college

Don’t Waste Your 20’s

Image Courtesy of housecallmd.com

I had a conversation with a good friend yesterday about how to fully optimize our 20’s. It’s really fascinating just how crucial this decade is, for it really does shape the rest of your adult life.

The issue in question was that he had absolutely no interest in the profession he had chosen, and had just one year left to finish school, but he is putting it off because he doesn’t want to commit to something he has no interest in and be stuck in a career that pigeonholes him.

I hear this a lot from friends and colleagues. The idea of settling in a career you may have chosen when you were 19 terrifies people because they now know the reality of what that career will look like.

That said, here is the advice I gave him, and maybe this will help you if you are worried about the same thing.

Your career is not set in stone. 

The truth is that most people who graduate with a degree in something like psychology, biology, philosophy, etc. end up doing something completely unrelated to their field by the time they graduate. Is this ideal? No, but it can lend comfort to people who feel it is too late to start over.

It’s not too late to start over. 

Even if you don’t have the resources financially, there are plenty of efficient ways to go back to school in your 20’s part time and get a degree in something you prefer. The key is to go ahead and finish getting the degree you’ve already worked for. That way, you can hopefully find a job in your 20’s that will support you as you fine-tune what exactly it is that interests you.

Have patience.

Sometimes we over-think how our lives will turn out, and this can cause panic. Keep in mind that almost every career starts you at the bottom, and you’ll probably hate it at first. If you’re patient and work your way to the top, however, you will most likely find yourself enjoying your career because it is something you’re good at.

If you’re skilled at something and have the education, it is far wiser to stick it out with that career until you have the resources to change gears and try something you believe will make you happier. Until then, hobbies and side projects are the best ways to keep you going.

Your 20’s should be a time of exploration and adventure, and it’s your time to prove yourself. Just make sure that you are growing throughout.

Like what you read? Connect with me further via twitter @JonNegroni. I’ll follow back if you seem like a real person.

Don’t forget to check out THE JON REPORT every day, updated at 8am for a list of today’s main headlines as selected by my editorial team (me) 

New Professionals: Know Your Greatest Asset

NSAC Ad Competition 2012

Being thrust into the “real world” of entry-level careers and highly competitive internships requires more than just a good CV and connections. It requires something more tangible than a work ethic, more effective than a bachelor’s degree, and more lasting than a good recommendation.

Yes, those things are essential, but they aren’t nearly as crucial as your greatest asset: your peers. Going it alone is basically career suicide for the new professional. I’ve seen it firsthand.

Since I graduated, I’ve been fortunate enough to have other new professionals as friends (the above picture is me with a few of them), constantly giving me a rubric to measure myself against. It’s cold, but life really is a competition. Evaluating the success of your peers and pushing yourself to achieve your own goals is how you really progress after college.

Take my word for it. The millennial generation has to be the laziest one yet. It’s not just that we don’t work as hard, we know that we’re not working as hard as we can. I hope we see that change soon, and I’ve personally found that nothing humbles you into pushing your life forward more than watching your friends succeed.

I was a wreck during my first job. I had no idea what I was doing and frequently had to receive counsel from my friends. I remember late-night phone calls about my fear of talking to high-level journalists at magazines like Forbes and HBR. My peers got me through that.

Later, when I had to cement what type of industry I would commit it, it was the success of my friends that motivated me to strive for more. While I have my own ambitions, it was still useful to see just how capable my friends and I are. If they can do it, I can do it.

Don’t go it alone. Don’t measure yourself against your shadow. Creating lasting relationships with your peers and constantly watch what they’re doing and how they’re doing it. That’s how the new professional can find real success.

Like what you read? Connect with me further via twitter @JonNegroni. I’ll follow back if you seem like a real person.

Don’t forget to check out THE JON REPORT every day, updated at 8am for a list of today’s main headlines as selected by my editorial team (me) 

Why Donald Trump’s Challenge to Obama Probably Won’t Work

I say “probably” because hey, anything can happen right? That said, the odds that this will actually change anyone’s mind or perception of Obama is rather slim.

Here’s the context. For days, Donald Trump has been hinting at a big “announcement” he would make today (Wednesday). Many speculated on uncovered divorce papers while some even argued he was revisiting Obama’s birth certificate. Turns out, the notorious Trump is offering $5 million to the charity of Obama’s choice if, and only if, he releases his respective college transcripts, including his passport.

This request comes from the notion that the president is hiding a shameful record of low grades during his time at Columbia University. Here’s the thing though: Obama has already admitted that his grades were mediocre during his time there in his book, “The Audacity of Hope.”

Of course, this raises the valid question of why his records are sealed in the first place. Even if he had poor grades, that would change few minds about reelecting him since this happened decades ago. As some have pointed out, however, poor grades mean that Obama could never have gotten into Harvard Law School or kept up scholarships that would have to pay for his education since he did not come from a wealthy background. So, what exactly could the president be hiding?

The real point, however, is that this would change nothing. Obama will never release his college records at the request of a private citizen. That would be political suicide unless he has a sterling record, which is highly unlikely given that he sealed them and because of the points above. Obama will play this off as “political football” and let his constituents attack Trump for him as his advocates. That is the obvious strategy that will inevitably make this issue fizzle out. Some more people will hate Trump. Some more people will distrust Obama. That’s about it.

That is, however, unless something completely unpredictable happens between now and October 31st, which I am all for.

Jon

Are Too Many People Going to College?

There are several different opinions that vary on this issue.

Yes: too many people are going to college and racking up debt for themselves while the government is subsidizing their expenses.

No: college is an essential aspect of someone’s life and a gateway to a meaningful career. To keep it affordable, we need government intervention to increase and for tuition rates to go down.

My opinion is a less callous “yes.” I’ve seen time and again that people are going to college with no goals or idea what they’re going to do. While plenty figure out what they want to do halfway through college, a stunning amount wait until their senior year to finalize their major, adding more student loans to finance their extra years.

We then have college students graduating with degrees that have no clout in today’s marketplace, which in turn make them unemployable. They either get a job they didn’t need a degree for, get a job in something entirely different from what they got a degree for, don’t get a job, or try to get a master’s, hoping that will improve their chances (but may just add up their debt.)

We have a major problem here. Education has shifted from being a privilege to a right. While education should be had by all, there are too many instances where we take it for granted and are thus spoiled into thinking that college or grad school is job security. It isn’t.

Job security is a personal responsibility. The person with the ambition to excel will find a way to get a job, even if that’s not what they expected. I’ve never met an extremely ambitious person who couldn’t get a job. While there are plenty of exceptions (especially when it comes to age as a factor), I hold that we are trying to fix a very complex problem with simplistic solutions that cause even more problems.

There is absolutely a place for programs that help underprivileged young adults find a way into college. Anyone who has the ambition and drive to go out and make a career deserves the privilege of education. That’s not what I’m nitpicking.

The issue is culture. We treat college like it’s just more high school. What I mean is that we have a substantial amount of young adults that view college as something they’re  “supposed” to do. That is so wrong. College should be wanted, craved, and desired. Instead, we use it as a way to prolong adolescence, and we’re seeing the results of that across the board.

Is there a solution? I don’t really know, and it’s important for me to keep in mind that this is my own observation based on my own experiences, conversations, and what I’ve read. Obviously, many other people will disagree based on their own observations. When it comes down to it, we’ll see who’s right eventually.

JN