I woke up before dawn this morning and lay awake worrying for a bit--not so much for myself, but for people that I've met recently, many of whom are in their twenties. In many cases, they seem to be repeating the same mistakes I made--albeit with more dire consequences given the worsened economy.
I thought up this little sermon, which will no doubt extend over multiple posts. Its main points are as follows:
1.) Everyone over the age of, say, 25 really oughta have a full-time job. Unless your last name is Fowler, preferably a sit-down job.
2.) Get out of school. If you can read my blog, you're smart enough and the working world needs you. Trust me, it needs you.
3.) Put up with bullshit. Not much, but some.
4.) Get your driver's license if you haven't already.
Take this advice as coming from a place of experience, not judgment. I wish I had a webcam: as I write, at the next table, two old codgers are reflecting on their careers and bemoaning the general state of the world. They just mentioned how uneducated--or at least how narrowly educated--people who graduate from college nowadays are.
Here are my elaborations of the above points:
1.) We (by which I mean Generation X and younger people) have to think in terms of a 50- or 60-year working life. You need to start earning and, more importantly, accumulating job skills in your twenties. Do not get an early start on accumulating credit card debt. I wouldn't reassure myself that student loans are "good" debt either. Frankly, right now, I don't think any debt is good debt.
I just can't see Starbucks as transmitting job skills, any more than fast food. I know the job market sucks, but I imagine you'd be better off in an 8-buck-an-hour clerical job where at least you'd probably learn computer skills, business E-mail, and the like.
2.) If I were involved in hiring decisions in a company, the amount of stock I'd put in even a Master's Degree would be zilch. Nada. It would tell me that the person is fairly literate and not white trash, to put it very bluntly. That's pretty much it. On-the-job training is everything.
In that light, I think I would save the $80,000 or however much the degree costs, even if it is so-called "good" debt.
OK, more of this rant later...
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