Please read this. Dear Applicant: Thank you for your letter inquiring about positions in our economics department. At this time, we have no openings. However, I will keep your letter on file should an appropriate job become available. At least, thats what I am required to tell you. But heres what Id really like to say to you - and to every recent economics graduate who sends me the same letter. First, I know its lousy for bachelor of arts grads looking for a job in their field. Twenty years ago, it was lousy for me too. Its almost always lousy. In a way, its kind of supposed to be - a small rite of passage to welcome you into the working world. Its sort of like being froshed. But if I may, I would like to offer some advice. Dont be too fixated on landing a job in your field. The truth is, you dont yet have a field. In university, you majored in economics, but that may or may not be your eventual field of professional work. The world is full of possibilities; limiting your search to an economist job is a terribly narrow way to start out. You chose to study economics, which doesnt necessarily imply that youll be an economist. Rather, it implies you have an aptitude for problem solving. Youre probably good at analyzing data. You can see different sides of an argument. And Ill bet youre excellent at finding solutions to problems. These are essential skills required in hundreds of rewarding (and lucrative) fields of professional employment. Your ultimate field may actually be in sales for a biotech firm. It may be analyzing crime statistics for the city police. It may even be a rock star (just ask Mick Jagger). The world is full of fields. What youre facing is a common problem: BA graduates confuse their major area of study with what they expect to be their eventual careers. It doesnt matter if its a degree in history, film studies, sociology, or comparative feminist literature. Youve successfully navigated your way through a four-year degree. Congratulations! That is no small accomplishment. But now youre embarking on a totally different program of learning - one that will last the rest of your life. Its called What am I here for? That may sound all spiritual and existential, but dont let it throw you off. It just means that your challenge from here on is to find what youre good at, and keep getting better and better at it. An apology, by the way, on behalf of society. We are sorry if we led you to believe that attending university would land you a good job. Thats not actually true. A polytechnic college will do this - and the job opportunities available right now are fantastic. A good option for you might be to continue post-university studies at a polytechnic. But your university education, at least at the bachelor of arts level, was never intended to land you a job. It was intended to make you a more complete thinker. It was intended to teach you how to absorb complex information and make reasoned arguments. It was, quite simply, intended to teach you how to learn. Those are skills that youll use in any field of work. Open your mind to all sorts of job possibilities. Dont be too proud to start out in the service industry, or where you might get your fingernails dirty. Talk to as many people as you can about their career paths. Go live overseas for a year or two. But never, ever, allow yourself to think youve wasted your time in university if you dont land a job as an economist. Meanwhile, be encouraged and stay positive. And yes, I will keep your letter on file. But my guess is that when a position in my economics group eventually opens up, youll no longer be available. Todd Hirsch is the Calgary-based chief economist of ATB Financial and author of The Boiling Frog Dilemma: Saving Canada from Economic Decline.
Posted on: Tue, 19 Nov 2013 21:49:15 +0000
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