<p>Columbia_Student</p>
<p>That article is trite and unhelpful.</p>
<p>There are much more significant strains of thought developed over the centuries about meaning and work.</p>
<p>Meaning can come from the most insignificant of things... the simple satisfaction from having created something of utility. Furniture makers, farmers, house painters, etc.</p>
<p>Meaning comes not from causing significant changes across the world, but from making the world a very slightly better place within the very small confines of one's sphere of influence.</p>
<p>I am the big dreamer in the family and I've always told my kids to go after their passion. My brother is very practical and all his kids are going into business, engineering and investment banking.</p>
<p>I think a lot has to do with your personality. Way back when, I majored in something that wasn't incredibly practical. I worked for a couple of years and took some time off to raise the family. It has been difficult trying to re-enter the job market. I am not all that aggressive career wise and it's been hard trying to find a good fit. My husband, however, is a great entrepreneur....he could be on a deserted island and still find a way to support himself doing something he loved.</p>
<p>I am now telling my kids to major in something they love but to also have something to fall back on, career-wise. What seems to pop out of my mouth the most is to get a teaching credential or a masters so they can teach at the community college level.</p>
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That's why the United States is the most prosperous country in the world. People who do what they love are more likely to excel in their chosen vocation.
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</p>
<p>America is the most prosperous country because it broke off from Britain and industrialized at just the right time when the world market was growing, and was isolated geographically from the devastating effects the world wars had on Europe... not because we like our jobs ^^</p>
<p>I disagree Keshira. America is properous because it allows immigrants, uneducated, poor, and anyone really the opportunity to work, unconnected to family history or caste. Each of these groups has to work doubly hard to achieve economic security in comparison to people born already into position, but the opportunity is there, even in the midst of prejudice and classism. In most countries of the world, you <em>never</em> are allowed to surpass your parents or their parents in the economic heirarchy -- decade after decade, century after century.</p>
<p>Keshira, I recommend you travel or live if possible in other parts of the world to get a first hand view. If that is not possible, then read a little more on why emmigrating to the US is so desirable to so many disenfranchised people across the world.</p>
<p>"America is the most prosperous country because it broke off from Britain and industrialized at just the right time when the world market was growing, and was isolated geographically from the devastating effects the world wars had on Europe... not because we like our jobs" </p>
<p>one of the most bizarre postings I've ever seen on this forum....I don't quite know what to make of it....</p>
<p>I think the key here is balance. Kids need to balance what they think they may love with how best to earn a decent living. I don't think it is wise to forget one for the other. There can be many different paths to a happy life! </p>
<p>One can major in something that is not a pre-professional type major, but still make themselves more marketable by gaining internships, pursuing a 2nd major or minor, getting a teaching certificate, doing research, going to grad school or just pursuing extra-curricular activities that boost their resume. But in the end they should be prepared that they may have to struggle financially.</p>
<p>Or one can take a professional type major (teacher, nurse, engineer, pharmacist, doctor, lawyer, etc.) because they feel they might enjoy the profession or because they might excel in it (and they really don't have a passion for anything else). Then they hopefully will make a good living, live a comfortable life and be able to afford to pursue hobbies that interest them.</p>
<p>I would just worry a bit about the kid who pursues the major that he or she loves (many times at expensive schools that the child or parent cannot afford), graduates & can't find a job. They end up waitressing or working 2 or 3 jobs just to make ends meet. Many times they have student loans to pay off & they must move back in with Mom & Dad just to live. I've seen it happen quite a few times!</p>
<p>I would rather gently nudge my kids towards a career where they can support themselves and become independent. I wished my parents had nudged me more when I was that age. I went to college to pursue my passion, but did not do much to make myself marketable. I don't have too many regrets in life, but with that one I do!</p>
<p>The only problem is that if the student doesn't have a pretty decent-paying job in the future, then HE won't be able to afford to send HIS child to the same expensive college when the time comes. And incurring debt to attend makes no sense if the child cannot pay off that debt and has it hanging over his head for years.</p>
<p>Someone asked "Marilyn", the brilliant woman with the column in Parade magazine in the Sunday paper, if he should do his parents' bidding and go to medical school when he had no interest in being a physician or follow his passion. She said to go to medical school. She said it's a mistake to be a 'starving artist' who loves his work but cannot live very well doing it, and that after a while that person will regret his choice due to the poverty. She thought a person is better off doing something lucrative during work hours, and indulging in his passion after hours.</p>
<p>In response to the post above mine, I also think that if a student has no particular passion for anything, then it is smart to major in engineering if you have the math stats for it. And please don't go into teaching if you don't know what you want to do. Teachers have to have a passion for teaching and motivating their students to learn, above all else. Lack of interest in teaching, when you are a teacher, is inexcusable and really damaging to the students' learning. You affect too many young lives negatively when you are just doing it for a living, because you just focus on getting thru each day, rather than on keeping your students' interest and learning at a high level.</p>
<p>
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if he should do his parents' bidding and go to medical school when he had no interest in being a physician or follow his passion. She said to go to medical school.
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I think that columnist isn't so brilliant to be giving this advice. It's a setup for either failure (if they're lucky so they can switch majors to something that interests them) or indebtedness along with the misery of doing something you hate. It's many years until a physician turns the corner and makes significant income without loans hanging over their head and as a potential customer, I sure don't want to go to a doctor that hates their job. </p>
<p>All too often this topic is discussed in extremes of either the big-buck earning doctor who only followed the dollar instead of their passion or the starving artist who only followed their passion with no regard to the dollar. I think the wise choice would be a practical combination of 'passion' (if there is any - at least interest) and income potential.</p>
<p>To the OP --</p>
<p>I just graduated from the school I think you attend (feel free to PM me if you want to chat about specifics -- professors I talked to, career center activities, etc -- that helped me out throughout my four years, especially in my job search) and I think it's fair that you've become a cynic, but it could behoove you to think about this from a different angle.</p>
<p>My first/primary major is one of the ones you listed as having a bleak job market straight out of college -- and honestly, it's NOT true. Starting the job search process, the more adults (not recent alums, but adults) I talked to, the more I heard this optimistic phrase -- the Baby Boomers are retiring. This means good things for us when looking at entry level positions. But back to my initial point with majors and getting hired -- quite simply it's not the case. You just sort of have to separate good job and high paying salary, because you can have an incredible entry level job that's not paying you a ton of money.</p>
<p>I followed my passions, and recently landed a great job. I won't be making a ton of money early on, but for what I want to do with my life, this is pretty much the best possible job I could have at one of the best possible companies for me, and I am incredibly excited. The job will open a ton of doors, I'll make a ton of connections, and if I make the most of everything, then eventually I can start making good money. But it won't happen right away -- and my parents not only realize that, but respect that and are excited for me. I haven't ruled out the idea of getting an MBA further down the road (yes, I'll be bringing a primary degree in English and a resume of Film/TV experience to business school), but it's certainly not a plan that's set in stone. </p>
<p>And more importantly, from our school, with a quantitative enough background, you can walk into those finance and consulting interviews with your passion History major and still do well. My first major is English -- that didn't stop me from applying to and getting second round interviews at investment banks and consulting firms, before I realized it was a lifestyle I didn't want. (Admittedly, my second major is economics, but I wound up with the major since I wanted to take the electives and took Art Market classes, not because I looked at an econ degree and saw a future of $$$). And you need to think about the lifestyle too, because yeah, it may be great to be 22 and an investment banker making tons of money, but do you REALLY want those hours/that lifestyle/that job, or just the big paycheck and 'prestige' the job awards you? Its a good job that's not for everyone. And more importantly, at least on a recruiting standpoint, loving your major on some level correlates to how well you do. At least personally, if I didn't love what I studied, I wouldn't have done as well. So if you don't want to major in Econ, but do it anyway, are middle of the pack in all your classes, that's sort of detrimental when you're competing against all your classmates, many of whom have done better in you in the same classes, for the same jobs. Whereas, if you had taken some econ & some math, but majored in what you loved (History) and aced it, you might be in better footing?</p>
<p>I love this thread.</p>
<p>Have any of you read "Stumbling on Happiness" by Harvard psychology professor Daniel Gilbert? Gilbert posits that human beings do a poor job of predicting what will make them happy, partly because we ignore the fact that the person we are at age 18 (or 21 or 25) is not the person we will be at age 30 (or 40 or 55). What is appealing about a career to a 20-year-old is not necessarily appealing to the same person at age 30.</p>
<p>I am a living example. I spent my undergraduate years pursuing a career I was passionate about, only to be burned out by my late twenties as a result of the crummy hours, creative strain, and lousy pay. The career I was passionate about was not at all compatible with having a satisfying family life in which I was actually home some evenings and weekends. (But it was very exciting as a young 20-something.) I embarked on a second career which would provide the work hours/pay I desired, but it is certainly nothing I am passionate about. It's a job to pay the bills and support my "real" life -- the one with my family. Maybe my third career will be the charm?</p>
<p>My two-cents worth: Passion is not a panacea when it comes to selecting a career.</p>
<p>"Someone asked "Marilyn", the brilliant woman with the column in Parade magazine in the Sunday paper, if he should do his parents' bidding and go to medical school when he had no interest in being a physician or follow his passion. She said to go to medical school. She said it's a mistake to be a 'starving artist' who loves his work but cannot live very well doing it, and that after a while that person will regret his choice due to the poverty. She thought a person is better off doing something lucrative during work hours, and indulging in his passion after hours."</p>
<p>This shows why have a high IQ doesn't translate into being able to give advice to other people. Maybe she doesn't realize that once you get sucked into many of those lucrative jobs, you don't have enough "after hours" to follow your passion.</p>
<p>My BIL has 2 kids who either have already or will go back to school for accounting degrees. One (marketing degree) spend a year earning (effectively) minimum wage while cold calling people to sell financial investments, then got laid off. One year later she's well employed as an accountant. The other (Business degrees, incl. MBA) still hasn't gotten a decent job, works for parts suppliers in stock maintenance, and will return to school this fall for an accounting degree.</p>
<p>I love them both, but they chose easier paths in obtaining their first undergrad degrees, and both have paid the price of (IMO) wasting 1-3 years underemployed. Personally, I'd rather get something marketable under my belt and use vacation time or evenings, weekends, etc. to pursue my passion, if my passion was a field in which it's extremely difficult to find work and I wasn't driven to distraction by my passion.</p>
<p>[This shows why have a high IQ doesn't translate into being able to give advice to other people. Maybe she doesn't realize that once you get sucked into many of those lucrative jobs, you don't have enough "after hours" to follow your passion.]</p>
<p>If you have a truly lucrative job that consumes you for some period of time, the money should allow you at some point to take a lot of time off to pursue your passion. Many people take time from hobbies, sports, etc. to raise their kids and then enjoy them when they are done parenting.</p>
<p>In general, the folks that I've seen successful at what they are passionate at have a wad of cash behind them.</p>
<p>Yes and many people take a career turn and go off in a different direction. The idea that what you are going to do at 23 is not necessarily what you will be doing at 33 or 43 or 53. "Passion" doesn't necessarily mean the same thing to everyone. Also many people might have a job they feel passionate about in their twenties that involves travel or long, long hours might findout in their thirties or when they are building families that they prefer and are more passionate about more family/home time and take a career turn. Some people might have the "right" degree but just can't find a job they "love" because they aren't willing to move to a different city because they are passionate about their city. Gosh, there are so many things that happen in life, don't over analyze or compartmentalize so much is my advice.</p>