Quit your job!

One of the first things we as students are asked when we are young is, “what do you want to be when you grow up,” to which most kids respond with a teacher, doctor or astronaut.

However, many do not become what their childhood self dreamed of. Many of us either go into the corporate world, into the workforce or start their own company.

If you ask your parents, if they are currently working their dream job, they most likely will say no. Yet, we as students are told to dream big and shoot for the stars. Why isn’t that idea still taught to us as adults? We as students were taught that you must know what you want to do for the rest of your life at the ripe age of 18. But what if our minds change half-way through life? Or even college?

We as students should shoot for the stars; being at an institute like Minnesota State gives us all the tools we need to be successful. Being on a college campus offers the unique opportunity to speak with like-minded others, network with faculty who have experience in that field and try new things with minimal repercussions. This is the time in our lives when we should be trying new occupations, asking questions and getting back up again if something doesn’t work out.

However, money will always be a factor in how long you stay at a job you don’t particularly like. In today’s world, money, in fact, does make the world go round and ultimately decides if you are going to be able to eat, have a place to live and a livelihood.

But to a certain extent, if you are working a job you hate, and they don’t value you as a human, only as a number, you should quit. If the people there don’t respect you why should you keep working for them? 

We as students too often see our parents, friends or other family members working a job they dislike. One of the biggest injustices you can do for yourself is to stay at a place of employment that you dread. 

After the height of Covid-19 had ended, I believe we all had an “aha moment” where we realized life is precious and can be over in an instant. That pandemic also motivated the world to think outside the box and find ways to adapt and change the social norms of what it looks like to persevere and be successful.

Staying in a place that makes you miserable is no way to live your life. Often times we stay in fear of not finding anything better, yet the cliche saying “If you love your job, you’ll never have to work a day in your life” continues to ring true.