Where do they sell the wool that is so heavily placed over high school senior's eyes, convincing them that college and immediate success is the followable and acceptable rite of passage for them? My bet would be that it is a government subsidy specifically sponsored by the big heads of colleges (not to mention professors). You know, the ones that make six figures while decrying that, "College must be affordable to the masses."
BS! I worked pretty much full-time throughout my collegiate career, paying my own way. Did it suck? Sometimes. Was it hard? You bet it was! But I don't regret a single second of it, because it taught me discipline and I was forced to be accountable for my work. I couldn't afford to have to retake classes. I graduated magna cum laude and had not only a degree, but a start-up business, six years of progressively responsible professional experience, two kids, and a husband to show for it. The added value of real-world correlation in my studies was immeasurable. I didn't have the time to whine over grades, talk about how unfair a test was, or complain about my professors.
Thus, why is it so much more marketable to spend four years "on campus", living the college life, and then taking an internship at xyz firm in a respective field? Ummm....the only advertising interns I ever met got their "work" done as fast and sloppily as possible, texted on their phones constantly, and tried to hide their incessant Googling. It's absurd that internships are the sole rite of passage for a "real job." I'm disgusted that some of the most brilliant people I know (my cousins for one), are trapped in jobs that they hate because the barrier to enter a field is so expensive. By expensive, I mean they would actually have to take a pay cut to re-enter the workforce as a freakin' intern, get exploited, and then take a bottom rung position.
DOES RELATED WORK EXPERIENCE (you know, where one actually has to be accountable to boss and peers) COUNT FOR ANYTHING ANYMORE?
If one is not supported by their parents early in life, they soon learn that an adult degree is only supplemental. It will not open new doors. Not all degrees are created equal, nor do all learners linearly move through education and then professional experience. Totalling without ridiculous preference would be the best way to attract experienced, intelligent, mature workers. Yet firms would rather take what they can get at the lowest rate possible. Yay supply and demand in today's job market!
Just because I chose to not spend evenings with people I wouldn't remember the next day, nor would I ever find myself in a dorm room covered in my own vomit, does not mean I did not have a college experience. Despite the hardships and barriers, I would PREFER that my daughter find out who she was and what she actually was interested in before shipping her off to college. Added maturity wouldn't hurt, either.
Therefore, I believe that working prior to college should not only be more accepted, but should also be encouraged. Don't be fooled by the machine of societal expectations, because it will only lead to unhappiness, discontent, and feelings of entrapment. How many individuals graduate from college, begin working in their selected fields and HATE it??? A lot! Find yourself, work a few different jobs, travel, and then go to school to enter the field that suits you most! DUH!
Workers of the world unite! You are not alone!
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