Dear UCLA,
I feel like once upon a time, you promised me great things. And even without those promises, I’ve loved you dearly, and treasured every second with you.
But I now realize that, very unfortunately, you didn’t tell me how hard it would be in the world out there. The cold, narrow, and unfriendly job market of 2009. The market that tells me that it has no place for me, even with this lovely piece of paper that says that your faculty has conferred upon me a great degree.
UCLA, you should have told it to me straight: that employers don’t care what you majored in, or what grades you got, but they care about the unpaid slave labor internships and job experience in lieu of entry level jobs.
If you told me that, I would have worried less about my Milton midterm, my Shakespeare paper, and that stupid presentation poster on Monterey Bay, and tried to get more soulsucking internships that would be more rewarding in the future. And perhaps I would have considered a more tangibly useful major. Sure, English majors can write, but I have to somehow prove and propose that I can do more than just write about dusty literature.
Also, clearly, working for the Daily Bruin wasn’t enough. UCLA, you weren’t enough.
Not even for a state job.
I guess we say goodbye on that sad and bitter note.
Love,
Jessica
P.S. Congratulations, class of 2009.
4 comments
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June 28, 2009 at 4:45 pm
Steve
Jessica,
Again, I’d like to suggest that you look into writing on a topic for About.com. They’re looking for what they call “guides” for various topics, or you can propose a topic of your own, perhaps involving video games. The pay can be pretty good, you work from home, and the hours are flexible. And your journalism experience and college degree might well get your foot in the door. I hope you check it out.
June 30, 2009 at 1:05 am
hazehei5
For that same bitterness, I make sure I check all the Strongly Disagree on UCLA Alumni survey. And did you get that “A Special Gift for you” email? They email me with a subject line saying ” A Special Gift for you” and turns out they want ME to Donate. what a special gift for me indeed.
June 30, 2009 at 5:21 am
Jill
I felt the same way when I graduated from college. Some secret door didn’t open up and no one was fighting to hire me. I was just like every one else, having to start over, nothing special.
June 30, 2009 at 3:58 pm
evliu
yea… you learn that getting a degree just now “qualifies” you for a job but doesn’t necessarily prepare you for a job. most ppl end up not working in the field they studied in, but they can get a job cuz they have a bachelor’s degree… ridiculous.
this world is full of empty promises, the whole world… even in marriage, ppl in america don’t believe a covenant is a promise they make, so ppl can’t even believe in that…
only one source of true promise, a lasting one, a beautiful covenant not for the 5 or 10 yr plan, but the 1000 yr plan and infinitely beyond [: doesn’t make sense to live for anything else cuz everything else is empty in the end, especially at the 1000 yr mark.