With summer only a couple of weeks away, thousands of college students will venture home or abroad in pursuit of internships or summer jobs, while some remain on Boston University’s campus to take classes or engage in exciting research projects.
With regard to the BU student body, it is safe to assume that a majority of students have spent months toiling over internship applications; all are eager to breathe a sigh of relief when they receive the call that indicates summer will not be four long months of staring blankly at your bedroom walls.
However, due to intense competition for job placements once graduation passes, parents and students are more partial to professional openings that will yield professional success in the future.
According to an article published by TIME on Tuesday, our generation’s youth employment levels are dwindling. Where you once saw teenagers mowing lawns or working in grocery stores, you now see students who are more inclined to shadow a prestigious employee.
Unfortunately, this trend is not necessarily perpetuated solely by students, but by their parents as well. Hardworking families prioritize sending their children to college without having to get a job. Whether it is morally just or not, employers in a competitive job market find it favorable if a student provides experience in an office environment.
The traditional skills of understanding teamwork and working hard in an environment that isn’t necessarily home to a corporation are being lost under layers of competition and desperation to surpass starting out at the very bottom of the career ladder. On the other hand, there are some students who are prepared to cope with a difficult climb to success once they are left to fend for themselves in the real world.
This trend is not exclusive to college students either. Increasing numbers of high school students are also turning away from employment in order to cope with schoolwork and productive extracurricular activities, which will ensure future placement at a good college.
Unfortunately, this shift in priorities dictated by society ensures that this trend will definitely continue for the foreseeable future.
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