The July 6th New York Times article titled “American Dream is Elusive for New Generation” is one of the most revealing descriptions of the how the “college as credential mindset” leads millennials to make foolish decisions regarding their careers.
The article depicts recent college graduates as unable to land a “desirable job” in the current bear job market. The article focuses on one individual in particular named Scott Nicholson. After graduating from
While it is very easy to lay the smack down on people like Mr. Nicholson, I feel that there is a bigger issue at work than one twenty-something’s actions. I do not know Mr. Nicholson, but if I was addressing him or his peers, this is the constructive message that I would say (and oh how it needs to be said):
Dear Mr. Millennial,
I learned of your plight through the 7/6 NY Times article, “American Dream is Elusive for New Generation,” and I wanted to write to you to convey some words of wisdom during these tough times. I see your quandary as something very similar to my own when I was your age, and that is why I feel that my words will be valid for you. While I initially landed a position after my undergraduate work, you will see that soon after, my situation began to parallel your situation, and because of that, I hope you will take this advice to heart.
Allow me to begin with a little about myself. I received my bachelor’s degree in Management Information Systems while the dot-com bull market was in full effect; big name companies were scooping up college grads with my background left and right. I went through my final two college years with a high GPA, a leadership position in a school organization, and a growing network with those big companies. In the end, I was hired as a technical consultant with one of the (then) Big Five firms. My confidence and self-esteem were sky high, yet as you will soon find out, that self-esteem was more unearned than I realized.
My employer hired hundreds of people with a similar background to me, which made my college “accomplishments” feel less than unique; to make it worse, my daily tasks were less than stimulating. My job involved preparing no-frills PowerPoint slides for my project manager to use in presentations that I did not attend. Though everyone liked me, I began to feel like I was hired for clerical work. To make things worse, once my role on my project ended, I was laid off along with hundreds of similar new hires as the company chose to use the FIFO method of downsizing.
From there, armed with my college degree and a big name on my resume but no real work experience, I spent my days in front of the computer, wearing out the job boards, hoping to land a comparable position to the one that I just lost. Fortunately, I was hired at a large company to act as a liaison between a consulting firm and that company. Unfortunately, the economy took a dive, and my job description quickly changed as the liaison role never materialized. My job quickly became “clerical” again. My duties involved managing the content of several spreadsheets.
At this point, I was like the majority of your friends who say they “hate their job.” More importantly though, I made the unforgivable mistake of letting my discontent with the job affect my performance. Because of my college pedigree, I felt above the work that I was doing, and this led to several of my colleagues disliking me (for good reason as I know now). Because I fell out of favor with my coworkers, I began to really withdraw from the job. This made me expendable when my company merged with a competitor.
For the second time in two years, I was unemployed. This time, I was not only unemployed, I moved back in with my immediate family.
I proceeded to spend a half-year living on unemployment insurance and (like your situation) having others pay my bills. Also like your situation, I was holding out for a corporate job that would “draw on my college training.”
My eyes were finally opened wide when, after three months of back-and-forth emails, I was rejected by a competitor of the firm that initially employed me after college. I’ll never forget what that recruiter told me when giving me the rejection – “If this was 1997, you’d be hired. Unfortunately, now we want people who have had real experience similar to our job description.”
I learned an invaluable lesson, and it is a lesson that I hope you can internalize, even if it stings. Aside from some technical degrees, college does not train anyone for a job. Your college and the media will tell you that over a lifetime, individuals with a college degree earn more than individuals without a college degree. Unfortunately, none of those parties will ever tell you why that degree entitles you to that higher pay, and they won’t say that during bear markets, there is an increased chance that the “investment” in college may not have a positive return.
To go further into this point, six years after you started college, your current income is $0, while your peers that chose not to go to college may have worked for six years, and they are likely earning an income higher than you. They may also have accumulated some net worth, while your education was simply an expense. Some wage premium!
Higher education is designed to develop the mind, which in turn allows the graduate to bring that developed mind to the workforce. It does not, nor should it allow one to bypass the lower rungs of the corporate ladder. When I was your age, I would have sympathized with your situation. Knowing what I know now, I need to ask why you think a political science major with minimal job experience qualifies you for a mid-level management position at a large corporation.
Looking back on my situation, the best decision that I made was give up the search for the corporate job and work at a gym for $10/hour. In essence, I went back to the bottom of the ladder, and it gave me a perspective that I needed. I learned that a career was about learning a business – it was about doing the work that others will not. If I did not press the reset button, I would have remained stuck in self-pity. I advise you to do something similar.
I tell my classes that the best managers are the ones that appreciate and get to know the workers at the bottom of the ladder. When I see a manager who sees the janitors as people, and who asks them about their day, I see someone who has the potential to be a star. Don’t be one of those people who are afraid to get their hands dirty.
Trust me, if you worked anywhere for these last two years, and you showed a work ethic that conveyed that you are not afraid to get your hands dirty, your stock would be exponentially higher than it is now. Even if you worked in fast food, you would be able to show experience in dealing with pressure, working with difficult people, and learning a business from the ground floor.
If you don’t believe me, read My Secret Life on the McJob by SUNY Distinguished Professor Jerry Newman. Dr. Newman took a sabbatical from academia to work in fast food and observe the management practices. He discovered that there are corporate managers that look for fast food on a resume because of the skills that I mentioned.
So please take this advice – get a job, anywhere. The longer you remain unemployed, the worse off your resume becomes. If a college degree is questionable as a qualification in a hot job market, how does a degree with a two-year gap look to those big companies? The longer you hold out, the longer you convey an entitled mentality and a high maintenance attitude to those organizations where you seek employment.
Finally, allow me to conclude with this point. Don’t be like your buddies who refuse any job they don’t love. This whole idea of “loving your job” is an unrealistic assumption. That was my m.o. throughout the first part of my career and I quickly learned that you should not seek to “love your job.” Your job is one component of a balanced life along with friends, family, hobbies, spirituality, etc.
It’s dangerous to put all of your eggs in the job basket. Look at Tiger Woods; he admitted that he was not having fun playing the game while he was winning multiple major championships and dominating the world of golf. If Mr. Woods cannot “love” work with millions of dollars and playing a game for a living, who can?
My best advice is to love your wife and accomplish something in your career. Your peers may not say this, but trust me when I advise this – seek a balanced life so that if one aspect is out of balance, there are other components there to pick up the slack. Trust me, with a steady job and a good direction in your life, you’ll also attract more of the right girls. Someone in his mid-20s who lives at home with his parents and does not pay his own bills is not desirable. Grandma’s Boy is only funny as a movie.
Most people change jobs so often nowadays that their college degrees have less and less of an effect on their career path. Don’t leave the bat on your shoulder – swing it! Just get out there and work, and you never know how your career will twist and turn.
I wish you success in your career. The next time the economy takes a dive, hopefully you will have acquired enough life experience to send a similar message to a young adult who needs the direction, because there will be more people who need to hear it.
Sincerely,
Jason Fertig, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Management
