Singing, Dancing, Painting, and Fun Stuff That Won't Get You A Job

I have a friend who was a philosophy major in college. He went on to get a masters degree in theater arts. My friend expected to be the next Bob Fosse. Guess what? It didn't turn out that way.

I have a male acquaintance who lived and breathed music from the time he was 16 years old. He was a drummer in a band that played around small town venues once in a while. Sometimes he even got paid, but not often. His mother encouraged her boy to follow his dream because she was sure he would succeed. He had talent and drive! How can you fail? The simple answer is quite easily. Today he's 43 and works as a driver for UPS.

An old boyfriend was a very successful lawyer. He had a son who attended the San Francisco Art Academy. His son wanted to do things "his way" and never made a dime from his work as an abstract painter. Fortunately, when daddy is a lawyer, you can go back and get your master degree in fine arts and teach. That's what he did.

A young man of almost 18 I know is very interested in "working in film". I'm sure this guy thinks he could be the next George Lucas or Spielberg. And maybe he could (if all the stars align just right, that is.)

If a kid is going to college, let's just hope that he or she studies something that will get them a job when they finish school. Engineers have jobs. Nurses have jobs. Accountants and paralegals have jobs as do lab techs and aircraft mechanics.

Education is expensive. Why waste money on something that will leave you unemployed at the end of the day? I sometimes think that the rush to "the arts" is just to avoid hard-core classes.

In the computer science field, people are being brought into the country every day to work under H-1 Visas. For some reason, Americans are not turning out computer scientists. Other countries are though.

I am not concerned that someone may be in this country illegally and earning low wages by picking fruit. But I have a lot of concern that people from other countries are here legally earning large salaries doing work that Americans are not willing to do.