I generally prefer not to position myself compared to other people. I am doing what I'm doing, and that's usually all I need to know/do/hear. However, at 25, it's certainly an interesting thing to look at the state of those around you to get a feel for what the climate is professionally. My buddy Charlie has a great little piece about what his friends to and how accomplished our group of friends is. Some are working, and have been since leaving college. Just about all of us have degrees from various institutions. Some of us are unemployed or- in my case- not gainfully employed. This does not worry me, as roughly 10% of working-age Americans are out of a job. It's a tough time all-around.
The pros are that, other than my friend Mike- who went through a 5-year program that earned him a Masters- I am the first of my friends (to my knowledge) to get their Masters or otherwise advanced degree. So that's pretty cool. This also works into the idea that I could not have necessarily been gainfully employed while going to school full time (I have the rest of my life to go gray and lose hair...why start now?), and so having a job for a few years that pays a salary is fairly difficult to accomplish. Another positive outcome of this is that I've gained three years of experience inside the classroom as a sub, and so behavioral issues and creating a teaching style and learning environment for 45 minutes at a time is something I have been able to tweak and play with while filling in for other educators.
The cons are that, like many fresh out-of-school kids, I'm not financially well-off. I do well enough to take care of myself and payments that need to be made. However, compared to those who- at my age- are making a salary, owning a house, getting new cars/nice apartments, etc....I sometimes feel like an ass.
Thankfully, this guy doesn't follow me to deposit my per diem checks...
This is where the positivity comes through and I realize "yeah, but I've gone out and acquired all the tools I will need to get my career started". Good things are coming, I have no doubt about that. I do sometimes wish I had not graduated as the economy was flying off of a cliff.
Now, in the interim, I've enjoyed meeting up with friends and catching up with them a whole lot more since coming out of school. It makes it a far more satisfying experience when everyone's able to share stories of how they've had to work towards something and since we're all faring alright, all things considered, it makes for enjoyable interaction. I like to think that the people I call friends have worked pretty hard to get to where they are now, and so when I look at that and really grasp the idea that the pace for success is quicker for some than for others, I feel right at home knowing that when I see those people who mean the most to me, we all share the same secret: keeping at it.
It could be worse: I could be these clowns...
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