Time to get personal again. I'm 32 and I work full time working as a credit analyst for a wireless phone company. My income could be a lot better for someone of my age, experience, and educational background---but it puts food on the table, a roof over my head, and clothes on my back. So I should be satisfied right?
I wish I could tell you that I have the career that I always wanted fresh out of high school, but alas I tell you no lies my friends.
I remember the day I was in my senior year of high school and a college recruiter from Norfolk State University visited my campus and wanted to know if I was interested in pursuing a higher education. I'll be completely honest with you, at the time I actually was not. My only interest was graduating from high school. The whole college stuff wasn't exactly at the top of my list of priorities.
Wait a second...but you're a nerd. Aren't nerds supposed to be super smart and love education and stuff?
In the grand scheme of things---generally yes. Nerdy people have above-average intelligence and geeks have an obsession with learning and developing new skills. However, attending a four year university didn't exactly pique my interest. After some heavy coaxing and convincing from the NSU recruiter, I finally caved in and reluctantly agreed to attend college.
I hate to say this, but I honestly feel like it was the worst mistake of my life.
Disclaimer: To the little ones out there reading this who are still in high school, please do not be influenced by this pessimistic post. I'm an advocate for education and I would encourage everyone to go to school if they see fit. However for me, it was not conducive to my career interests or passions.
Let me clarify.
I graduated with a B.S. in Mass Communications from NSU in 1998. I was ready to become a journalist or news reporter! I applied a copious amount of times to many local news stations in my city and surrounding cities. The only response I received was:
"Thank you for contacting us about the position. Your qualifications are impressive, however we have found another candidate more suitable for this position at this time".
In other words, here is what they actually meant to say:
"Thank you for contacting us about the position. Yes you are very smart with an impressive GPA and a college degree that many of the staff members we employ currently do not have, however we have found someone with enough tenure to outlast the next ice age, and you're still wet behind the ears. Don't worry, you're young enough to find work between now and then to build up that tenure. Call us in 10 years and then we may consider you for the position. Or perhaps you should go to graduate school instead and get your Masters".
Sound familiar? Well I decided to go with the latter part of that translation and get my Masters.
Bigger mistake.
After purchasing the most expensive T-shirt in the entire world by racking up thousands of dollars in credit card debt, I decided to take out another student loan and go to grad school. Yes, I was one of those disillusioned college students that signed up to get a college credit card just so I could get a free John Belushi T-shirt with the word 'college' etched on the front. Like I said---the most expensive T-shirt ever purchased.
Anyways, I attended Regent University and decided to take it a step further by pursuing my passion. I've had a love affair with film since I was a child. I knew that I was inevitably going to be involved with television or film to some capacity. Since TV didn't really work, I figured why not pursue a film career and take a step up to the big screen?
After I graduated grad school I found myself in twice as much debt and the film gigs paid in peanuts and lasted only days at a time few and far between. Many of you loyal readers know about my New York story, and after I left New York and moved back to home, I found myself relocating to Wilmington, NC.
I landed a job with a company that paid out excellent benefits including tuition reimbursement. So I decided the third time was the charm. I completed my ECG in Marketing from Strayer University and I'm feeling deja vu all over again. Remember the denial letters from TV studios after I graduated from NSU? It's happening once again.
Damned if you damned if don't.
I don't want to come across as a Negative Nancy here, because I'm proud of my accomplishments and my Mother never hesitates one iota of a second to tell family, friends, complete strangers, or inanimate objects that her daughter has a Masters degree. I'm thrilled that she's proud of me and sometimes just that illustrious appreciation means so much more than the several years of hard work and constant struggles to seek the fruits of that cumbersome labor.
So what if I'm not where I want to be right now? I'm sure in God's timing everything will work itself out in the long run. In the meantime, blogging bitter about my three college degrees getting me nowhere but in a ton of debt still makes me feel a little better. Writing this is cathartic to some extent. As I purge my anguish to you about this subject, my advice would be only one thing.
Don't fall for the John Belushi College T-Shirt just because VISA is offering it to you for free.
Oh yeah...and do some internships. I think those are supposed to help students get jobs. Allegedly.
That was two things. I guess school helped me figure out how to count...somewhat.
Cheers.
