Being the journalism prodigy extraordinaire that I undoubtedly am, when the time came to think about what I wanted to major in, journalism was an obvious choice. I have always loved journalism, it has been an important part of my life for many years, and it makes sense to want to do it in college. Yet as I did some research, I discovered something unsettling. Journalism majors face a 7.7% unemployment, and an average first year income of just 40 thousand dollars, a tremulous amount, especially compared to graduates with engineering degrees, that can have first year returns as high as 103 thousand.
Suddenly I was faced with a predicament; do I major in something I truly enjoy, or something more “conventional.” I immediately thought of clichés: “the person that takes a risk to do something they love and succeed at it.” Or “the person that decides to do something boring for the money, and ends up sad and lonely.” Being the romantic I am, I naturally had a greater tendency towards the former than the latter, but often times real life is more nuanced than we want it to be.
What if I major in journalism and have to live in a dingy two room apartment. What if I become an engineer and am miserable. The outcomes are numerous and varied. Though the conflict extends so much further than just a college major. The battle between passion and security plagues nearly all aspects of life, from picking classes to choosing a career, everyone at some time or another will have to make a choice.
This is generally the part in the story where I pick a side and argue it till death, but honestly, I don’t know. I don’t know if I can be happy making less than I would prefer, nor do I know if I can be happy doing something I hate everyday. The best part about youth is being able to ignore anything and everything that affects the rest of our lives, but as those once trivial questions become more and more relevant, it should be expected that we develop answers to them. If only I could practice what I preach.
Nearly everyone has heard at one time or another “it is okay to make mistakes” whether it be a profound piece of life advise, or someone learning to drive a manual; but there are somethings we can’t afford to mess up. Life is one them.