Wednesday, May 25, 2011

What a sad thought on the rights of passage

As the grand right of passage slowly approaches ( is it still the sixth of June or has that changed?) our vibrant youth will do much the same stupid things we did generations ago. Will it be candy striping the the school flag pole or carving class of 2011 with chemicals in the football stadium grass? Or maybe more creative shenanigans have made its' way to our high tech society. At least modern day rituals only involve the dawning of cap and gown and not some quasi satanic ditty like running naked over burning hot coals or having part of ones' nether region cut off.
And then with heads crammed with four years of mostly useless knowledge will head out for their own exploitive adventures. Dreams of world travel are soon dashed by the cost of just getting to the airport. And then there's the student loans to think about but they are a far away after thought. The excitement is just knowing that it's over and there'll be no more term papers to write or finals to sweat over. But what to do now? The rumor that XYZ Inc. was hiring turned out to be last month right in the middle of finals. Then the alarm is sounded (saw it on a tweet so it must be real) that you can be your own boss work whenever you want and make big bucks. Easy work. Work your own hours. No end to the possibilities. Which upon further investigation turns out to be selling overpriced vacuum cleaners door to door. Not to worry no body sells encyclopedias that way any more.

Got your degree in Political Science or Ancient Greek literature did we? So sorry. I think the Day Labor outfit is looking for a few able bodies to clean out a sewer or two. Hey and you get paid daily with that gig. Or maybe you could get on with the phone book delivery guys but with gas being as high as it is you just might break even. Oh and don't forget the student loans or they just might garnish your meager wages.

And just how do you get experience for the position when no body will hire you to get the experience? Ah, that boys and girls is our little secret. And you thought the old man didn't know anything.

Sorry but them's the sad facts. A sad thought indeed.

4 comments:

Randal Graves said...

No, no, don't go into the workforce, enroll in one of America's fine diploma mills where you then have the choice of then entering the workforce or getting a brand new degree printed on even fancier paper.

BBC said...

We sure have raised a lot of stupid kids, and stuck them with a big bill of trying to figure out how to bail this country out of debt because we'll putting it all on their shoulders.

Oh well, it was good for us. :-)

The Blog Fodder said...

My youngest moved to England and is looking for work as a Librarian. Good timing. Like moving to the Falkland Islands in 1980 to escape war.

S.W. Anderson said...

Come on, if you've got an MBA, you go see good old Uncle Sid about a junior executive position at his business.

Lots of grads work into positions through internships these days. It gives employers some super low-pay help and a "try before you buy" opportunity to see if young Renfrew is willing to keep his thoughts to himself and look busy at all times.

Really good football players can go on to become millionaires if they can get the hang of making a 45-minute game stretch out to two or three hours. (Crotch adjustments, high-fiving and standing around with hands on hips can be hard work.)

Cheerleaders tend to have no problem at all. One even became preznit of these Untied States. :)