Class of 2007
It took me 5 years to finish my B.A. in English, a degree that people find to be so useless that they’ll have no qualms about saying so. “Oh an English degree? So, basically you can’t do anything with that.”
I received a lot of gorgeous graduation cards which were all pretty uplifting and positive, save for the one which read “Congratulations on getting a useless diploma. Welcome to the world of getting paid less than what you’re worth.”
Sasha (May 15, 2007, 7:15 pm).
Congrats on graduating!
People can be so annoying… they think it’s cute, but fail to realize you’ve heard the same thing hundreds of times. I loved hearing all the lame comments on IT/outsourcing when I graduated.
carolbrowne (May 15, 2007, 8:43 pm).
Congratulations on your graduation! Well done. It will help you for sure. I never did finish my degree. Also, as a recruiter, I’ve heard that all people figure they get paid an average of 1/3 less than what they actually believe they are worth, so we’re all in the same boat. Thanks for your comment on my blog.
Croaker (May 15, 2007, 10:03 pm).
Don’t listen to them, education is key. Don’t know if I agree with the fact but it is.
MC (May 16, 2007, 9:11 am).
Somehow, I’m not encouraged.
Vanessa (May 16, 2007, 10:24 am).
If you’ve already managed to get a job, which you have, I wouldn’t worry about the one useless card. Statistically, receiving one crap card out of the whole lot isn’t bad at all. Just throw it away and go on.
Or if you don’t want to throw it away, but you still don’t want it, you could always send it along to one of your pen pals. Taking stuff like that is one of the things they’re good for, after all. Just a suggestion.
Anyhow, the cards displayed are veeery nice. I’m especially partial to the one in the upper right corner.
(I sent out your letter yesterday, so it should be coming in soon)
MC (May 16, 2007, 12:48 pm).
Thanks Carol, I have to admit I felt super relieved. I guess no one is ever paid what they’re truly worth and some people (not mentioning any namesPARISHILTON) get way more than they should.
Sasha, IT is probably the best kind of education to have. You can adapt to anything really. Be sure they know how much more money you’ll be making
MC (May 16, 2007, 12:49 pm).
Thanks Vanessa, I try not to let the comments get to me but sometimes I just have to wonder, if it was so useless why the hell do they offer it as a degree.
franki durbin (May 18, 2007, 8:01 am).
MC, don’t let people fool you…getting a degree is never about the degree itself. It’s about completion of a task, learning how to learn and generally maturing in the process. I know philosophy grads who have gone on to succeed in fortune 100 companies..and believe me they aren’t using their extensive knowledge of Socrates to earn their salaries!
MC (May 18, 2007, 4:31 pm).
Thanks for stopping by, franki!
I think most college students face that initial pang of despair once they graduate from college. The “What the hell am I going to do now?” fear. The workforce is more competitive than it was before and there’s no longer that gurantee of success with a B.A.
But I think you’re right, ultimately it’s all about experience.
Julie (July 27, 2007, 12:37 am).
Hey! Exactly the same as me! 5 years and English major class of 2007. YEAH. One thing you can do if you want to get paid what you’re worth is teach in Japan… That’s what I’m doing. But it gets more complicated when you have a 5 year boyfriend. Also, it’s a temporary thing, living in a different country. I don’t really know.
MC (July 27, 2007, 8:23 am).
Julie, hah! What a coincidence! I would love to teach in Japan. I went there once for two weeks with friends and ever since then I knew I wanted to go back. I’m cool with short term but it IS a conflict to figure out what my boyfriend is going to do.