Everyone Deserves to be able to Compete

Competition is fierce on a global level for desirable positions in every field. There was a time when a young American could complete high school, go to a good college, major in one of many department studies, and then in his senior year put on a coat and tie, interview at the placement office and pick up three or four job offers with good salary and benefits and a progression plan.

For some students, this is still possible.   For many American students, however, they are learning with brutal frankness that there is scant future for them in the corporate fields.  The income and lifestyle that their parents obtained seems hopelessly out of reach.

This is precisely why articulate and intelligent college graduates characterize the Occupy Movement witnessed in cities around the country.  These graduates spent four or five years, borrowed an average of $25,000, and yet cannot find even the most entry level job in their fields.  They are now realizing that they face diminished lifetime returns for their work and a lower standard of living. College students see that there is an underemployment rate of at least 25% of skilled, educated older Americans who lost jobs in their fields and now work for low wages at jobs requiring less education and ability, but still have loans to pay and families to care for.

There are, however, better options for those young people who are just starting out. A savvy and prescient parent can prepare his or her children for careers that permit them rewarding development and achievement with commensurate income and a standard of living that seems out of reach.

In order to accomplish this, it is my belief that a young person must become transnational.  That is, the young person must learn the ability to work simultaneously in the U.S. and in other countries, and be equally at home in each realm.  The young person must see himself as able and prepared to work part or even all of his career outside the U.S.  This means that today’s young people must acquire portable intellectual skills that make that person productive and desired outside the U.S.

Next: The Skill Set