Laue said on-the-ground experiences like these are invaluable.
“[Studying the arts] is an ivory tower of theory,” Laue says. “You’re in school and you’re learning all these things that are mostly applicable and practical, but it’s not the same as actually being on the ground.”
Andy Masters, an author and speaker on life after college, says there has been a noticeable trend over the past decade of college graduates who are not rushing into a career. Previously, he added, graduates would take entry-level jobs and try to work up the ladder. Now, students are waiting to see how life plays out.
"In retrospect, what's the rush?" Masters says. "Life expectancy grows every year. You have the rest of your life to work."
Tristán Zukowski, a second-year senior at Ithaca College, can relate to that sentiment. Zukowski has finished nine semesters at Ithaca, having changed his major from Exploratory to French to English. Among his friends, he is seen as the perpetual college student, and is taking his second break between semesters.
But Zukowski issn’t trying to sample all of the college’s classes. On the contrary, it is his lack of interest in academia that encouraged his hiatuses, change of majors, and ultimately delayed graduation.
“There’s always been this significant disconnect between what I was studying and where my actual interests were headed,” Zukowski says.
Zukowski’s interests are focused on history prior to the 20th century, mainly as it relates to arms and armor. Be it medieval embroidery or Japanese blades, his hobbies require more of an apprenticeship than an internship. Therefore, life after college is fuzzy at best.
“The reason I’m sticking with [a degree] is because other people think it’s valuable,” Zukowski says. “Ultimately, since the majority of employers out think it’s going to make a difference, I have to go along with that.”
He plans to take any job he can hold on to. Ideally, Zukowski would like to enter the dealership of arms and armor. Even in America, he said, there’s a huge business for it, so opening a shop would be suit him well (forgive the pun). It’s not a business one can simply apply for, however, and one would be hard-pressed to find such a major in college. For now, he will see where the diploma will take him.
“The goal is kind of superficial. ‘Just get the piece of paper,’” Zukowski says, referring to a college degree. “If it doesn’t extend deeper than that, it’s kind of a pain.”
Despite students like Laue, who's looking into volunteer work, and Zukowski, who's looking into living away from home, Masters says most graduates who don't get jobs end up returning home. This has become an increasingly acceptable situation, but Masters encourages students to actively pursue something of interest.
"Many students and recent graduates wait around for a 'lightning bolt' to strike about what their passion is, what their dream job is, and what they are going to do for the rest of their life," Masters says. "Each day they wake up, and each day it's not there."
Although Laue and Zukowski have vastly different attitudes toward the academic world, they both know where their passions lie. It is unfortunate that the limitations of a college agenda are only ideal for some students, but perhaps time away from school can help.
Masters concludes that a college graduate is in a better position than anyone to take risks with the direction of his or her life.
"You can do amazing things in your 20s," Masters says. "People who get entrenched in a career, marriage, children, homes... never get a chance to experience the incredible things that you can do in your 20s. Now's the time."
