It’s time to care about the economy

For a lot of students, college is full of uncertainties and stressful situations. We’re learning how to be adults while still trying to avoid the responsibilities of the real world. 

Because we live and breathe the college experience, sometimes we wind up in a bubble that can exclude some of the biggest news going on. However, one of the biggest things we would like to ignore is right around the corner from breaking that bubble. 

For several months now the economy has been in a really weird place. We have high inflation rates that don’t seem to be getting better anytime soon, in fact they’re definitely going to get worse, and job growth is starting to slow down. 

However, the demand for workers is higher than ever, an article published by the New York Times in September states.

With some much ebb and flow, it can almost feel like now isn’t the time to start worrying about stuff like job availability and the cost of living. After all, economists and politicians can’t even agree on whether the United States is moving out of a recession or getting deeper into one. All they can agree on is that the economy is in rough shape.

So why should we care? 

While all of this sounds incredibly heavy and might be a little scary to think about, the current economic climate will have a lot of effect on the next few years of our lives. 

It will decide how likely we are to find an entry-level position that matches the current cost of living, how much we’ll be able to invest into our retirement funds (yes, we should start doing that now) and how quickly some of us will get out of student loan debt and set down some stable roots.

A poll done by Student Loan Hero found that 46% of 1,000 college students surveyed are worried that they’ll graduate in a recession. 

Along with that, the debate on whether students should follow the money and get degrees that will get them a steady job or follow their passions is coming to a head. And, as the threat of financial instability grows, more students are starting to side with the money.

It’s sad that it’s come to this, but it’s the unfortunate situation we’re in. We had no control about how we got here. However, we can control how we get out of it.

It starts with understanding what’s going on in the U.S. economy. Because it effects everything, it’s good to start understanding the ups and downs it usually has. That might mean doing a bit of research on your own. 

The high school economics class you took can only get you so far. Economics majors can’t be the only ones who know what is going on out there.

I also think that understanding it can help those that still want to pursue the things that make them the happiest as a career. 

The career I’ve chosen doesn’t have a particularly high salary for the first several years of employment. With that in mind, I’m trying to do everything I can to start off on the right foot. Even if that means asking for help sometimes.

While money may be tight right now, after all we are all broke college students, figuring out the game that is the economy can help ensure that money isn’t tight forever and that entering the world during a recession isn’t so scary.