Results not typical.
4 years ago, I graduated from Seattle University with a master's degree in Nonprofit Leadership. For four years, I have tirelessly applied for jobs in the sector. For four years, I have found myself crushed between two realities. On one hand, crippling student loan debt incurred from the pursuit of two degrees coupled with fear because I chose nonprofit work. This means I may never pay it off. On the other hand, the very real love of nonprofit work but the worry that my degree may not have been worth it.
Of course, results may not be typical. Your Seattle University experience or the experience gained from any other university may have produced different results. Perhaps you graduated with a degree in business and now find yourself working for Amazon. Your salary affords you a comfortable life. You take a vacation once a year. You are pondering purchasing a home and your debt to the federal government becomes smaller and smaller every month. You are achieving and becoming a poster child for the value of higher education. To you, all I can say is, I am jealous.
My results have not been like yours. Making matters worse, I feel forgotten by my university. My alma mater offers a weekly job board via an email but does little to connect me with alumni working in the sector seeking someone with my talents. There is no resume, cover letter, or interview assistance. There are no check-ins to see how I am progressing after graduating. At times, I feel as if they got my money and that's all that mattered.
Of course, you may come across this post and think "coddled millennial." You may think this post stinks of entitlement. Perhaps you are right. Where I stand right now, I can't see if you are right or wrong. I do know this though, my university promised me certain things. They promised an education, advancement, and connections. Up to this point, I have only been given an education. 4 years later, I am still waiting on the other two.
My sincere hope is that this turns into something more than just complaining into a vacuum. My hope is someone in the Nonprofit Leadership Program or Seattle University itself will stumble across this post. When they do, I hope they ask themselves a fundamental question, "How can we better serve our students inside, outside, and beyond the classroom?" In my heart of hearts, I believe if they refuse to ask themselves this question then they must change their marketing approach to attract students to their programs. They can continue to promote an education, but to promise advancement and connections will need to come with some fine print... *Results not typical.
Be good to each other,
-Nathan