By Rebekah Marin
Liberal Arts – English Major

As our economy becomes an increasingly global one, it seems that business professionals have felt the need to draw thick lines between what they’re business/work life consists of and what their personal lives consist of. So what does this mean for the American businessman/woman today? What happens when people start choosing a career path based on salary rather than their personal interest level? Is there any way to reverse this trend? Questions like the previous few are the kinds of issues that will be looked at in this three-part series about education, work, and personal lives.
The first issue to delve into is the process of choosing a field of study in college. Many high schools in this country require their juniors and seniors to conduct a research project about a profession of their choice. This requirement can certainly be worthwhile if the students take it seriously and conduct an in-depth investigation as to what level of education and/or skills are required to get a job in that field. By communicating with an individual who has a job in the student’s particular field of interest, they are given experience in networking and making connections before even reaching the college level.
So what happens to those high school students who don’t have to complete research projects on career choices, and have no idea what they’d like to study, or what their academic strengths are? Are these the students that end up being forced to settle for a job just to get the bills paid? What, if any, educational reforms need to happen in order to ensure that every student has a better grasp of their passions and the opportunities available to them in relation to those passions before leaving high school? It’s unclear how much actual class time could be spent on a student figuring out what they enjoy learning about, but what is clear is that the most self-aware and passionate students are those who indulge in learning outside of the classroom. It’s important that parents and educators encourage students at that age to put themselves out there and try new things; to help them become creative, well-rounded students outside of traditional academia. In our profit-driven, hard-working culture it’s crucial to ensure that we still cultivate creative open-minded individuals who can bring valuable and fresh ideas into society.
As students past the high school level it’s even more important to consistently evaluate progress and our level of interest in whatever subjects we’re learning about. In this rat-race-esque society that many of us probably feel we’re being pushed into, we shouldn’t feel like we need to abandon our personalities just to fit as a piece in the puzzle. As students, we have the ability to make the necessary adjustments to ensure that we’re pleased with the path we’re pursuing. The most successful, positive, and productive students are those who know what they love to do and know what they have to do to get where they want to be.
Find what you’re passionate about and let it be the driving force in your education, because otherwise education will feel like a chore instead of an incredible privilege. In the next segment we’ll take a closer look at how your education level and life experience can help and/or hurt your chance at getting that dream job!