I really appreciated this comment, as someone who also teaches at a large public university (an HSI, with a lot of low-income and / or first generation college students). Like you, I get that "do what you love" is complicated (to say the least). But I also think that that equation between what you study and what your job ends up being is…
I really appreciated this comment, as someone who also teaches at a large public university (an HSI, with a lot of low-income and / or first generation college students). Like you, I get that "do what you love" is complicated (to say the least). But I also think that that equation between what you study and what your job ends up being is much more complicated than a lot of students realize -- they think they'll get a business degree and become an entrepreneur, or they'll get a history degree, and the only thing they can do is teach history. And with that in mind, I think there really IS a value to studying something that interests you because university education is four (or more -- my university doesn't have a great four-year graduation rate) years of your life, and those years of your life do matter.
The university where I teach tends to push STEM-centered vocationalism as a solution (/the only solution) to its low-income / minoritized / first-gen student body, with concomitant neglect of "softer" / more humanistic skills ("passion" stuff). But I think that perpetuates further inequality -- where not-explicitly-vocational training / education is exclusively the preserve of wealthier folks (and, weirdly, knowing how to write a clear and / or convincing sentence is not part of getting a job...?).
I really appreciated this comment, as someone who also teaches at a large public university (an HSI, with a lot of low-income and / or first generation college students). Like you, I get that "do what you love" is complicated (to say the least). But I also think that that equation between what you study and what your job ends up being is much more complicated than a lot of students realize -- they think they'll get a business degree and become an entrepreneur, or they'll get a history degree, and the only thing they can do is teach history. And with that in mind, I think there really IS a value to studying something that interests you because university education is four (or more -- my university doesn't have a great four-year graduation rate) years of your life, and those years of your life do matter.
The university where I teach tends to push STEM-centered vocationalism as a solution (/the only solution) to its low-income / minoritized / first-gen student body, with concomitant neglect of "softer" / more humanistic skills ("passion" stuff). But I think that perpetuates further inequality -- where not-explicitly-vocational training / education is exclusively the preserve of wealthier folks (and, weirdly, knowing how to write a clear and / or convincing sentence is not part of getting a job...?).