Ask a college student today about their career plans following graduation and you will likely hear a sober depiction of a desolate job market. Their genuine concerns about where they’ll be employed sound terrifying.
But when questioned about the steps they’ve taken to avoid the catastrophic scenario or how hard they’ve been searching for a better opportunity, they rise in indignation from their bong hit and shout that the job opportunities are simply not up to their standards. They sincerely feel that their degree alone has earned them enough prestige to land them their choice job.
Prosperity in America isn’t a given right; it’s a goal needing fervent cultivation and a competitive spirit. The pervasive ethos of entitlement in our country has bled into this generation’s perception of the job market and has sown seeds that will be detrimental to its future.
Surprisingly, most students haven’t even begun the process of exploring job opportunities. The National Association of College and Employers surveyed graduates of the spring 2008 class and found that although 70 percent reportedly wanted full-time jobs after graduating, only 40 percent had applied prior to their month of graduation. One would expect to see more urgency from seniors, considering today’s economy, yet there are still those who are comfortably deceived in their self-worth.
If they are fortunate enough to have empathetic and financially stable parents, the idea of temporarily moving back home grows increasingly desirable. Still, graduates risk significant setbacks from parents who foster a complacent attitude or herald their potential, instead of instilling personal responsibility.
College students are facing a cold winter of the economy and demanding a summer harvest. The failures in the economy serve as a lesson that complacency and a sense of entitlement to a life beyond one’s means can and will lead to one’s demise. People believed they deserved a home they couldn’t afford and were willing to leverage their future on that misguided belief. Students have deluded themselves into thinking that a paper diploma is a guarantee for success, in place of hard work and determination.
The “excess” heard in the news regarding the current economic environment isn’t exclusive to Wall Street or Washington; it is a paradigm that has spread throughout the country, including graduates. They are students of entitlement, deserving of all with or without the substance to warrant it. They not only believe that jobs are deserved, but also that immediate promotions and robust bonuses are guaranteed.
Granted, college students have made appropriate steps to gaining a competitive edge. They’re fortunate to have world class institutions offering a nearly endless array of degree choices and resources that will provide opportunities far beyond what an average person might expect. The problem is that parents and teachers have long been promulgating that graduating college is a ticket to a successful career, mistakenly omitting the development and professional facilities that make a college graduate valuable.
It’s time that students run towards opportunities and prove their worth through an unprecedented determination to thrive; for what is a successful farmer without a strong work ethic and an environmental consciousness?
Without one, they might as well eat their diplomas as fodder to sustain them through this dreary season.
Andrew can be reached by e-mail at andrew.rowen@asu.edu.
