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Read other letters about this article
...because I find myself in a similiar situation and am questioning what exactly do to about it.
I kind of hate myself for relating to the author, because I'm generally the type to start the eye rolling whenever somebody starts talking about how tough it is to have a worthless degree from a prestigious university. Unfortunately, that somebody is often me. So I thought the letters might provide an insight on how to navigate through this whole mid-20s overqualified/unemployment thing with perspective and a sense of humor.
Instead it seems like the letter writers fall into two categories: those who offer self-congratulatory backpats on their own fiscal responsibility, and those who excoriate those damn kids on their lawn for perceived idle uselessness.
Listen, I'm aware than as a Gen-Yer with an extremely privileged upbringing, that the first-world problems that my peers are experiencing are pretty small beans in the grand scheme of things. I don't think condescension or smug superiority when we discuss these problems is the right answer, though. There are many paradoxes and mixed messages that we're receiving (from parents, friends, that "society" that everyone's always yelling about) and it can be difficult to navigate these with a clear head. My own parents became extremely succesful via hard work and innate talent, and I am eternally grateful that they've provided for my sister and I such that we could feel free to pursue whatever "irrational, economically useless" degree we wished. But I've often thought that this easy life wasn't in some way detrimental, in that we've gotten a sense of entitlement that often creates a barrier into the work force. In a way, the natural desire for parents to provide for their children can hinder the sort of work ethic that enables those provisions in the first place.
In less annoying language, my father wanted me to make a living in the world doing something I love. I took that to mean that I should only make a living doing something I love. Maybe that's a product of my upbringing, but isn't that what most people want out of life?
For those of us with worthless humanities degrees, who believed in education for education's sake, not necessarily for economic necessity, we're smart enough to realize that this attitude is a luxury. We also might not be smart enough to know what to do about it.
In the meantime, some of us rack up debt in order to keep ourselves fed. Those who think of recent college grads as a generation of overprivileged slackers with no sense of responsibility - well, okay, maybe that's one side of the coin. The other side is about vulnerability, figuring out your way in the world, trying to make a living without asking Mom for a check on the first of the month. It's scary. I'm sure it's always been scary. But that doesn't make it irrelevant.
