The job market reality discussion is an ailment that only spares a few. The world is slowly spiraling to the extreme advancements of innovative technologies. However, the passenger seats seem to be vacant or vacated due to the job market reality. The higher education institutions take pride in their preparation of students to face the job market.
This world is most cruel and severe, with their only weapon being a polished and credited educational degree styled with merits. What such higher education institutions mostly fail to notice is that they are preparing warriors for a war that fought itself and collapsed. Thus the result is graduates scavenging for a loophole on the job market for a place to leak their wounds of mismatched job skillsets. The higher education job market reality takes credit for the scandal.
Where is this going?
If this article is to bear and convey the weight of the message hidden behind its feathered words, then firstly, the touch of a personal narrative should take the lead. I was a young gladiator, 18 years of age, and already graduated from high school. As I entered college, I was ready to take the bull by the horns, and the world was not going to see me coming. I played the game of grades and aced my way to the furthest merit achievable. I was confident in my Computer Science background as I had created my version of an innovative switch and was ready to launch it upon my graduation.
The mandatory industrial attachment after the end of my third academic year eased the transition that fueled my anticipation for the real world. During the period, I involved myself in essential maintenance, repair, and customer service task. It felt like a downgrade on my skillset as I had a Software touch and not a Hardware urge. Anyway, I persevered as the humility in me taught me to respect every moment of life as I could not be sure of the unseen destination.
However, my most perfect moment during the industrial attachment experience is when I assisted the head of the IT department in recovering some data on a crashed computer hard disk. During that moment, I, too, was unclear of the way forward but did some overnight research on my way home that evening, mostly through YouTube, and finally cracked the nut. I was so proud of myself that I envision the heroes cap as my outfit on a technologically deprived world. I did not know that this sarcastic narrative would come back to bite me after my graduation.
The Fake Glitters of Gold
I was through with college, and it was time to match my money’s worth with my words. The present me seeing this past version of myself would have dragged it to the nearing nursing home due to personality malfunction. The first three interviews I went to was a mess. It was like I was parading my ego on a Lego house, and each time I came crumbling down. The dorm I was living under was not the same as the dish served.
It was like I had created a pyramid scheme and victimized myself through my creation. I was not ready, and I think the inside of my head had a short circuit when it shouted those words as I was not loud enough. The heroes cap I was wearing degraded, and I was way over my head. The interviews felt like applications to head over to Mars, and I had not mastered Earth yet.
Step Up or Step Up
It was then that I had to relearn everything. I put the pride of my educational merits aside, rolled up my sleeves, and dug deep in the dirt, hoping to catch some valuable pebbles underneath. It took me some time, but I was able to crawl back to grace. Thus my time in the learning dungeon armed me with some valuable lessons about the higher education narrative versus the job market reality.
1. Do not think Big, think problematically.
The world needs daily maintenance more than an upgrade. It is not about what inventions do not exist yet, but the magnitude of problems it can solve.
2. Higher education institutions are not responsible for your future.
Education is always a reference to a key, but it does not directly translate as the key to success. It is more of a key to the inside of your mind. The human brain is a fantastic maze that keeps on growing, and to figure it out; you have to play the game. You need to explore your mind to find out what juices it up, and then that will be the passion you must seek.
3. The fear of learning is the end of discerning.
If you fear to learn, you will not embrace growth; it is that simple. Do not be afraid to relearn new ideas and concepts. It is the concept of giving and receiving.
The higher education job market reality is not a complicated riddle. You just need to take time and connect the missing pieces. Thus, in my college days, I expected to be spoon-fed to a comfortable job position, and being starved of the opportunities I craved for made me hungrier. In the process and because of the higher education job market reality, I tightened my shoelaces and have never regretted the journey.
