I’m a dirty liar, speech thing coming later.

Life has an odd sense of humor.

One of the more interesting aspects of this economic recession might end up being the effect on higher education. Within a few months, hordes of new graduates will surge from the worlds’ universities, scouring the market for jobs.

The lucky ones have highly technical and in-demand skill sets. Computer Science related fields will likely be the safest employer for new graduates.

However, those who chose to pursue less marketable (or even just more liberal-arts) programs might find themselves in an awful situation – if they even find work, it’s likely to be minimum-wadge retail. Collecting tickets at a theater, flipping burgers, whatever it takes to get by.

And in itself, there’s nothing wrong with that. We have to acknowledge that this is a horrible economy and is not providing anything remotely close to an ideal job market. It must be discouraging for new graduates to have spent upwards of $80,000-$200,000 just to get to that position, but the Psychology majors, or Literature majors, or Anthropology majors (not to pick on any in particular – I am an Anthropology major) are going to have a difficult time. Not all will find work in their field. Not all will even find work.

What makes this interesting isn’t the immediate negative aspects. It’s the effect on the behavior of the younger generation.

While I always considered a college education a necessary thing, not everyone would agree with me. Some have argued that it is much better to get into the work force early to begin climbing the corporate ladder. And look at what is happening now: college graduates, with advanced degrees and advanced knowledge across all sorts of fields, will be applying to fast food places, to theatres, to jobs that require no special skill sets, no essential education, no grand prerequisites. Jobs for which it is said, with quite a negative emphasis, “anyone could do.”

And when the valedictorians and summa cum laude’s go to interview for their less-than-desired jobs, some of them might meet their high school friend who didn’t apply to colleges, their acquaintance who dropped out of community college.

For, while the ‘motivated’ among us pursued at great cost higher education, the drop-outs have already worked their way up. They too have graduated: their diploma, the white collar. Now won’t they feel smug.

This concerns me.

I have no allegiance to either group, although I certainly belong to the college students. The truth of the matter is, if you graduated high school in 2005-6, you might have been much better off going out to work immediately. There’s just not that many opportunities available; by the time the economy recovers, you won’t remember as much of your astrophysics degree as a new graduate. You won’t be as versed in French literature, nor will you be as sharp with post-industrial history.

And people will see this, and think to themselves – maybe I shouldn’t have gone to college.

And that old phrase will work its way through again, and perhaps I will hear it said of my own hypothetical children: “Maybe they should find work now, while people are hiring.”

This would be a horrific blow to the future security of our country.

Education is the best single investment a country can place upon its people. Educated people are better thinkers, independent thinkers, the workmen of democracy – and overall, wealthier. They know more, they advance knowledge, they create new markets and new businesses. Look at the likes of Google, Apple, Microsoft, Pixar (largely funded by prodigal CEO Steve Jobs of Apple), AT&T, Intel, etc. The exploding technology sector is almost exculusively college-educated.

And look what we have today – I sit in a room on my computer, connected to the internet through a wireless router. I have my iPod (which is actually my iPhone), my cell phone, multiple headphones, a portable hard drive, a digital camera, 2 USB flash drives, an e-ink reader, my solar-powered watch, and more. I didn’t own any of these things ten years ago. Some of them did not exist as techologies ten years ago.

Almost everyone has a MP3 player, or some kind of music player. The precursor was a CD player, but the digital music revolution came with the iPod – in 2001. It has been only eight years.

You – now I adress the reader! – did not have broadband internet access ten years ago. Maybe a small handful did, but I can say with near certainty that you did not. You likely did not even have a computer 15 years ago. And now, how would you think of going day to day – without your cell phone, which you also probably haven’t had for more than 15 years?

All these extremely technical fields create real markets with real effects on our day to day lives. America grew prosperous from the success of Microsoft and its ilk. And all these sorts of companies would never hire someone who had no technical knowledge, with no technical degree.

I’m worried that, if the lesson many learn from this recession is “sometimes college sucks,” we all will lose out on the tremendous effect of education. And with the single-power dominance of the United States fading quickly to the European Union, China, and India, we really do need to re-evaluate our long-term strategy.

And to new graduates, I have this to say: Do not be discouraged. Maintain your skills and knowlege, or improve it – and be patient and opportunistic. If a French Literature graduate must flip burgers, make them gourmet; if a Psychology major must work at Target, be the most amicable employee anyone has met.

If you wish your knowledge to keep its value, all you must do is use it.

Tags: college, economy, graduates, graduation, great recession, higher education, jobs, recession