By Ally Uhlendorf
Editorialist
The biggest question college students constantly hear from professors, family members and peers: “What are your plans after graduation?” The question is not “what are you learning?’ or “what interests you?” — it’s whether you are career-ready or not before even earning your degree.
Career culture, referring to the pressure to have your career plan mapped out while still in college, has slowly become the dominant framework through which students are evaluated. While yes, of course, preparing students for their future and encouraging them to enter the work force early is important, the intensity and immense pressure of this culture is quietly excluding many students. These pressures narrow definitions of success, and students are only measured based on their internships and experiences.
Today, education is only seen as a transaction. The expectation is simple: earn your degree and you will secure a job. In reality, this is not the case for most students. Getting internships while in college is not as simple as it seems for all students. Many internships require previous experience, excluding students who are just starting out and eager to learn. Others require extensive applications and multiple-round interviews, just to be rejected in the end. Additionally, many internships are unpaid, which is not ideal for all students. Some students cannot afford to work for free, and it is not fair to pressure them to do so.
This imbalance reinforces inequality in the job market. Students who come from financially stable households have the privilege of relocating, accept unpaid offers and place work above their education. Students who do not have this privilege may work in roles unrelated to their career goals, not because they are unambitious, but because they have no other choice. However, only one type of experience tends to be celebrated.
It is constantly overlooked how much valuable experience students can gain from part-time jobs, on-campus organizations, classes and extracurriculars. Some students even do more work within these than they would do in an internship, but employers choose to ignore that when choosing candidates.
Beyond financial pressures, students additionally feel pressure from observing their peers’ success, especially with platforms such as LinkedIn. Everyday, there are a dozen posts from fellow students sharing their success stories in getting internships and jobs, leaving students who lack those opportunities to feel less-than.
While seeing your peers’ success is a positive, it can also result in other students feeling as though they are “behind” or it is “too late” to reach their goals. Students who are still exploring or applying to jobs may feel the urge to just give up due to beliefs that their peers are way ahead of them anyway. However, all students face the same process when going through the job process: sending in countless applications, receiving rejections or getting ghosted by an employer with no explanation. But, only the success stories are highlighted — causing students to rarely get the full picture.
Career culture also discourages exploration. Not every single student knows exactly what they want to do as a career when entering college, and that should not be frowned upon. There is a reason colleges offer an “undecided” option when choosing a major, and that should not reflect poorly on the student. College is meant to be a time of intellectual and self discovery, and it is completely normal for students to feel the desire to explore multiple fields before committing to a career. Switching majors and exploring classes is developmentally normal, and it does not mean you are falling behind.
Preparing for a career should be a part of college education, but it should not overshadow everything. Colleges need to recognize that success looks different for everyone and that college is a stepping stone, not a catapult.
Students deserve the freedom to discover themselves and explore opportunities before being expected to brand themselves. The point of college is to not be chasing a job, but to be chasing your dreams and discoveries.
