college educated guy works 60hrs, 4 jobs, makes 20k/year - what his life looks like:

[econoclast]

72. On being 'college educated'

Not specific to this case ... But a few thoughts on a liberal arts college education and employment...

The real question for all college grads is "What can you DO?"

I am a firm believer in the value of a liberal arts education. The things you learn are:

How to think.
How to analyze a problem.
How to communicate those results to others in clear prose.
How to work as part of a team.

Doesn't matter whether you learned these skills in English or History or Philosophy or Psychology or Chemistry or Mathematics.

These skills are transferrable. And these skills are very valuable to ANY employer.

BUT

By themselves they probably won't get you a job. They will allow you to succeed and prosper once you find employment, but probably won't get you hired. To get hired you need something else...some more demonstrable, quantitatively measurable, immediately productive skill. What can you actually DO for an employer today?

Can you type? Can you manipulate spreadsheets? Can you edit documents? Can you operate database programs. Can you make accounting entries? Can you run lab experiments?

I recall reading an interview with the head of a design firm. At the time of the interview she was beginning a large project and speaks about hiring designers :

She has a large project - part of an advertising campaign for a kitchen appliance maker. This project has a hard deadline 8 weeks hence. She has to hire almost a dozen designers - short term - to complete the project. They HAVE to be able to quickly do beautiful renderings of stainless steel objects in Adobe Illustrator. (Toasters, microwaves, refrigerators etc.) Since she has a hard deadline there is no time for a learning curve .... The people she hires for this project have to start producing on day one. She went on to say that she will probably end up hiring at least 3 or 4 of these newbies full-time. And while she says she is looking for the most talented and creative people she can find for those full-time hires, she went on to admit you might be second coming of Michelangelo and Da Vinci ... But if you can't render stainless steel toasters in Illustrator she'll never even look at your portfolio! Intellectually, she knows she needs the most talented and creative designers to grow her firm for the future ..... But pragmatically she has to get toasters rendered TODAY!!!! So she'll end up hiring the most talented and creative from among those who can render stainless steel toasters.

Point being that, to a prospective employer, your undergraduate liberal arts degree means you are smart and have up-side potential. But things being as they are, what can you actually DO .... Today?