PERSONAL ESSAY
Caught in the Post-Grad Paradox: Why My College Degree Isn’t Enough
For as long as I can remember, I was told to go to college.
College has long been portrayed as the only way to survive in the modern world.
“You don’t want to end up flipping burgers, do you?”
“If you don’t get a degree, you’ll never get a job! You’ll be stuck in a dead-end job!”
I was promised that my diploma was a magical piece of paper that would secure me any job I dreamed of. Now, whenever I turn on the news, I’m ridiculed for even attending college. They say it’s a sham, and I was foolish to take out so much money.
Just a decade ago, everyone assured me my degree was a magic wand. Now, for some reason, I should have known to pick up a trade instead.
After countless applications, interviews, and pity parties, I still can’t find a job in my field. I’ve taken to calling it the post-grad paradox: you need a degree to get a job, but you need experience to get a job. Yet, you can’t get the experience without having the degree. It’s quite ridiculous when you read it over and over.
This isn’t me saying I should have any job I want just because I am a college graduate. Having a degree doesn’t make you better than anyone else. However, I do think it’s wrong to shame people for going to college when, for so long, that was the path to success in the workforce. Many students entering college aren’t even old enough to legally drink or smoke, so it’s not a reach to say they may not fully understand the consequences of taking out large loans, especially when wealth, education, and job security are promised.
It’s been almost two months since I graduated college. Right now, I still work at a chain retail store alongside other college students and grads trying to pay off loans and bills. A lot of us are still working there because a degree doesn’t seem to matter much anymore and, truthfully, it sometimes pays more than some of our intended careers.
Thinking about the past four years and the experience of confusing classes, working part-time, and coffee-induced sleepless nights to get the most out of studying, I still would not change my decision to attend college. I learned a lot about the world, myself, and others. But I also can’t help but feel disappointed that all that hard work has not paid off in the workforce.
It baffles me that my co-worker had a master’s degree and was still working the same job as me until they got a higher-paying retail job. Somehow, a master’s degree is not enough now either.
According to Business Insider, NY Fed statistics showed that the unemployment rate for college graduates was higher than the national average since 2021. Not to mention, if college graduates do not find a job they are qualified for in the first year, they tend to stay in a job they are overqualified for 10 years according to Business Insider.
We need to fix this paradox if we are going to help uplift future generations and encourage them to follow their passions. If not, what is college for? What is the point of higher education, of encouraging people to learn if they are not rewarded for their work?
The paradox is real and the first step is to acknowledge it and not sweep it under the rug, saying that it’s always how it has been. If we want less debt, more workers, and a more educated society, we need to see this for what it is: an epidemic.
