The Starbucks Phase
Starbucks recruiter asks, “Why do you want to work with us?”
“Oh I’m a big coffeeholic! It will be a pleasure to be surrounded by those brown fragrant beans all-day, brew them up, and serve to people who I’ve mistakenly spelled the name on the coffee cup.”
I know some people — highschool and college classmates, previous work colleagues — who are employed in Starbucks, specialty coffee shops, or a local hipster ambiance-ridden café. As a matter of fact, I have discreetly attempted to pursue the barista path before just to make hard ends meet. Luckily, I was steered away.
I’m not intending to talk smack or condescend hard-working folks who are making money working as a barista. However, I’m trying to make a point with regards to the ubiquitous underemployment amongst the younger generation, piqued by a book I was reading the other day.
I found myself cozily reading a book at a neighborhood coffee shop across my block here in Downtown Brooklyn. The book, The Defining Decade, by clinical psychologist Meg Jay, talks about Why Your Twenties Matter using real-life case studies of her interesting clientele.
As she progresses throughout her writing, she pervasively refers to the main subjects, the young professionals — or the twentysomethings — as the golden ages in our lifetime where we are carrying light with less responsibilities, seeking more assets, and giving up a sizable amount of free time.
She strongly claims that in our twentysomething years, it’s vital for us to accumulate identity capital. And by that I’m not referring to amassing great amounts of money but rather, collecting personal assets that we invest in the betterment of ourselves, be it educational classes, work experiences, or tweaking our soft-skills and expanding networks.
Going back to making a point about the Starbucks phase, she debates that we, twentysomethings, should consider every experience that we partake on as it will contribute in building up our identity capital. In the case of a fine arts graduate looking to build her career, it’s not wise to work at an underpaying barista job nor to seek a full-time unpaid administrative internship at a law firm. Both of the previously stated choices lead you to underemployment and can possibly deter the efficient use of your present time.
The underlying argument is, “What if you are not easily able to penetrate the job market because of the lack of school experience or expertise?” Or even maybe the desired field is too competitive, too cutthroat that even though you have sufficient knowledge in the various qualifications you possess, others are still out to get their way.
While it is completely understandable to not be keen on choosing career decisions that will lead you straight to your long-term goals, twentysomethings must still consider the long-term effects of underemployment. This gives employers the vibe that in those years you are not yearning to pursue a path in your field, you are lost, indecisive, and thinking short-term.
It may not be a fancy inclusion to your professional background; it would definitely be a helpful increment in building up your bank account.
I got lost in this stop and go debate on whether to pursue underemployment than unemployment, which is far worse. As I’ve mentioned in an article before, there is no map. You will be bombarded by self-help books like the one written by Meg Jay but you still get to plot out and implement your decisions in your life.
The Starbucks phase can assist you to be financially adequate in your twentysomethings but never narrow your perspective of the future by what you’re doing today. I commend my friends who are working in such establishments, taking unconventional paths, and making a conscious decision of doing so as they pave their way towards their future. We can never judge if these choices would be disincentive for the time ahead, but all I know is Steve Jobs makes a befitting point when he stated,
“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.”
Hey, thanks for reading! If you got something out of it, click that heart out so others can benefit too. — TJ
