I recently posted this on Reddit's message board, f/lostgeneration;

"Being forced to go and get Post Graduate Education
Hello fellow 'Lost Gens', I am a new member to Reddit and was drawn upon this thread. I am 23 years old and a recent college graduate. It took me about 5 years to get my degree, from attending community college for 2.5 years and a 4 year university the other 2.5 years, changing my major a few times. I started college with a major in Criminal Justice, with hopes of pursuing a career in law enforcement. That prospect changed very quickly (mainly due to many of the controversies surrounding police and minorities about 4-5 years ago), and thus in my second semester I decided to take up Comp Sci. I took an intro to Poli Sci class my third semester in college and found it very interesting, so I decided to declare that my minor. When I transferred out of community college to university, I decided to make both of those studies my majors, as I was trying to listen to the advice to my parents and counselors in trying to 'diversify' yourself in your various skillsets so you look valuable to employers. Thus, I ended college (5 excruciatingly long years) with a Bachelors of Science in Computer Science and a Bachelors of Arts in Political Science with a Minor in Pre Law. I now have hopes in attending law school, using my IT skills to practice law relating to technology and or intellectual property.

I am currently working as an Admin Assistant at a small law office, which is a pretty chill gig. However, my life just feels so, purposeless. Like, I commute close to 1.5-2 hours to work, clock in, listen to the morning voice mails, begin drafting memos to clients, and.... well.... that's about it. It's a small office, so there aren't any gangbusters cases or exciting workloads. In comparison, I interned at a corporate law office in the city last summer and it was very hectic, but in a good way. Made some great connections, bonded well with other interns/entry levels there, and its what made me more interested in working in that environment, especially doing something I love (law integrated with technology/business). Where I'm at now, however, is just very boring and meaningless in many ways.

All I've been really doing in my life these last few months have been going to work, studying for the LSAT, maybe the occasional trip to the gym/or hobby I partake in, rinse & repeat. If this is what adulthood really is like.... then I personally don't want any part of it, even if the work I would love to be doing would become so monotonous and routine-like. The common notion people in society have of now, where the only way for you get to that point of doing work you find meaningful and at the same time getting paid a good salary, is the notion of "going back to school".

You're probably wondering why did I 'put those words above in quotes?'. It's because, going back to school to pursue Post Graduate education has become so necessary in landing good paying job positions that (at least theoretically) provide some sort of meaning, has become normalized in our society. Master's education used to be something that people used to pursue if they wanted to stand out, however because of how crappy the economy has been for our generation, it forces us to go back to school, be it pursuing a Doctorate, an MBA, or a JD. In a way, I think our parents are to blame in many respects, the whole "The World is Your Oyster, So SEIZE IT" mindset that many Boomer parents instilled in us. No offense to some, but I just know too many people attending college, people whom quite frankly shouldn't be attending college (not because of some intellectual superiority, but because their skill sets could be better utilized in, say partaking in a trade). It has oversaturated the job market with everybody and their mother having a Bachelor's degree, even in a lucrative field like IT I have felt these effects (although admittedly, I am going on more of a legal path, but I digress). Since so many people are already attending college, at rates that, if trends continue, we may reach in comparison to how many people attend/graduate from high school, you would think that this would push the costs of education down, but the opposite has been true. Mark my words, the next big financial crisis is going to pop due to the Student Debt crisis. We cannot default on our loans, which forces us to continue working at entry level/temp positions.

Once we get to a certain financial standing (and that's still an IF) where we have had paid a substantial amount of our loans, if we went to build any sort of wealth, you are then beholden to go back to school, in which many are then forced to take out MORE loans. This economy built on the backs of students indebted to these fraudulent creditors is a 'house of cards' and I feel like our generation are just the guinea pigs for it.



Has anybody else around my age or older have had these similar thoughts? What got you through these moments of solitude? Is my subjective view on this subject similar to how you guys see this?"

Here is the link:

https://www.reddit.com/r/lostgeneration/comments/cs53l1/being_forced_to_go_and_get_post_graduate_education/

I posted this yesterday, but unfortunately I haven't garnered any engagement from the post. If anybody here is on Reddit, would you mind helping me out in getting some people to respond?

Anywho, based on the information about my life experiences pertaining to education, what your guys thoughts? Do you guys like the idea of Post Graduate education becoming a necessity in landing a good job in today's economy? The reason I ask, is because there has been a lot of talk about an incoming recession in the next 1-2 years, as the Treasury Yield has inverted for the first time since 2007. This indicator is usually a great predictor of U.S recessions. However, you don't even have to go that far into extensive research to just know, instinctively, that this economy is a 'house of cards'. Student loan debt has exploded in the last decade, and this has been tied to millions of Millennials (and soon, Zillennials) being blocked from building wealth/capital. If we are barely getting by now, living merely by paycheck to paycheck, I can't even imagine how much of our generation is going to get through the next big crash we're expected to experience. It may not be as bad as the 2008 recession, but since we haven't really took any major steps in preventing the same predatory practices that lead to that original crash (not to mention having near 0% interest rates for nearly 10 years), I don't know whether or not most people, especially those in their 20s & 30s, will be able to get through this.

Once gain, fellow 20 & 30 somethings, what is your opinion on this?

There is no such thing as a ‘Zennial’. All Zers had a childhood in the 2000s. It’s not like with Xennials who had their childhoods in a different time period from Millennials.

I imagine post graduation was rough for most Millennials and Zers. The economy has not changed much from how it was when The Great Recession was going on.

There is no such thing as a ‘Zennial’. All Zers had a childhood in the 2000s. It’s not like with Xennials who had their childhoods in a different time period from Millennials.

I imagine post graduation was rough for most Millennials and Zers. The economy has not changed much from how it was when The Great Recession was going on.
Objectively speaking, there are no such thing as generations in general. They are neither scientific nor divine. Adam Conover made a video about this a while back.

As for my answer to ZeldaFans question, I'll answer later today when work and class is done.

Objectively speaking, there are no such thing as generations in general. They are neither scientific nor divine. Adam Conover made a video about this a while back.

As for my answer to ZeldaFans question, I'll answer later today when work and class is done.


I disagree with there being no such things as generations. Unfortunately, it takes a long time to look into time spans and apply labels to all generations. I wish Adam Conover and you were right, but generations are ‘a thing’.

Not a Millennial/Zillennial, but this is my 2 cents (for whatever it is worth).

I was lucky because my undergraduate was paid for. I received my B.A. in Early Childhood Education & History. When it was time for me to go on to my graduate degree, again I was lucky. While I did not have it outright paid by someone else, I did have help so I didn't have to take out a loan. But, things were tight. Did I HAVE to go on to get my post-graduate degree? No. I could have gotten a job as an elementary teacher with just a B.A. But, I wanted to because I wanted to teach at the college level which I DID need a post graduate degree. I possibly could have taught with only a M.A. but a PhD was ideal and that was what I was aiming for. I was working for my M.A. in History. I have learned that MEd & EdD really aren't worth the paper they are printed on-but that is another issue. But, half way through my graduate work, I was so burnt out that I just needed a break and withdrew with the intent of returning. Unfortunately, that  didn't happen.  :-[ 

What I have learned is that formal education is NOT for everyone. I knew a bunch of people during my undergraduate years who really had no business being in college. (One girl told me that a C was a good grade.  ::) ) As for post graduate work, I don't think it could hurt but I don't think that it is really necessary for many careers. However, there are careers that post graduate work is necessary. I wouldn't want to go see a doctor who only had a B.A.


Cat

Another "older person" chiming in. Interesting how it seems that everyone now is expected not only to get a college degree, but a graduate and post graduate as well. This is a relatively recent development. In the 70s we joked about "professional students", people mid 20s and beyond who seemed to do nothing but go to school. In the 60s Bob Dylan even had a line in a song that surreally went  "the old folks home in the college", which he rhymed with "your useless and pointless knowledge". Now that everybody has a college degree, they're not worth the paper they're printed on. But try to get a job without one and woe is you. Hence the frantic pursuit of further organized education. Which leads to something of a vicious circle as the OP pointed out. How do you get out from under that debt? There needs to be a return to an appreciation of the trades. And a return to a consciousness that not EVERYONE needs to, or is meant to, go to college. It does not mean that they are not qualified for any number of decent jobs. Employers need to adopt this consciousness. Things have spiraled out of control on the academic front.

It's called degree inflation and I agree that it's out of control. A degree doesn't confer as much as it used to. Law school has always been outrageously priced though. Good luck if you go down that path :P

I am fortunate enough to live somewhere where student debt is unlikely to cripple you. You could probably earn money from doing a Masters/PhD if you do teaching assistant work on the side. But even over here law school will cost you your kidneys ;D

Personally, I believe one should only chose Post Graduate Education as a "last resort". By that, I mean they've already explored other options (work, entrepreneurship, military, religion, etc.) and decided, without any shadow of a doubt, completely and decisively sure, that those other options are not for them, and that Post Graduate Education is absolutely what they want to do.
The US is 22.5 trillion dollars in debt and is heading towards economic collapse, and this collapse will also impact other countries as well since the US dollar is the world reserve currency. Shooting for a degree that will get you a so-called "high paying job" is fools gold, you're just taking part in a rat race for cheese in a trap. Only chose a profession, or a path towards a profession, if you know that profession will be something that interests you, one that you will love and enjoy doing, that will create the least amount of negative energy for you. A wise man once said, "Chose a job you love and you will never work a day in your life.".