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It’s Okay To Take An Uncomfortable Job Right Out Of College

Jacob Grandstaff
3 min readFeb 7, 2020

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Image by Michael Saechang

Nobody likes doing something they’re overqualified for. We want tasks in life that challenge us, push us to our limits, and reward us when we exceed those limits.

Unfortunately, this doesn’t happen to everyone when they think it should. To others, it never happens.

How many times have we heard of some poor graduate student who did everything right, played by the rules, and now finds himself taking out trash for a living?

Today, there are possibly millions of Americans with graduate degrees who have at some point worked as janitors or severs — among other “lowly” occupations.

Most of these individuals invariably bemoan their fallen plight.

After all, they didn’t learn all that history, psychology, English, or golf management to work the night shift mopping floors. They were supposed to be making a sweet $50K on their way to $90K in a comfortable, climatized office on a strict 9–5 work diet, paying down their loans on time.

But a college degree alone doesn’t pay the bills and put food on the table. A job we’re overqualified for does. And there’s nothing shameful in working a job we’re overqualified for to get us where we want to go.

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Jacob Grandstaff
Jacob Grandstaff

Written by Jacob Grandstaff

MA in History; Mostly culture, trends, and occasional rants. History blog: https://historyhowithappened.com/

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