“I do have regrets. I wish I changed my major to something business related.”

Mackenzie Schmidt, 22, is a recent college graduate with a bachelor’s degree in Japanese and Translations from the University of Iowa. She describes her struggles finding a career in her field.

Summer Fisher: Did your parents go to college, and if so what for?

Mackenzie Schmidt: My dad went to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and he got his bachelor’s in accounting and finance. After that he went back and got his master’s in business. My mother went to a technical college for a little bit, but other than that she has no higher education.

Q: Were you persuaded to go to college from your family or why did you choose to go to college?

A: From a very young age, I always knew that, I just assumed I would go to college. That was mainly because my dad, my family put a lot of importance on my education, and so I was always encouraged to get good grades, and if I struggled my parents were there to help me. They always taught me what the next steps were, whether that was the ACT, going to your teachers, what classes you needed to take, how to figure out what career path. So I never really thought of any other option other than going to a University.

Q: Before you got your degree were you informed that you would get a career right after college?

A: I was not, so the process of choosing my bachelor’s was pretty complicated. I never really knew, and I still don’t really know what I want to do with it. I kinda just went for what I felt passionate about, and my dad was hesitant with my choice. He wasn’t sure if I would find a job after graduating. I find now it’s particularly hard, like the job market isn’t that great, I also am different in the way that I don’t really want to apply my bachelors, but I do believe if I wanted to do something specific, I would be able to find it. I unfortunately realized that I didn’t have a passion for teaching or wanting to move to Japan. My options are limited in that aspect but I’m confident that I’ll be able to find something business related using those skills.

Q: Did you take out any student loans in college?

A: I did not, so this is also a special circumstance, I’m very fortunate. My dad was successful enough to be able to provide that for me. Most people I know that I’ve gone to school with do take out loans.

Q: Do you have any regrets with your degree that you chose?

A: Yes, I wish I went with something business. I do have regrets. I wish I changed my major to something business related, because that’s what I want to do now, and it would be easier to get into that field when I already have that base to go off of and that experience and education. But right now, my goal is to eventually get my master’s in business, now that I already have a different bachelors, but I do wish I changed my path.

Q: Do you have a view on people that have not chosen to go to college?

A: Not either way, I don’t have an overly positive or negative, I’m very neutral. If you’re a person that enjoys academics, and that you want a profession that requires you to have a higher education, I think that’s great. If you’re someone that school was never your thing, and the trades is really for you, that’s great. To me it’s all about finding your niche and finding where you truly excel at. If there’s someone that they enjoy what they do and they’re passionate about it that’s good for me, and I don’t judge anyone that chooses not to go to college.

Q: Do you think AI will eventually take over careers that require a college degree?

A: Not particularly, that’s a concern in my field of translation but to me, I don’t think a computer is able to replicate the human emotion. They can get close to it at this moment in time, we know the difference if we read an essay that was done by AI, and an essay written by a human. It can replace, help assist jobs, but overall, AI can make mistakes and can’t truly replace us. If we are to use them there will have to be someone to watch over that. I think we’ll reach a point in time where we will be working with technology instead of having them do the work, but right now it’s a completely new field we’re trying to figure out.

Q: 10 years down the road do you think it’ll still be worth getting a college degree?

A: I think my worry right now is that it’s the people with college degrees, it’s very inflated and to really stand out you need your bachelors, your masters, more than your masters, tons of certificates. It’s a comparison game it’s hard to be unique. So, I think in that way, the norm would be to have a college degree, so you would have to definitely have it to get a job. Or it might get to the point where it won’t matter. It’s hard to say, I think education is really changing with all the technology and the new generation so it’s something we’ll just have to wait and see and adapt in the future.

Q: Do you think Wisconsin’s medium wage should be higher than what it currently is, which is, $7.25? Iowa’s is $7.25 too. Do you think that’s a livable income?

A: My current hourly is $19.35, so that’s almost maybe 40 a year and I currently don’t have the expense of rent, and I don’t think that’s livable. So, if I also had to pay for insurance, groceries, rent; well I do pay for groceries but added onto that any other car payments or student debt you have to pay for all of that. That’s over double the minimum wage and that’s not livable in that type of way. So, I think the issue is the minimum wage does need to be raised to be somewhat livable but also every other salary should also be raised in addition to that. It’s definitely not livable in my opinion.

Q: Do you have friends that are making more money without a college degree or do a lot of people you know have a college degree?

A: Most people I know do have a college degree, but I recently I’ve been spending time with this person I realized that she went to school to be a dental hygienist, and for a little bit she was a dental hygienist but ended up quitting because it wasn’t a livable salary. And she instead is a server at a casino and makes 3,000 a week so she has a degree and isn’t using and is working a job that requires no degree and is getting more than she would be with that degree. So that’s one example I can think of id also say the same for people that are bartending. So yeah, quite unfortunate.