Yesterday when I went to get gas the guy who pumped it for me (this is NJ after all, where it's illegal to pump your own gas) came up to my window and said "Are you from Massachusetts?" (Yes, I still have MA plates...). I said, "Well, I was living there, I just haven't gotten around to getting NJ tags." He said, "Oh, I just got my Master's from UMass Amherst".
Maybe it's just being in Princeton where it feels like an above-average number of people are over-educated for what they're doing, but I think this isn't the only instance of someone being highly over-qualified for the job that they're doing.
Here's an interesting story related to this from NPR.
There have been many times that I've joked about moving back to MA and taking a job at Starbucks or Trader Joe's just to get the health insurance, but in reality, I think I would be pretty unhappy. I've always wanted to feel a sense of accomplishment and pride in what I do for a living, even if I don't want it to define who I am. When someone asks me "What do you do?" I don't want to have to answer "I'm a barista at Starbucks, but I have a Masters in Library Science" (Not that there's anything wrong with being a barista, it's just not what I want to do).
It's funny, right, how when people ask "What do you do?" that we always tend to answer with our job title or description: "I'm a librarian" or "I catalog images". I would love to start answering this question with "I play guitar sometimes", "I grow some of my own food", "I play mini-golf with my nephews", "I try to appreciate the little things in life".
So, my friends, What do you do?
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2 comments:
And then there are days when living in a happy place with a crap job doesn't seem like such a bad idea. :)
So true, Beth. Thanks for reminding us of the little important big things in life! Hugs!
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