Student Loans – College graduates face unrealistic expectations | Opinion

Most Cal State Fullerton students have been attending virtual classes since March 17, 2020, but only the class of 2021 will have to plunge into the real world after more than a year of online learning. 

As graduates enter the job market with bloodshot eyes and newly-fostered back problems, they face a major disadvantage after losing the expected quality of education during their last year of college. 

After graduating, individuals are often expected to jump directly into the job of their dreams without fail. When considering their burgeoning student debt, deteriorating mental health and unemployment, it’s clear that the standards set for graduates are far too high. 

Even human resource professionals and company recruiters agree that these expectations “simply aren’t realistic.”

The issue with post-graduation expectations is that they are nearly impossible to achieve. The Mayo Clinic indicated that major life stressors like graduating college can cause a sense of separation anxiety, making it difficult to adjust to a new situation. Toss a pandemic in the mix, and you can expect college graduates to fall short every time.

In an October 2020 national survey by the American Psychological Association, most adults say that the pandemic is a significant source of stress, but those ages 18 to 23 seem to be taking it the hardest. If we are still expected to find a job with the same ambition as previous college graduates, we can also be expected to crumble under the added pressure. 

Public speaking abilities, team mentality, a high GPA and relevant work experience are included among the long list of employer expectations for college graduates. According to consulting and advising firm The Strategic CFO, 43% of employers do not provide on-the-job training, relying instead on the skills college graduates are supposed to attain during schooling.

It is understandable for employers to set the bar high, but students’ inability to collaborate in person with colleagues and give public presentations over the last year puts them at a disadvantage compared to previous class graduates. 

Employers need to understand that the pandemic has severely stunted students’ professional preparation, at least in a face-to-face manner. 

A majority of students’ typical college careers are spent working tirelessly through general education courses and prerequisites to prepare for capstones, fieldwork, upper-division seminars and labs. Now as 2021 graduates polish their LinkedIn profiles to apply for full-time jobs, they can only hope that their virtual training was enough to land an interview. 

California’s 9% unemployment rate is undeniably frightening. For this reason, fellow graduates should, if possible, ignore the stigma against moving back home and doing what is best for their financial stability and mental wellbeing. 

There truly is no rush to chase the dream job, especially in this economy. There will be a time and place for that dream to come true, but it shouldn’t be a priority right now. This pandemic has offered some graduates opportunities to spend more time with family, find romance in the small stuff and forego the worries that often accompany employment and academia. 

In such an opportune time for personal growth, college graduates should be encouraged to take advantage of their situation in various ways, like taking a gap year.

In a 2020 survey, The Gap Year Association reported that most participants noticed increased maturity, improved self-confidence, and higher academic motivation after their gap year. Anyone enduring a quarter-life crisis should take it as an indication to take a year off and work on themselves. 

According to the Pew Research Center, the number of young adults living with their parents increased from 2.6 million to 26.6 million in 2020 as an economic refuge in response to the tumultuous pandemic economy. Even if moving back home is last on the list of post-graduate life, at least these twenty-somethings can take comfort in knowing they are not alone. 

Graduates can only imagine the academic, professional and personal growth they could have achieved in the last year, had they been able to collaborate with professors and peers outside of a Zoom meeting. 

Placing unattainable expectations on a graduating class in the midst of a crisis will only internalize the idea that those entering the workforce are machines, and that their worth is determined by their production. It is crucial to replace these toxic beliefs with values like stable mental health, prosperous relationships and improved self-esteem, so graduates can make it out of this pandemic alive and well.

If there is anything to learn from the last year, it should be that we are truly all in this together. The state of the world that awaits us has insurmountable expectations, but this graduating class is resilient, capable and one-of-a-kind. 

All in all, the class of 2021 faces a new set of never-before-seen circumstances and should therefore be encouraged to break loose from traditional expectations, make choices that are beneficial for their own wellness and save the employment anxiety for a later time.