While attending a university, it is hard not to identify one's self with the major that one is studying, and the career that they wish to pursue when out of college. I am currently an electrical engineering major at Texas A&M University, and all I do every day is math, science, and design. So, naturally, a dominant part of my personality is involved with the numbers I happen to be crunching and the physics behind our everyday lives. But there is certainly much more that defines me, and everyone else, than the job that I wish to acquire out of school.
This is an effect that, I believe, comes from the American culture. Our whole lives we are asked what "we want to be when we grow up?" As if our growth, as people, suddenly comes to a halt when we evolve into our final form and choose a career. When John Doe is introduced to some new friends at a barbecue two things come out first and foremost: Name and Rank (meaning career). This is almost equivalent to being assigned a binary identification number in lieu of a name. Whoever has a bigger number is more successful in life. Never mind that John is an excellent cook. Never mind that he enjoys sailing, or that he has a beautiful wife and a cat named Bubbles.
Americans place too much value on career and wealth. Success should not be defined based on income, but should vary from person to person. The "Protestant Work Ethic" is a relic from an old world. Things are different now.
What is your opinion on the identity crisis that currently grips the nation? Love to hear your side!
In America, I think people definitely pay more attention to a person’s job, job security, and wealth much more than personality; this is wrong. I think of a job as something that we need to support ourselves, and what we do outside of work is what makes us who we are. If people evaluate others based on their job position alone and there are thousands of other people in the country with similar job positions, how is each person supposed to develop individuality?
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that it is crucial to a happy successful life to have your identity long established apart from what you do. Comparing yourself to someone else can certainly suck the joy out of life in no time. A life lived true to itself, content, and given to those areas that it deems noble and right must be considered the pinnacle of individual success.
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