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Yes it’s an arts degree, and yes the arts are in dire straits right now, but uhhh I at least feel fulfilled having tried to make the most of my passion— which I recognize doesn’t pay the bills, but made me feel validated and boosted my self-esteem, which I don’t think any job would’ve ever done for me nearly as much.
…so anyways, how’s that reset going, is your machine back up and running? Great. Thanks for calling tech support have a nice day.
Society prizes art above all else (its like 90% of what we remember about ancient cultures if you count stories as art) but hates artists with a passion.
Just wanting to point out the irony of making fun of artists’ life choices… below a comic.
Sorry, I should clarify those were my own choices I was referring to. I’m the one who has a film degree and now works in tech support.
I meant to be empathizing more than making fun of op.
I think anyone not looking for reasons to be angry could read you were speaking about yourself, don’t mind them!
Here’s the thing… I remember some years back that (I think it was) Denmark had the best educated population or the most college degrees or some such, so your cashier or barista could very easily have a college degree.
The difference is that they get paid far better than retail in the US, get all the benefits of social policy, and from unionization. Vacation time, health care, maternity leave, etc. that retail positions in the US would be highly unlikely to have. I’m sure there’s some social stratification to blue collar positions vs white collar in such a country, but I’m sure it takes a lot of the sting out of it when you’re taking your two weeks vacation on the mediterranean coast.
I live in Austria, where it’s not even quite as nice (well, similar benefits, but no federal minimum wage). It’s deeply engrained in our culture that education doesn’t have to be prep for a job. I personally know many people who pursue or have completed uni education that’s completely unrelated to their like of work. Some have degrees in other areas, some don’t. We have some pretty ‘bad’ statistics for how long People take to finish their degrees because people are, like, full time kindergarten teachers and taking 10 years to do a political science degree on the side purely because it interests them. People value education for its own sake and I love it. Unfortunately though, capitalism has this culture on the decline, and not even that long after education became open to most people.
Everyone’s experience is different, and things ARE absolutely more difficult in recent decades than many decades ago.
That said, I remember around the time I was graduating and how it felt like the vast majority of everyone I knew was baffled by my willingness to move far away (for the job), and how many of them refused to move away from home (where there weren’t many job options for degrees).
There’s also choices to make to do projects or a thesis around real productive ideas to build something to show off to employers. There’s opportunities to practice interviewing, shadow careers, and make yourself presentable and stand out for your field, and again I just remember very few who actually put in the effort and wanted to appear well-rounded amd with a portfolio of sorts to distinguish themselves. Most of my classmates seemed to just want to check boxes and expect a career to happen.
Some people in my personal experience seem unwilling to do what’s necessary to make their degree worthwhile.
Yeah you may be able to get [insert degree] at [random local college], but a lot of the good careers are not going to be where you got the degree, amd you really have to find ways to convince employers why you’re different.
Then on top of all of that, there’s just some luck as well. And I know in some ways I also just got lucky in landing a job.
Meanwhile, ever since I moved and started a career, I have been surrounded by incredible degree-wielding people from all over the world. So clearly lots of people do find success and they are doing great jobs.
Great jobs? Doing what? Licking boots?
Uprooting your entire life, saying goodbye to all of your friends, family, community, home, all for the pursuit of some dollars, that’s insanity. Only in a sick world where money is our master is that viewed otherwise.
Uprooting for adventure is one thing, uprooting for work is not the same.
Your comment sounds like some AI generated LinkedIn status and it makes me feel sick.
Boot licking is chosing to stay home and making a pittance at one of the few dead end jobs available when the outward move could have been expontially better and resulted in you moving back with your family, with more resources, later on when possible.
You’re basically judging / telling people to get stuck because in your ideal world they wouldnt have had to.
In case you haven’t noticed, this ain’t that.
I’m judging/telling people what to do?
Did you not read the post I responded to?
Most of my classmates seemed to just want to check boxes and expect a career to happen.
Some people in my personal experience seem unwilling to do what’s necessary to make their degree worthwhile.
you really have to find ways to convince employers why you’re different.
I said in a sick world where money is our master would moving in the pursuit of dollars be insanity. Moving for other reasons is not what this post is about. So what do you think I was implying by that? It is normal, sometimes even necessary, for people to do this, what do you think I’m trying to say about the world?
Boot licking is chasing the shareholders/masters in the hope that they’ll treat you right and give you a few more dollars per hour than you would working in your home town. A few more dollars than your peers. Boot licking is defending this sick fucking system that we live under where Trumps, Zuckerbergs, and Musks rule the world because money is our master.
Seeing more of your responses, it is clear you spend too much time online in anti-capitalist groups and expect people to just magically accomplish your ideals.
Good luck to you and your bitterness. The rest of us have actual lives to live and bills to pay. It’s not as binary as you see it.
