Are Degrees Useless?

Interesting entry today by Jessica Piskorz, one of the students and recent graduates who writes for the CollegeRecruiter.com Insights by Candidates Blog. Jessica is an English major who is unable to find a job in writing, reading, or journalism but someday would like to open her own bookstore. Her fiance suggested that she take a job in a bookstore and work her way up. Jessica doesn’t seem inclined to do so, apparently because her degree makes her overqualified for such a position. Does it?
So many college students and recent graduates assume incorrectly that if they do well in their academic studies, that they’ll be able to land the job of their dreams upon graduation. Were it only so. The reality is that the vast majority of employers are far more concerned with the work experience demonstrated by the candidate than the candidate’s academic credentials. While both are valuable, unless you’re the cream of the cream, excellent career-related work experience is going to be necessary for you to find the job of your dreams.
So should Jessica pursue a job in a bookstore? Perhaps. I think that it comes down to whether she is more interested in a journalism-type job or owning a bookstore. If she’s more interested in being a journalist, then her bookstore experience won’t help her that much. It may help pay the bills and that’s important too, but it won’t be much of a stepping stone. So she may want to work in a bookstore part-time to bring in money while also working part-time as a freelance writer. She could write and submit articles to local publications for free until she’s built up a reputation and can start charging for her work or perhaps even get hired to write for a publication. On the other hand, if her dream is to own a bookstore, then working in one would be invaluable experience.
If you don’t have the experience that you need to pursue your dreams, then go out and get it. Don’t look for reasons why you can’t do something. Look for ways that will allow you to do something. Take on an unpaid internship, volunteer, do whatever you need to do in order to get the experience that you need. Don’t make excuses. Make dreams.