Nic *soulless opinion* Staley:
Picking a field of study is one of the hardest things a young person can do in this generation. While it is perfectly acceptable to follow your passions, it is also very important to understand what the job market needs right now. If the whole world wanted to become gardeners, we would have too many rutabagas and not have enough people doing the jobs necessary for societal function. We need bankers, sailors, chefs, and sometimes workers in unpopular jobs to ensure our society runs smoothly for everyone. I am not saying that people should go into something that they are terribly unskilled at because the market needs that type of job. What I am saying is that a student should find their passions, take a related major, and cross reference the job market to see how they fit in with the current supply and demand of various lines of work. With this system we can ensure that people enjoy their jobs, while also helping our community get stuff done. If we purely ran on the ideology of people should only listen to their heart and do what is most appealing, there would be a lot of gaps in society, and we could lose our freedoms to have any say in how we spend our 9 to 5s.
James *rambling opinion* Austin:
College is the major crossroads in modern American life, or at least for those who have the opportunity to attend one. It is a place of immense opportunity and versatility in choice. If there was ever a time in life to hone whatever one thinks their interest may be, it’s college. Moreover, the abundance of resources universities offer students means that one can receive help in navigating the job market, whatever their major may be.
It should be noted that today’s economy is more complex than ever. There are jobs today that people 50 years ago couldn’t have imagined. There are jobs today that you probably couldn’t imagine. We have to get past the “Medicine/Law/Business degree = success” mindset in this country. Remember, the safe route has cracks too. People say that an English degree is worthless. Do they consider that people in journalism, teaching, and the new-media landscape are always recruiting English majors? Or that you can study Classics, or philosophy, or really anything and still go to law school? Or that President Barack Obama, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, and the former CEO of Disney all majored in English at their respective universities? No. They don’t. People revert back to the same boomer ideology that hinders innovation and creativity.
The most important factor for choosing a major, however, should be quality of life. Besides sleeping and eating, the vast majority of the average person’s life is consumed by their job. If one chooses to sell-out into a structure of life they don’t like, they may enjoy luxuries for three hours a day, but 3x that amount will be spent on work. Simply put, the sports car you get to drive on a road with a 35 mph speed limit for 40 minutes of your twice-daily, traffic-lined commute that is the bane of your existence isn’t worth it, and it certainly won’t make up for the monotonous drudgery of an uninspired work life. This is even more pertinent today, when people often bring their work home with them. You can tell yourself that you’ll break yourself for five years on “Wall Street” and move on, but chances are they’ll keep raising those shiny fat-cat bonuses right in front of your eyes.
I’m not saying that having financial success as one of your goals in life means you are selling out to the man. But, people have to expand their consciousness, and realize that success does not have one route. General interest compliments drive, and caring is a prerequisite for dedication. Prolong hope in life. Do not succumb to a passionless existence. Make what feels like the right decision now, and your future self will never be able to play the blame game with you.
Photo courtesy of ea.2021.colleges