Of jobs and this whatever generation
Came from one of the articles I submitted to the Lifestyle Journalism Awards. I didn’t win but I think this one’s worth posting:
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I was once one of the many Jills of all trades in what could be called as a “whatever” generation.
Members of this generation who are in their early and late 20s are tagged as such since either the courses they took in college or their own ambitions differ from the jobs they have. Harsh as it sounds, they’re seen with no identity as the expertise they originally developed is overlapped by skills they need to fit in an industry that is totally different from their field or from what they want. Gone is the adherence to the principle of the previous generation that they should be honor students from top universities. The principles of the members of this generation are either to take second courses or to take the “in” courses and to acquire as many skills and talents as they can to earn both prestige and a decent living.
They are the geography students who become call center agents, the engineers who study nursing, the doctors who are in other countries working as caregivers, or even, those who passively adhere to what courses their parents want for them in college.
Prior to college graduation, I was already aware that the real world is like a mean kid who is fond of bullying fresh graduates with no job experience, much less any related experience at all. Luckily, the course I chose offered its students a dizzying array of almost any kind of opportunity in the field of communication. And sure enough, there I was, eventually immersing myself in the seemingly endless extracurricular activities and job opportunities that helped boost my belief that right after graduation, my curriculum vitae would be a stand out and that I was taking multiple steps at a time in achieving my ultimate dream.
Ultimate dream. Like somebody from a drama who’s depicted as literally “going the distance”, the very words “ultimate dream” abruptly stopped me in my tracks. Where would I go? Where would I stop? My destination? Or, to be downright cheesy, my niche? More importantly, was I just working for the sake of working and earning money?
Browsing through an internet forum, I came across someone who was very frustrated and downright disappointed that she apparently lost her “identity” because she had no choice but to accept a job offer from, you guessed it right, a call center. She said she was already in her early 30s and prior to the said offer, she was already “accomplished” in the field of her own choosing. Being a “call girl” at that time, I immediately defended the field that I was in, saying that though it’s true that the BPO industry’s still too young to gain full respect and recognition from its older counterparts, it is nevertheless a living, breathing entity capable of an independent existence.
However, after some time, such defense began sounding more and more like an advertising campaign for call centers. Though there’s really nothing wrong with that as many in my generation have found success, fulfillment and, yes, for practicality’s sake, literal wealth in the industry regardless of the courses they chose in college, I began to realize and understand the point of the lady from the internet forum.
This realization came at the time when I found myself slumped in one corner, doing nothing but pitying myself as two of my former bosses who hail from two very different industries made me swallow very bitter pills as consequence of my erratic and undecided actions. True enough, like more or less 700 students from the graduating batch of my alma mater, I was an honor graduate. But “what I was to offer a prospective employer” should not be the question I must answer if I do want to reach the finish line. I was made to realize that I should instead be focusing on what it is that I really want rather than forcing myself into something for causes that are, whether I’d like to admit it or not, as lame as earning prestige and working just for the sake of working.
This “whatever” generation to which I belong to should start contemplating on the realization of their ambitions even if it’s true that many of us are facing a high wall due to the hard reality of one being forced to permanently set aside his dreams for the blinding practicality, finance-wise, of, no offense meant, being a nurse when one really wants to become an engineer, or being a mere call center agent when it’s in one’s heart to become a lawyer.
Wealth and health, job stability and benefits - these make us happy. But in the long run, and maybe, during the sunset of our lives, are we going to be happy and satisfied if we realize that after everything we’ve done, we’ve not really pursued our own calling; that we’re no more than just members of a “whatever” generation who gave up on standing out from the rest of the crowd and proving that nothing is impossible?
Point is, since we could not really escape from the present-day reality of being something that we otherwise would not be if only we have it easy, what we should do first is know what we want or at least strive to know what our dreams are and follow it no matter how tough the road is. I’m not saying that one shouldn’t try the latest job trends in the market. I’m just saying that if what we are in right now isn’t really what we want, let just this be our stepping stone to achieving our goals!
I always say in my job interviews that since my current priority is earning for my family, I am willing to set aside law school. Said words, though partly used as a technique to receive the nods of my prospective employers, mostly hold true for me. My dreams of becoming a lawyer and a talk show host someday are not really that far even if I become something else in the meantime as it is what I really want.
Loyalty, commitment and passion to whatever and whoever it is we work for are dependent on having a clear goal. If our current priority is earning big for our families, there is nothing wrong with setting our sights on other careers. But having a clear goal for ourselves that, for now, may be an impossible dream, is different because it is what holds our identity, what makes us stand out and last in something we are in. It all boils down to owing it to ourselves, to our own dreams separate from those of others.
Again, I was once one of the many “Jills of all trades” in what could be called as a “whatever generation”. But I take it as a derogatory remark to still be called as one of the members of such who thrives in come-what-mays and who forgets that I could only help others if I take care of my dreams. I’m now working not just to earn but to someday, be somebody; somebody who was once a Jill of all trades but ultimately became a Mistress (okay, master)/Ace of something.
