March 22, 2002

It's too bad youth is wasted on the young

It's too bad youth is wasted on the young This young woman is unhappy with her prospects after working to get a degree at Yale.

So I can earn $0 an hour not working at a marketing firm with my Yale degree, or potentially earn a couple of hundred bucks a night serving up fajitas at Chili's.

I can forfeit a paycheck while not employed with a publishing company, or I can earn seven bucks an hour plus commission folding sweaters at that boutique down the street. I can be broke while the ad agencies keep sending me letters beginning with, "Thank you for submitting your résumé. . . ," but you get the picture.

Will someone please tell me where I went wrong?


Sure. Here's your first clue:
I was an English major which, for most people, roughly translates into "I have no marketable skills." But that's not so. I have many valuable skills honed during my days with Dickens, my nights with Nabokov, those wee hours with Woolf.

You've mastered alliteration. Well done!

Your next clue:

First of all, you know I can read. And I don't mean read like "Hooked on Phonics" read. I can read long, wordy, small printed works with relative speed and what's more, I can remember what I have read and write long, wordy, papers about it without any trouble. I have developed impressive analytical skills. I am trained to think -- really think -- about everything I read. And I am accomplished at putting those thoughts on paper.

Wonderful. I can't tell you how many job interviews I've been on where my ability to write long, wordy papers has gotten me the job.

Third clue:

I have taken that Yale degree to marketing firms, publishing companies, advertising agencies, and it has not worked any magic.

Perhaps if you had acquired a degree in marketing, publishing or advertising, all offered by Yale, as well as most community colleges, they would have been more interested.

In short Shawna, you wasted years on a degree with no immediate applications in the job market. The careers you mentioned assume you have a command of language; a degree saying you do is not impressive. What else do you bring to the table? Do you have any experience in marketing? Did you work on the school paper? Did you intern with an advertising agency? Did you do anything to acquire skills in demand in the real world? If not, then maybe that's another clue.

Shawna, you need to re-evaluate your career track based on reality, instead of wishful thinking. By opting for a degree in English instead of more directly applicable degree in marketing or advertising, you've set yourself back, but only temporarily. You can get a job in marketing or advertising, but it will be an entry level position, like copy-editing. Use your time in the trenches to acquire real skills and experience. Then you will be able to cash in on your degree, and move up to the more desirable jobs.

Or you can give up, and add "Do you want fries with that?" to your permanent vocabulary.

Posted by Rich at March 22, 2002 1:41 PM