In the past few months, more and more of my friends have struggled with the value of a college education — especially with a 9.4 percent unemployment rate in the U.S. and 8.3 percent in Texas, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in December.
Time and time again, I’ve heard the same question: What’s the point?
For the veteran, it’s often the struggle of having to come back and face the part-time or full-time reality of a retail job like at a clothing store instead of the career field of choice.
For graduates, it’s the battle of the rookies, the confusing choice of where to go next and how to put that degree in practice when no one can seem to find a job. For others, it’s being overqualified.
For non-traditional students who’ve come back to attempt to make themselves more marketable for their career fields, there’s the never-ending cycle of returning to the work force only to face the rookies who already know what they’re doing or having the career change directions again — risking another layoff.
It’s easy to think you can’t move forward when facing this reality. But there is hope.
College doesn’t have to be solely about getting a piece of paper that may or may not land you the job of your choice. It’s about discovering what you want to do or can do in life.
Discovery, opportunity and the will to continue forward despite difficulties is part of what the American Dream was built on. College is the perfect place to embrace all of that.
Unfortunately, that’s often forgotten in the rush or pressure of finding a career and a stable income.
Don’t settle for something you dislike because it feels like it’s the only opportunity you’ll get.
Breaking into the career field of choice isn’t impossible unless you give up. Finding a job, though not easy and often frustrating, can be done. Anything worth fighting for is never easy.
Just like those searching for real love, all it takes is that one chance out of all the rejections to get it right.
That’s the point of college — to find out who we are, grow up some, better ourselves and discover what we can do no matter what stage we’re at in life.
The journey is only part of reaching for where you want to be. That’s the reality. Don’t limit yourself based on a statistic.
