This post will be to the younger generation that plans to attend and/or in the early stages of some form of higher education.
I hear so many young people today stumbling over themselves when asked: “What would you like to do with that degree?”
This saddens me, as I was once in similar shoes. I have a BOS in Mechanical Engineering from Auburn University. This undertaking was accompanied with hefty financing and the subsequent student loan payments. These are quite taxing. With that said, it’s a hell of a lot of time and money to invest and not get what you want out of it.
My experience: I never planned on going to college. I never imagined that it was in the realm of possibility since my social conditioning told me that only the well off attended college. Someone at school told me to fill out the FAFSA and see, so I did. The only reason I applied to Auburn was to see if they would let me in. I was accepted. Figuring that I was smart enough to go to school, I thought that I was cheating myself if I were to turn down the opportunity to go. The FAFSA gave me enough aid, that if I took out the loans and worked full time, I could get out of Enterprise Alabama. Off to Auburn I go.
This was all well and good except the part where I never saw past graduation. I knew that I was going to school for engineering and that engineering jobs paid well enough, but that was all I knew. What do engineers actually do? Could I get a job that I actually wanted with an Engineering degree?
As it turns out, most engineering jobs are not very enjoyable. You can find more on this from YouTube channels such as “Engineered Truth.” Now there are a few “unicorn jobs” that pay well and are highly competitive. Unless you network and do a few things here and there to position yourself as competitive during school, you might not have much of a chance at those jobs. If you aren’t a competitive candidate for the jobs you want, there are plenty of left overs in factories and cube farms to chose from.
Advice: Take steps to discover your purpose and passions early on. Find a job that you think you will love doing and talk to someone in that position, who does that job. Do everything in your power to position yourself as competitive for that position. You usually have to beat class average, which isn’t that difficult with so many of the younger generation being quite lazy. Don’t wait to “discover yourself,” CREATE YOURSELF. College is a means to an ends. FIND THE ENDS early on. So many people graduate only to find out that they don’t want to do what they are doing. Finally, remember college is only one of many avenues to success. So many of my friends enjoy trades while bringing home much more than I do in engineering, with NO DEBT.
Now, go and create yourself.