What are you going to do with your degree? As a philosophy major, I’m asked this question every time I mention my major. The question is usually an attack on the real-life applicability of my degree.
But it is a question that applies to us all.
There was a time when a four-year degree meant the difference between blue collar and white collar. Now with graduates working at the Bob Evans on Olentangy River Road (my server had a degree in psychology), the question of how to apply your degree is as important as ever.
I’m not disparaging serving as a career choice, though it doesn’t seem to have the satisfaction that a four-year degree could garner or the ability to repay student loans. Maybe those studying hospitality or food science would enjoy such a career. But being a philosophy major, I should count myself lucky to have the money to eat at Bob Evans, let alone joke about the prospect of working there after graduation.
I kid because the sad fact is that a four-year degree does not carry the weight it once did. It is a minimum requirement for most of the jobs you want, but what does that say about the job? You and every other college graduate will be jockeying for the same entry-level positions across the world — so how will you distinguish yourself?
I suppose the question becomes not, “What will you do with your degree?” but, “What will you do with your college education?” Will you simply go to class every day for four years and graduate with a degree, or will you avail yourself of the myriad opportunities afforded to you on campus?
Not a day goes by when I don’t receive an e-mail from career services or see flyers hanging in the RPAC or Jimmy John’s for some amazing opportunity.
Don’t delete those e-mails or breeze past those flyers. They are opportunities for you to distinguish yourself on your resume and say, “I may be a philosophy major but I also was able to apply myself in these different ways to become respected by my peers and to learn new things.”
Extracurricular activities get noticed by potential employers. They show your ability to socialize, and remember, it is about what you know and who you know. The recruiter for your dream job might have been in Block “O” too, and that could make all the difference.
So next time you are on the North Campus Loop or having lunch at the Union and see a flyer that piques your interest, jot the information down and make a concerted effort to try something new. Maybe the friends you make can one day have lunch at Bob Evans … My name is Austin and I’ll be your server.
