Joining the Labor Market

Recall a few months back, when I wrote about graduating college and moving to the city? And then two days later, I flip-flopped and decided to try to ride out the recession my hometown a few more months? Well, here it is, nearly four months later, and I’m finally forcing myself to make that scary transition into adulthood by leaving the campus and finding my first “grownup job.”

Of course, a lot of scary thoughts are going through my mind. Obviously, we’re still in (aren’t we?) a severe recession. Unemployment is a lagging indicator, which means that, even if the economy turns around tomorrow, the labor market will probably get worse before it gets better. I’m not a snob, though. Given limited options, I’d be willing to do pretty much whatever work is out there (short of donning the Mickey D’s hat or a WalMart smock – did both in high school). Right now, I’m working part time as an administrative assistant – not exactly a career by any means – but it has its perks. I’m not on my feet all day, I’m not dealing with the general public, I’m not selling anything, and hey, it’s a paycheck.

Another thing that’s weighing heavily on my mind is the knowledge that professional life is different from college life. In school, I have a lot of friends who are close to my age, who study the same subjects as me and enjoy a lot of the same things as I do. Google aside, it seems that there aren’t that many offices full of hip, intelligent, unmarried, childless 20- and 30-somethings. Honestly, I think it’s going to be lonely out there – I don’t have a husband, boyfriend, or children to occupy my time on those Friday nights that I currently spend going out with college friends. I recently read that the rate of depression is highest among 20-somethings (sorry, can’t remember the source), and that’s not surprising. College life is easy: you’re told exactly what you need to learn, you get constant feedback in the form of grades, and there is always one social event or another event going on. I expect the “real world” is going to be much less straightforward, and much more boring (this must be why people have kids).

It’s not only the life transition that’s wigging me out; I have no friggin’ clue what I want to do. I wasn’t trained to be anything specific like a nurse, a teacher, a financial analyst, or a journalist. Economics is a nebulous subject; if anything, I was trained to think rationally and critically about everything (and believe me, I really emphasize that fact in job interviews). It’s safe to say that I’m open to pretty much anything right now, although I think that, given my lack of a family life to balance with work, a job that is demanding and challenging would be better than pushing paper for 8 hours a day.

An alternative to work would be to delay my adulthood even longer and start collecting applications for graduate schools. I’ve been considering grad school for some time now, but I’m not completely sold – I don’t want to invest that much money into something that will ultimately narrow my career options. I think I’d enjoy law school, but I know I’d hate being a lawyer. And I have neither the patience for an average MBA curriculum, nor the background or finances to get into a top business program. Unless I wake up someday with an unshakable urge to get a PhD, grad school will remain on the back-burner.

For all my fears, there are a few reasons to be optimistic. Generation Y kids tend not to hold their jobs for very long, so most employers probably won’t expect me to stick with the company more than a year or two. I have no kids or mortgage tying me down – I will never again in my life be as free as I am right now. My subject is extremely broad, yet more directly applicable to most jobs than other broad social science degrees (psychology, anthropology, etc.). Finally, economics students are really, really damn smart.

Happy 4/20: Sorry, I Don’t Like Pot (But Don’t Let Me Stop You)

While it may be en vogue for bloggers to “out” themselves with regards to their own recreational marijuana use (See: Will Wilkinson, Radley Balko, etc.), I’d like to take the opportunity today to opine on why I think marijuana is overrated. For the record, I believe in marijuana decriminalization and legalization. I agree that the whole “War on Drugs” is a waste of taxpayer money that has had dire consequences for our neighbors south of the border. I’ve known a few friends who completely sucked at school before they developed a regular pot smoking regimen.  I’ve witnessed a close family member suffer the chronic pain associated with terminal cancer, as well as the diminished mental awareness that comes with conventional pain-management treatments. So, let me be absolutely clear: I am not writing this from some false moral highground. I get it: the risks of smoking weed have been grossly overblown by a government policy that was originally designed with an overt racial bias. That said, marijuana, as a recreational drug, is overrated!

First, some mostly-objective reasons for disliking marijuana:

1. It doesn’t smell good. I know “good” is a subjective term, but I am tired of people saying “Oh, I love the smell!” as if it were akin to fresh-baked muffins. Stop kidding yourself. It smells like wet, acrid dirt. If pot really smelled that wonderful, you can damn well bet that somebody would make a pot-scented designer perfume, or at least a home fragrance. (And no, the patchouli oil you rub on your dreads in lieu of taking a shower doesn’t count.)
2. You become a damned idiot if you smoke too much. Moderation is definitely the key, here. While I have friends who can smoke weed and still carry on a coherent, engaging conversation, in my own experiences with the drug, I haven’t been able to find that balance. I’ve either felt no effect at all, or I’ve smoked myself stupid. And I know plenty of people who smoke with the intention of getting completely baked. Believe you me, these people are TONS of fun when they smoke pot /eyeroll.
3. It makes you fat. Well, not the pot necessarily, but the munchies definitely contribute to your expanding waistline. Not only are you likely to gorge yourself on pizza and chips and whatnot, but there’s a pretty good chance your stoned ass will fall asleep on the couch watching reruns of Family Guy, instead of going for that nighttime jog you’ve been meaning to get in the habit of doing. 

I also have my own theory for why I don’t much enjoy marijuana. People seem to think that getting high makes them more contemplative and thoughtful (that is, when they’re not so ripped that they’re laughing hysterically at the coffee table, or going on another tired, long-winded rant about how Papa Smurf was a communist). Whether or not marijuana really increases perceptiveness, creativity, and mental clarity I don’t know, but I’m skeptical. However, let’s assume that everyone’s right, and pot does sort of shut down part of your brain and put you in a place of greater awareness and self-reflection. I get enough of that already in my daily life. I’m a contemplative person by nature. It’s not unusual for me to take a break from homework, for example, and just kinda space out for a few minutes, thinking quietly about life, people, relationships, etc. I’ve never felt that I’ve gained any more insight into these things after getting high. Maybe it’s because I’m fairly introverted (according to the MBTI, I’m an INTP – or as I call it, the “chronic mental masturbater” heh), but my preference is to shut off that over-thoughtful part of my brain through alcohol (what else?). I’d much rather go out to the bar and play stupid drinking games with my friends – 7-11-Doubles, anyone? – than sit around somebody’s basement discussing “life, the universe, and everything.”*

So, there you have it, my reason for being anti-marijuana, despite being pro-legalization. Hey Washington: not ALL legalization proponents are lazy stoners!  (Though I may have put the nail in my coffin with the phrase “chronic mental masturbater.” D’oh!)

*Douglas Adams’ “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” series was total stoner material. No doubt.

HLG Alert: Congrats to the UA Desert Lamp!

Finally, an HLG alert that’s not about Tom Bell.

Evan Lisull and Connor Mendenhall, authors of the Arizona Desert Lamp, are the winners of the 2009 College Blogger contest, sponsored by America’s Future Foundation. Both are very intelligent, talented writers, and their award is well-deserved.

More from the winners:

Connor writes at Super Hamburger America, and Evan pens Marque and Reprisal for the Kosmopolitan Online.