Career Hunting

We are in our mid 20's. It is that point in your life, or is supposedly that point in your life, when you are entering the job market, struggling to get on your feet and still maintain the resemblance of a social life. I've read some really good articles lately on what it means to be in your 20s. There are a lot of explanations out there pertaining to the situation we find ourselves in, from generational differences to university shortfalls. Everyone has their opinion. Take a look at the links I have posted at the bottom - I'd love to hear how your own experience compares.

What I have found though is an increase in Universities as a business. I have friends that work in post-secondary education that will probably disagree with me, but it seems a bit odd that acceptance into certain programs isn't mirroring the job market. Every article I've read mentions the void in skilled trades and a surplus of arts grads. Its crazy to me that a degree now is only a stepping stone to your desired career.

Another surprising fact is the proportion of creative graduates Canadian Universities are pumping out compared to the annual amount Canadian business spends on Research and Development. Our R&D in the private sector doesn't even come close to what Japan, Finland and Norway are pumping out, yet we are telling our graduates the sky is the limit.

I'm not blaming the system for all the generational downfalls. We are unbelievably good at procrastinating. I could be doing work right now. Teaching myself how to play guitar. Or job hunting. But instead, I am writing a blog. And then I'll probably go on Facebook. It is a bit of a shock though, thinking you can accomplish whatever you set your heart out to do, and then realizing their is an infinite number of university graduates that were assured the same.

I think the biggest problem that may face our generation and the job market is our expectations. We grew up wanting what we want and not being able to have it or succeed at it is not really acceptable. I think what may be annoying everyone else is that we think our generation is the first to suffer from this, while that is not quite correct. If we can learn from the past generations and how they dealt with slumps in the job market, we may be able to adjust our expectations.

We'd love to hear your opinion!

Vancouver Sun article on how University is preparing Canadian students for the workforce.

Huffington Post directs the responsibility of the situation on the high expectations of our generation.

Maclean's explains the stereotype attached to our generation and the supposed laziness we all possess.