Drew Armstrong: Finding opportunity, not disappointment, in the job market

A few weeks ago, the good people at Career Services sent out a comforting e-mail assuring us that as many as 40 percent of seniors wouldn't have jobs by graduation. We were also told that this was the worst job hunting climate in the last 20 years, and that our lack of employment was by no means a reflection of self.

I'll admit, the message was a less than comforting one in the midst of a scorched-earth job search (I'm still in the ranks of the 40 percent).

And with college coming to a close in the next few weeks, the constant reminders from friends, family and various older advice-givers that these were the "best four years of my life" haven't been a reason for cheer. Seems as if I'm past my prime at all of 22.

So, for those of you, like me, without definite plans come May and June, I offer perhaps a novel idea -- do nothing.

I don't mean "nothing," exactly. But consider doing something that the world doesn't expect. Maybe there's something to be said for going out into the world and working for wages, doing a job that you'll never be able to do when you're saddled with a 9-to-5, a family or all the other responsibilities that the "real world" entails.

I've shied away from the personal in most of my columns because I felt it wasn't particularly relevant to your lives. But now, with hundreds of us without much of a plan for next year, I think it's worth bringing the issue up.

I myself won't be doing entirely nothing. I'll be working for an arts management group in Philadelphia part-time, helping to present classical music. I don't get health benefits or dental or a car. I get $12 an hour and free concert tickets to see the best musicians in the world. At night, I'll likely be bartending or working in a kitchen somewhere, things I did to make a little extra cash in college.

In truth, I learned far more about the world from serving drinks and food with aspiring actors, illegal immigrants and thuggish restaurant owners than I did from many of my experiences at Penn.

My classes and activities here taught me how to work in a group, analyze text, lead people, drink and get along with a bunch of intelligent, smart, rich kids.

Bartending and waiting tables taught me that, well, most of the world isn't like that -- which I'm sure most of you know -- but there's nothing like working side by side with a Honduran guy who makes half of what you do working twice as hard for a boss who carries a loaded 9mm around in his pocket "just in case."

Was it a good experience? Well, I learned not to talk back to the wrong people and that you always pay your bill at Il Portico.

But I also learned that outside the confines of Penn's well-policed campus, there is a world that we hear about, think we know about, but don't really have a clue about until something drives the point home. Unless we expect to continue leading insular lives within the mirrored plate glass of an office, it's not a bad idea to get a real idea of what else there is.

So why take a job like this, instead of going to some volunteer program to polish up the resume a bit more or working as the coffee gopher at a prestigious law firm to get an in? Because it's fun.

And there's the point. As I said, this is it, kids. Four years of no responsibilities are over. Trust me, I'm sad about it too. But with the job market as bad as it is, it might be worth considering this an opportunity.

There's a good chance you won't find or get your dream job. I'm still looking for mine, but if I don't get it, I'm comfortable in the fact that I've got the option to take off cross-country and see the lay of the land. You won't get a month's vacation to do that ever again in your life -- I can promise you that.

I also promise you that it's doubtful the economy will rebound hugely anytime in the next few months -- you won't be missing the boat. It may be that you're better served by waiting it out, keeping up the job hunt and taking a few months off while you figure out what you really want.

But whatever you do, don't trap yourself. If you don't know what it is you're after, take the time to learn. It may be that you'll figure it out past the May "deadline" when you're supposed to know.

Drew Armstrong is a senior English major from Ann Arbor, Mich.

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