Dear Graduate: The economy still sucks. Thank God.

Last updated on: May 19, 2015 at 6:00 am by Alicia de los Reyes

Dear Graduate: The economy still sucks. Thank God. 2015-05-13T08:42:42-08:00 Alicia de los Reyes

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Dear Graduate,

I’m writing to you from seven years down the road. I graduated from college in 2008, the year the economy tanked. I believe I got the last available job in publishing–and I lost it, less than a year later. Since then, I’ve worked as a substitute teacher, tutor, copywriter, online lesson planner, barista, babysitter, and publicist. I’ve applied to hundreds of jobs and gone back to graduate school. I’ve worked behind desks, behind coffee counters, and in a warehouse full of baskets.

It’s been a long road.

Unlike for my parents, getting a job out of school wasn’t easy for me. Though I found one–by the very skin of my teeth, something like three weeks before I graduated–it was low-paying and offered very little room to grow. And, of course, it disappeared.

I have always wanted to do work that was important, that gave back in some way to my community and made the world a better place to live. I’ve struggled with what to do with my skills that will also help contribute to my family. But you know what I’ve never been tempted to do?

Sell out.

Why? Quite simply, there is no one for me to sell out to. The big banks that I could have used my math degree at died pretty much the year grown-up Alicia was born. There was no financial sector for me to sell my soul to, so I didn’t. I went into publishing because it was one of the only options open to me at the time.

When I lost that first publishing job, I traveled through India and Southeast Asia. Why? For one, it was cheaper than living in America, where I hadn’t even come close to finding a new job. Then, two years later, I decided to pursue my dream of writing. I went back to school for it because the teaching assistantship stipend I was offered was only a small step down from my current basket-warehouse job.

I never had to turn my back on a six-figure income because there never was a six-figure income to be had. I’ve been poor my whole career life, and yes, I’ve felt bad about it. In school, I was successful. My family is full of engineers and my boyfriend-now-husband works in IT. I’d be lying if I told you I wasn’t jealous of his and our friends’ job security. But I never wanted that path, and thanks to the terrible state of the economy, I’ve never been tempted to walk down it. No one head hunted me in college, no company tempted me with a high-paying internship or a corporate job. Believe me, I applied.

And when every opportunity with a normal paycheck dried up, I had no choice but to work part-time. No, it wasn’t ideal, but it gave me time to do what I really wanted to do: write.

The graduate of 2015 is facing down an even more uncertain road than I was in 2008. And yet, this might be a good thing. If you’re going to be stuck in uncertainty no matter which career path you choose, you might as well choose the one that truly calls to you. You have literally nothing to lose.

So do that volunteer program. Apply for that fellowship. Get that internship. Work in a coffee shop and paint, get a job bartending and act. It’s going to be a struggle no matter what–it might as well be a struggle in a field that you are passionate about. And who knows? That passion might even lead to a job that gives you some stability and security. We’re in a new era, and we’re (you’re) going to be the ones creating new careers.

Even if you regret your time spent struggling, you won’t be able to say, “I always wondered what would happen if I’d tried…”

You can do it now. There’s nothing stopping you.

Not even money.

Faith & Daily Life

Progressive Christianity

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