Is this grad generation doomed?

Opinions – Wellesley News: The inane act of two indebted students has ignited a lively debate concerning the global student loan crisis and the future of our generation in the employment market. Ross Harper and Ed Moyse, both 22 of the United Kingdom, decided to launch BuyMyFace.com in order to raise money to repay a combined student debt total of $80,000. Harper and Moyse have since been offering companies to write and draw on their faces to promote their businesses and, thus far, have actually managed to earn $50,000 in just half a year.

New graduates should not be forced to sell their faces instead of their knowledge or skills…

The unemployment rate among recent liberal arts graduates is at 9.4 percent, which is higher than the national average at 8.3 percent. Student-loan debt, at an average of almost $25,000, has hit record levels. Given these gloomy market conditions, the global student debt crisis needs more attention from the government and the general public.

At this point, we have to consider the point of a college education if the skills gained in a liberal arts education cannot be directly, or rather quickly, used in our future careers. 34 percent of Drew University in Madison, N.J. class of 2011 graduates are currently working in the food service, retail and customer service, clerical or unskilled labor sectors. One graduate chillingly reports to The New York Times of having nearly been rejected from a job at the convenience store Wawa because she was considered overqualified. In this currently tense labor market, liberal arts graduates are likely to be treated with discriminating factors that limit our opportunities even more than we could have imagined. The lower employment rates for English Literature or Arts majors suggests the tragic possibility that our world might become a place where practicality is the only thing that matters.

We students end up being thousands of dollars in debt because we (and our families and loved ones who help support us) value a more advanced education, even if there may not be such an obvious value in the current labor market. As students of the liberal arts model, we are seeking intellectual growth in addition to vocational and technical skills that are expected of us. Many students go onto graduate schools in specialized areas (such as law, engineering or medical schools), but those who do not also explore careers in business management, real estate, public relations, administration or teaching. But in pursuing higher degrees, the loans we take out in order to obtain a bachelor’s degree alone are often quite necessary to open up even more possibilities for a more enriching (and financially-stable) life…

Source:

Read More @ Is our generation doomed? – Opinions – Wellesley News – Wellesley College.

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