I found out today that another sibling's household income has been significantly reduced -- her husband lost his job. Given his experience in his field of choice (delivery services), he should be able to bounce back. But it brought back to my mind an old argument I've had with friends and college roommates.
Is an education necessary for employment and happiness? I will table the happiness discussion for another posting as I have more to say than can be said quickly today (I once started to write a book on happiness -- I didn't get very far, but the concept for such a book is still in the back of my head).
It is true that not all jobs require advanced degrees -- some don't require any education at all. And all of those jobs can be careers -- even be turned into relatively lucrative careers, given the right circumstances, choices, etc. And it is also true that an advanced degree does not guarantee one a job, especially lately.
But even with the current economics raging in our ears, I still believe that the more education one receives, the better are his chances of success in this life and its associated rat race.
So are all degrees and specialties created equal? Sadly, the answer is no. The tax accountant has a better chance of employment than the actor. This is not to say that any one profession or any one degree is better than another. But the sad truth is that in the halls of commerce, finance, and economics, an education dealing with the harder sciences will most likely yield more opportunities for monetary stability than an education in the arts or soft sciences.
While this world is run on a market system (free or otherwise), an education dealing with some aspect of that system puts a person in line to make money. It is the ultimate in "if you can't beat them, join them." When we switch to a different system, new rules will need to be applied (although an education will fare well in most systems known).
My brother-in-law should be fine, though, given that his skill set is in an area dealing with the transportation of goods -- which is essential to the marketplace. Another brother-in-law had to change his skill set. He was an artist. Now he is trained as a paralegal. And while at the moment he is still unemployed (again, the economy not picking up the pieces yet), his prospects are better today than they were when he was a starving artist.
Is it better to be a starving paralegal than a starving artist? Both men are still hungry! And yet, how many operas can you name where the paralegal starved to death? Dying artists abound. Dying lawyers -- not so many, unless they were murdered (it's an occupational hazard).
And lastly, does anything I say hold any weight at all, given that my chosen profession is mandated by the government? Well, yes, because I CHOSE to be an accountant. I could have spent my university years in the pursuit of an arts degree or a political science degree -- I had great aspirations in both areas. But I am a pragmatist. There were more trumpet players looking for jobs than there were jobs available. The halls of Washington were strewn with poli-sci grads looking to clerk for this congressman or another, only to be out of a job the following November. I decided to leave such uncertainty to my younger and more idealistic associates. I decided to follow a more conservative path to wealth.
Does that make me a coward? A sellout? One who sacrificed his dreams at the alter of commerce? I don't know. Maybe it does. But, believe it or not, I am happy with the decisions I've made, and not just because I have a good job.
Invariably when this conversation is raised, there will be those who point to examples of wealthy businessmen who did not graduate at all, let alone get an advanced degree. I will humbly acknowledge that such examples exist and will glibly point out that most of those individuals are either geniuses or very lucky or both. Often they are both. If the time ever comes that I am blessed with great amounts of wealth, it will be because I was in the right place at the right time and able to take advantage of the right opportunity. And for every Microsoft or Google uneducated genius there are thousands, if not millions, of geniuses who will never be known as their companies just didn't make it.
Here's the point of this rambling -- if you are at the beginning of the decision making process (i.e. just about to graduate from high school or just entered college), think seriously about where your dreams will lead. It may not now be the most important thing to you to make gobs of money -- but do not make a decision about your future lightly. And do not get me wrong -- I love the arts and have had some training in them. The world would be an empty place without them. And there are those who do succeed financially as artists. Maybe you will be one of those. But if you have talents in the sciences or mathematics, do not be too swift to lay those aside for the glory of the limelights. And even if you do decide to become an artist, take an accounting class, just so you will be able to count the millions you will make.
Then again, you can always just call me.
