Unprepared - From Elite College to Job Market (Response)

While reading Unprepared by Sarah Idzik, I felt a connection with her. In high school, I was always the overachiever. I always did extremely well compared to the average student. I was the Valedictorian of my high school graduating class.  I was involved in numerous extra-curricular activities. I was loved by all the faculty and staff. I had excellent grades and excellent test scores. Now that I am in college, I actually have to study. It is a completely different world at college because I don’t have my parents in my ear constantly reminding me of deadlines and other things. I am an independent adult. College separates those who are intellectual from those who are not. I knew I was ready to dive into the college as soon as I graduated. In my blog post entitled, “Why College?" I go more in depth with this saying that I chose college to become a teacher and to become more intelligent.

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I faced the same dilemma the author faced when I was choosing a college to attend for my Bachelor’s Degree. She chose to take the leap at the University of Chicago. I chose to play it safe and attend school just fifty miles away from home. Jacksonville State University is only fifty miles away from my home. I was originally going to attend the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, but I quickly changed my mind when I found out that I had better scholarship opportunities and I could be much closer to my family  at Jacksonville State University.  

Unlike the author, I feel that my high school did an excellent job of preparing me for post-secondary education. Though I went to a small town high school in the middle of nowhere, our curriculum was rigorous. I just performed better than the average student. I have yet to have a moment where I don’t know what one of my fellow students is talking about. The author used an example in her book where she was embarrassed that she didn’t know what NATO was. I do not want to appear as though I don’t know what the other students already know.

The author of this essay, Sarah Idzik, obtained a degree in Clerical Administration. The demand for jobs in this field are scarce and the unemployment rate for people with these degrees is higher than average. I will probably be facing the same dilemma she faced. I am obtaining my Bachelor’s Degree in Music. There are not many career opportunities, excluding music education, which I can use my degree in music in. I chose to study for music to be my career because it is what I love to do. I know that I can be successful at anything in the music field because I have been immersed in music since a very early age. The author chose what she was good at, but faced the consequences of there not being a high demand for her career choice.

Upon sending her resume and applications to countless employers about jobs, the author finally obtained a job. It was a job that she didn’t really care for considering she did so much more in her days in college. It was a nine-to-five job printing travel documents for rich people. It was lackluster and she was extremely bored with her job. She felt like she could definitely do more. She gained 15 pounds in 6 months. I hope I never face the hardships that many of the authors in this book had to face. I don’t know if I could deal with it. Like I said in my blog post, “Is College Enough?,” I don’t know if college alone can get you your dream job and leave you happy and eager to go to work every day.

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The author wrote that many of her coworkers felt the same way she did and they all lived paycheck to paycheck trying to earn a decent living. This is a scary thought considering she was lucky enough to have a job. Though she hated it, it was still a job. Those are hard to come by these days.

The author has much bigger plans for herself. She wants to leave Chicago and start over. Sometimes that is what people have to do. If I was unhappy with my degree and the lack of career opportunities in my field of expertise, I would probably go back to school for a degree in something that is much more in demand.

The author went from being happy in college to being unhappy as a result of what she chose to study at college. This makes me question why I am truly at college in the first place.