I’ve received quite a few responses to my blog post about NOT getting a job when I graduate but rather creating a career for myself.
Here are some of the most interesting comments:
“Funemployment!!” – Denver, CO
“I agree, but good luck paying your bills.” – Harker Heights, TX
“I don’t want to be another turd in the herd!” – Colorado Springs, CO
“Preach on. Some folk do need jobs – I want my mail delivered & my coffee piping hot and ready when I arrive. Haven’t had a J.O.B. (just over broke) for at least 5 years (since grad school). Working for yourself / owning your own business has it’s own hassles, but hey, you control your life and your income!” – Santa Fe, NM
“I’m not quite sure why, but I’m vaguely offended by this article. Maybe it’s the whole “military brainwashing” thing, but I actually enjoy my job. I might not enjoy every aspect of the military, but I knew what I was signing up for. I have a guaranteed paycheck for the next 5 – 20 years, unless I do something moronic enough to warrant a discharge. Taxes suck, but there’s the old adage but the wise Ben Franklin, “the only sure things in life are death and taxes.” Even if you earn money independently via a website or royalties like this guy suggested, you still have to pay taxes if you earn enough.
I don’t know… get a job, but do something you enjoy, even if you don’t get paid as much. I’d probably hate my life too if I was forced to work in a cubicle in some corporate setting. When I changed my major from Elementary Education to Creative Nonfiction, my mom almost disowned me, saying that I would never be able to get a job without a Master’s degree at the very least. It might have been harder to get a job through that career path, but at least I would be doing something I am truly passionate about.
There’s that other saying, “if you love your job, you won’t work a day in your life.” I believe in this.” – Pittsburgh, PA
“This is absurd. The assumption that people who decide that they want to get “jobs” are cowards is probably one of the most ludicrous claims I have ever encountered. I think that sitting at home all day writing in a blog about “Personal Development for Smart People” is not only presumptuous but also cowardly. To excel in business you have to have a plan and have to know what you want. Just expecting your dream job to some how form itself in front of you because you feel you would be “begging for money” in the corporate system is laziness in its purest form. The best way to get money is to be completely competent in whatever it is you choose to do and to also love what you do. The way that this blogger describes America’s corporate system makes it seem like feudalism, which is completely wrong. You can still enjoy “personal freedom” within your job, but the most successful people will have their job integrated into who they are.
It deeply angers me that this blogger would put up these workshops about how to “get great advertising” and these promises of quick income because he probably really doesn’t even understand America’s credit crisis or how the economic system of the united states functions. If you want to get rich..work hard simple as that. A 3-day seminar for 1500$ is never going to be a substitute for that.
Someone should tell him to start here: http://crisisofcredit.com/
And also leave him with this peice of advice: “people respond well to people who know what they want” –Anna Wintour.
Because from the looks of this blog this guy doesn’t have a damn clue.” – Tampa, FL
AND SOME OF MY RESPONSES:
To Santa Fe, NM – “Oh I’m not denying the fact that we need people who need jobs. I’m just pointing out to the typical business school student I encounter every day that there are other options. Anyway, just expressing another view I’ve come across recently 
“
To Pittsburgh, PA – “I by no means meant to offend you, in fact I wrote this merely to inspire and/or give another option to the typical student I run across at my university. This was more targeted at the business student who has an idea but knows not how to go about it.
I applaud and respect you for your choice to enter the military, it takes a courage and a desire that are rare. I don’t doubt your love for your job or anyone else’s for that matter, I just wanted to bring up another point of view that I’ve recently encountered.
I wish you all the best with your career “
To Tampa, FL – “You make some good and valid points however that wasn’t exactly what I was advocating with this post. It was merely for the purpose of giving another option to college students (particularly in my field of study and my school) who might have their own ideas as to what they would like to do but may be inclined to go the safe route rather than attempt something out of the ordinary.
I know just as much as anyone else that in order to succeed you need to work hard but at the same time, hard work is not the only component. I could work hard at being a court stenographer and never have a chance in the world at becoming the judge. Granted, we all need people who just want and need to get jobs in order for society to exist but if we are ever going to get out of this economic hole we are in we have to stop waiting for the government to hand out jobs and build and create something for ourselves. America was built on entrepreneurs, there is no reason we should not continue to encourage being creative, taking a chance and working at success.
Check out this clothing line this guy started in high school. He has succeeded into college because he wasn’t afraid to try something not many do and has only made it because he works hard. Case in point.
www.atoneclothing.com“
Love the controversial comments people, keep them coming!!
