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ENG102
ProfessorManley
6/22/15
InterestingCareerorLavishLifestyle?
Youresupposedtolovewhatyoudo.Americankidsareraisedwiththemindset
thattheyneedtofigureouttheirinterestsandchoosewhattheywanttodowiththerest
oftheirlifebytheageofeighteen.Thereisroomforleewayinthelifedirectingdecision
whenthechildreachescollege.However,Americaasasocietyexpectsitschildrento
knowwhichfieldofstudyorworktheywanttogetintobytheendofhighschool.The
situationisfullofpressurefromparents,teachers,andotherstudents.Butwhatifwhen
youturneighteen,youarentsurewhatyouwanttospendyourlifedoing?
Ultimately,itcomesdowntotwodirections:thecareerthatoffersahighsalary
buthaslittletodowithyourinterestsandthecareerthatdirectlypertainstoyourcollege
degreeandthatyouwillbeinvestedinbutpayssignificantlyless.Basicallyyoumust
decidebetweenlovingyourjobandlivinginthemiddleclassornotbeinginterestedin
yourjobbutlivingalavishlifestyle.Thereisamiddlegroundandobviouslythesearethe
twoextremes,butanalyzingtheextremesiswhathelpsyoutomakeafinaldecision.
Beforeexploringyouroptionsandmakingadecisionyoushouldconductadeep
investigationintoyourself.Mygenerationhasamindsettoaspiretomakeasmuch
moneyaspossibleandliveawealthylifestyle.Thisisduetotechnologicalinfluence
includingsocialmedia,film,andtelevision.Forexample,theaveragepersonisdirectly
connectedwithcelebritiesthroughoutletssuchasTwitter.Whilegrowingup,onecan

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viewthelifestyleofacelebrity.Theseinfluencesleadtoadeepdesiretoliveacelebrity
likelife.
Themajorityofmypeerswouldultimatelydecideonthehigherpayingjob
becauseofthesepressureswhilegrowingup.Itmaybeselfishtochoosealavishlifestyle
overonethataidstheeconomyorhelpsthepublicandtheworldinsomeway.ButIdo
notseeitasselfish.Peopleshouldlivetheirliveshowtheyplease.Ifsomebodywantsto
makeaboatloadofmoneyandhastheambitiontodosothenIsaygoforit!Theperfect
situationwouldbetopulloffadoublepositive:helpouttheworldwhilemakingalotof
money.
Therearetonsofopportunitiesinourmodernworldtoachievethisdouble
positive.Thisisduetotheinfluxandevergrowingtechnologicalindustry.Guyslike
SteveJobs,MarkZuckerburg,andotherSiliconValleyprofessionalshavefoundout
howtodothis.Theyhavecreatedtechplatformsthatboostpublicaccessibilityand
lifestyleswhilebeingsomeoftherichestmeninthecountry.
HistoryhasshownachangeintheAmericanmindset.Untilrecenttimesin
Americapeopleweremakingtheirowncareersthathelpedouttheirlocalcommunities
withlessthoughtorinfluenceoftheirowninterests.Theeconomyandsocietalpressure
areeverchangingandhaveneverbeenasimportantastheycurrentlyare.
HighschoollaysthebasiseducationfortheAmericanstudents.Thisisin
preparationforcollege,andcollegepreparesthestudentforlifeintherealworld.After
highschool,thenormwouldbetospendthousandsofdollarstostudyinaparticular

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field.Indecisiveness,pressure,money,anddifferentmindsetsareallfactorsinthislife
changingdecision.
Highschoolgraduation,a.k.a.JudgmentDay,isascarytimeforeverylate
teenager.18yearoldsaresupposedtoknowwheretogofromthere.However,whatifa
studenthasmanyinterests?Sure,mostcollegesmaketheirfreshmanstudentstakecore
classestodiptheirfeetinthewater.Butcollegesalsohaveschoolsthatyouhavetodive
inrightaway,afterhighschool,andrequiregoodgradesinforfourtofiveyears.
IamcurrentlyenrolledintheSyracuseUniversityArchitectureProgram.Ihave
justfinishedmyfirstyearinthefiveyearprogram.ButlatelyIseemtobesecond
guessingmydecisiontostudyarchitecturemoreandmore.SureitsveryinterestingbutI
oftenthinktomyself:doIreallywanttodothisfortherestofmylife?Iknowthisis
notasingularproblemthatjustindecisiveMatthas.Themajorityofmyfriendsincollege
arestressedbecausetheydontknowwhattheywanttostudyortheymightbestudying
thewrongsubject.
Theluckystudentsfindwhattheylikeandstickwithitthroughoutcollege.But
willtheyenjoywhattheydoforthenextfortyorsoyearstheylive?Idoubtit.According
toBusinessInsider,mostAmericanshatetheirjobsforseveralreasons.Twoofwhichare
thattheypickedaconservativecareerpathwhentheywereenteringcollegeandnever
switchedortheyareinfluencedbyextrinsicmotivation.BobHookersaysthatit'scalled
cognitivedissonance:peoplewillevaluatethepleasuretheyreceivefromanactivityas
lowerwhentheyarerewardedwithmaterialgoodslikemoneybecauseitmakesthe
activityseemunpleasant.

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Growingup,wewerealwaystoldtofollowourpassionsinlife.AlisonGreen
fromUSANewssaysthatthisisterribleadvice.Herreasoningisthatmostpassions
dontlineupwellwithpayingcareers.Shegoeson,inherarticleentitledWhyYou
ShouldntFollowYourPassion,totalkabouthowstudentsgointocollegeandpickthe
wrongmajortostudybecausetheyhavelimitedknowledgeoffuturejobswithinthat
field.Thebestthingtodowouldbetofindawellpayingjobinsomethingthatyoure
goodatandfollowyourpassionsonthesideofyourcareer.
Moneyistheissue.Accordingtoa2013reportfromtheInstituteforCollege
AccessandSuccess,theaverageamountofstudentloandebtroseto$30,000.College
graduatespayhundredsofthousandsofdollarstoearnadegree.Aftergraduation,they
areindebtandneedtopayitoffasquicklyaspossible.Howdoyoudealwithstudent
loandebt?Thebestwaywouldbetotakeahighpayingjobrightoutofcollegeevenif
yournotinterestedinitoritwillsendyoudontacareerpathyoudontwanttogodown.
ButhowmuchmoneywouldittaketoswayanAmericanteenagerdownthe
wrongpath.Moneyisanobviousfactorwhenmakingyourcareerdecision.Itmaybean
ambiguousnumberbutabasesalaryofaround$100,000straightoutofcollegewould
makeacollegegraduatechooseajobtheyarenotinterestedinoversomethingtheyare
interestedin.MoneyequalshappinessinmodernAmerica.Collegegraduateswould
easilychoosethemuchhigherpayingjobthattheyknowtheywontenjoythanthelatter.
Ifirmlybelievethatthemajorityofmygenerationwouldchoosethehigher
payingandlessinterestingcareer.Thisisduetosocietalpressureandtheevergrowing
technologicalindustry.Itookapollwith15ofmypeers,collegestudentsenteringthe

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secondyearoftheirdegree.Igavethemtwooptionsandtoldthemtochooseonetodo
fortherestoftheirlives:thehigherpayingcareerthatyouwillnotbehappyin(upper
class)orthesignificantlylesspayingcareerthatyouwillenjoyfortherestofyourlife
(middleclass).TheresultswereexactlywhatIthoughttheywouldbe.13outofthe15
participantschoosethefirstoption.
Thereisnobettermeasureofapersonthanwhathedoeswhenheisabsolutely
freetochoose,saidWilliamM.Bulger.Inthepast,Iamsuretherewasadifferent
mindsetaboutchoosingonescareerandpeoplewerentsoworriedaboutmakinga
boatloadofcash.Nowadays,everybodywantstoberich!Hell,evenIdo.Nobodygoes
outofhisorherwaytobepoor,thatdoesntmakesense.ModernAmericanswant
spaciousmansions,sleekcars,foodforyears,andasmuchspendingmoneyaspossible.
TosumitupwithaquotefromMr.Krabs,thecartooncrabfromtheTVshow
SpongebobSquarepants,Money,money,money.
Ifthecurrentsituationcontinuesasitisthentheeconomywillgoinadownward
spiraltowardsarecession.Thisisduetolargeamountsofpeopletakinghigherpaying
jobsandnottakingthemoreinterestingjobswithalowerpaythattheywouldworkto
theirfullpotentialin.Theextremegrandscaleofthissituationwouldimpactall
Americans.Ibelieveitisimportantfortheindividualtochoosethecareerroutethatis
bestforhim.
Thereisamiddlegroundthough.Itispossibletofindajobthatwillcompelyou
toworktoyourfullestpotentialforyourentirecareeraswellasmakealotofmoney.But

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themajorityofpeopleneverfindthismiddleground.Yourmindorinterestscould
changeatanypointinyourlife.Doesjobsecuritycoverthat?
Manypeoplearestressedaboutwheretheyareinlife.Thosewhowerepressured
intoalifestyletheydonotenjoybecauseofsocietalpressureorfinancialaspirations,and
otherswhoarerelatedtothislifepredicament.MostAmericansmustchooseasideof
thissituationatsomepointintheirlives,eithercareerpathway.Isaytodowhatyou
want.Butwhodoesntlikemoney?

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Bidwell,Allie."AverageStudentLoanDebtApproaches$30,000."USNews.U.S.News
&WorldReportNews,13Nov.2014.Web.01June2015.
Bulger,WilliamM."WilliamM.BulgerQuote."IzQuotes.N.p.,n.d.Web.01June
2015.
Goodman,LeahMcGrath.MillennialCollegeGraduates:Young,Educated,Jobless;
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Green,Alison."WhyYouShouldn'tFollowYourPassionUSNews."USNewsRSS.
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MathandScience:GatewaystoCaliforniasFastestgrowingCareers.ERIC.N.p.,Jan.
2011.Web.3June2015.

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