comment 1
let's take a step back. if you actually look at the stats, science/engineering/math grads have a higher unemployment rate than arts/humanities kids for the precise reason that the older generation convinced us that it was the only way to get a job and now the market is saturated. it's worse - restructuring and layoffs have created a huge workforce of experienced science/engineering/math grads that younger people can't compete with. you'll still get these new right blowhards that try to set up this dichotomy, but it simply doesn't pass an empirical evaluation. the economy sucks all around. it's a structural problem.
also note that if you just finished your phd in molecular biology and are aghast to find out that the entry wage at your local lab is $12/hr, if you beat out the crowded field to get in, then you can also blame that entirely on the reality that there are many times more people with science backgrounds than the economy can provide jobs for because we were all good kids that listened to our parents and took the high probability route to success.
comment 2
i think this is closer to a smart mindset.
i've been through a lot of programs, some more traditionally marketable than others, and what i've learned is that hard work is probably the least important thing to factor in. talent is even secondary. when dealing with huge, highly competitive job markets actual passion is by far the most important determinant of success because it converts "hard work" into something enjoyable. we need to stop separating these concepts. in an advanced, technological economy effort and enjoyment are necessarily interchangeable.
it took me roughly five programs to realize this. after taking a look at the job market, i decided to focus on computer science. my background was in math, and fairly deep. i was several years older than the average kid in the class. on a pure aptitude/talent level, i could program circles around these kids. indeed, my marks fluctuated between 98-100%.
however, as time went on, i started to realize something. maybe the kid sitting beside me didn't get it perfectly, but when he went home after class he spent his time writing scripts. i, on the other hand, spent my time listening to music. in order to outwork this kid, i'd have to become him.
at that point it clicked: the kid that's going to do well is going to be the kid that intersects aptitude with passion. i had the aptitude, but not the passion. therefore, i could never compete.
the conclusion is that we should be telling kids to focus on what they enjoy, rather than what we think the economy might one day demand. even ignoring the reality that we suck at predicting the future (3-d printing just appeared out of nowhere, and is going to fuck some things up), the reality is that the most focused hard work can never overpower sheer enjoyment and that the size of the global workforce necessitates that it is those who operate on sheer enjoyment that will succeed.
we should be following our hearts, after all.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/hunterschwarz/old-economy-steve-is-a-new-meme-that-will-enrage-all-millenn