As a university student, I often tend to feel pressured by my surrounding society to have a set career path ahead of me. I would always feel overwhelmed by the pressure of having to apply for certain programs in UBC that are considered beneficial to my chances of having a job or career after graduation. Surely I’m not alone when it comes to this kind of stress as a university students, for I’ve heard from friends and other fellow students struggling to figure out what they want to do post-graduation.
In addition, individuals who face such a problem are also concerned about having to surrender to this routine:
School => Graduation => 9-5 job => Career
Looks boring? I agree. It’s kinda sad. Insert excessive crying emoji.
A number of these individuals, myself including, would want to escape this norm. Our parents and peers also encourage this type of path or routine that should be followed in order to ensure “a good future”. However, following the traditional pattern shown above is difficult because of how an individual’s identity changes over time, constantly affecting and altering their life choices and preferences.
In my case, I used to have an interest in becoming a therapist, but that’s no longer the case (because PSYC 101 was as torturous as a redundant Michael Bay movie). I’m currently studying to enter the field of law and become an attorney for a career, because it is guaranteed to have good pay and associated with having a high reputation in the eyes of people around me. Although it’s quite a prestigious occupation, it’s not exactly my dream in life, which is to be an entertainer. Law is an interesting and significant field to be involved in, but entertaining audiences is definitely something that I want to pursue.
The point that I’m trying to make here is that when one creates a career path for him or herself, it’s usually not a set one and it could change during that path.
This whole situation reflects what sociologist Zygmunt Bauman referred to as “Liquid Modernity”, which means that as the values, cultures, and systems of society change, so do the self-identities of individuals. Rather than following a routine or traditional pattern, individuals make self-chosen paths that revolve around their own values. Bauman describes change in liquid modernity as interlocking “patterns of communication and co-ordination between individually conducted life policies on the one hand and political collectivities on the other”.(6) In other words, the personal choices the individual makes is associated with the values of larger groups of individuals or institutions.
Liquid modernity is evident at UBC, especially with the presence of various programs that help students determine their self-made choices to decide what they want to do as a career. UBC’s Co-Op programs provide students with the opportunity to explore different jobs that will help them determine what they want to do after graduating from university.
In September, I attended an Arts Co-Op orientation to learn more about the program in hopes to be able to explore the different jobs that the program provides. They talked about the career or job options that are available for students who either a) want to be trained for their future careers, or b) still don’t have an idea of what they want to do after graduation and want to explore the options available to them. Through the Co-Op program, students like myself can figure out what their career of choice should be, and help them identify what jobs are most suitable for themselves. The presenters at the orientation also added that students who are entered into the Co-Op program will have the opportunity to gain work experience and improved skills for interviews, resume-writing, and in other processes for getting jobs, helping them gain professionalism for the workplace. Admission into the Co-Op program leads to the identities of students being shaped and constructed in order to help them when they enter the workplace. Students would have a higher chance of being accepted in a job by having a professional attitude and appearance, having to act and dress in a certain way in order to impress employers. This shows that the influence of the norms in society, especially in the professional world, causes change in the individual’s identity and his or her choices in life.
In relation to Liquid Modernity, programs such as the Co-Op program help students deal with the uncertainty of what jobs or career they would want to have after graduating, causing them to change the way they act or think in order to fit the standards and requirements that are placed in order for the students to be admitted into such programs.
This shows the relationship between personal life choices and how individuals are willing to make changes in their identities in order to follow the standards of institutions above them. In UBC, the variety of programs that are available help students create their own career paths in a fluid manner, rather than having to follow a traditional pattern. In addition, students like myself are likely to change their future plans while they still follow their initial path, influencing their identities and their perspectives on life along the way.