The senior conundrum

Are we supposed to sell our souls?

This question applies to my fellow seniors, the majority of whom are busy scavenging the job market.

But these seniors aren’t just looking for jobs — they’re looking for careers. These decisions will define their lives and their purpose.

Now, this is obviously a hypothetical question, but what if money were no object?

Would my colleagues still take mid-level sales jobs at major corporations? Would my colleagues still push products in which they have minimal to zero actual interest?

I get that we all have to start somewhere. That’s not what I’m debating.

But are these mid-level positions what students really want? Is expediting transactions or some other synonymous action your real passion?

Would my colleagues be so worried about climbing the corporate ladder if money were no object?

Back to the original question — are we supposed to sell our souls?

In a matter of weeks, graduating students will have to make concrete decisions about their futures.

This isn’t like a “college” decision, one where you can go back and drop a class or drown your sorrows at Bloomington’s finest bars.

No, the decision we face in a matter of weeks will indeed partially narrate our lives.

So, do we chase whatever passion we have, or do we take the mid-level pay to begin a career we have little long-term interest in?

The romantic answer is obvious. We chase our dreams and don’t look back.

We’ll probably fall on our faces. No, we will fall on our faces.

But that option is better than rationalizing away our truest desires — right?

I see so many people who chose the other option. I see countless individuals on a daily basis who have seemingly given up whatever passion they once had.  

I see so many people who don’t necessarily hate their jobs — but they don’t necessarily love them, either.

So, if you’re not really chasing your dream, let me ask you this: What are you doing instead, and why?

Are you becoming financially stable enough to chase your dream in the future? Or have you simply rationalized your passion to settle in mediocrity?

The cold, hard truth is that money is an object. We do have bills to pay, and that notion can certainly derail our greatest ambitions.

But is it worth it? Is the rationalization that derails your dream what you really want to be remembered for?

So — professors, parents, old people — do we sell our souls? Do we swallow our last ounce of pride, and childhood, before we become boring, everyday people?

Or do we find a job we truly love, even if the offer is not there yet, and make a niche out of it?

­— awcohn@indiana.edu