The comment section’s online articles are usually littered with uninformed perspectives — a common sentiment is to attribute a person’s negative experience to a failing of their character. This seemingly pervasive mentality is one borne out of the notion that meritocracy is alive and well in Canadian society.
With the continuing state of our economy, however, most students’ struggles come down to failures of the current socio-economic system. They need to scrounge enough money to pay for rising tuition fees and costs of living, while also gaining valuable work experience that will give them a leg up in an increasingly competitive job market after graduation.
Indeed, since 2008, student summer employment has fallen from 55.3 to 49.7 per cent, according to a report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. The report adds that it takes working 2.7 times longer to pay for a year of university than it did in 1975. This means that, unlike in the past, students cannot rely on a good summer job to pay their tuition.
Perhaps more troubling, however, is another reality that is rarely spoken about, but nevertheless understood — great summer opportunities are often unattainable when students do not have the right family or social backgrounds.
Consider, for example, unpaid internships. Unfortunately for some, this practice heavily favours those who have parental financial support. Without this cushion of external income, many students cannot even consider accepting unpaid positions — instead they must be concerned about having the funds to pay for tuition without going too deeply into debt.
Nepotism is another way in which well-off students benefit. Some students simply get a call from a parent, telling them that their family friend got them a job at a law or investment firm. These opportunities look good on a resume, create good connections in a potential area of interest, and often pay good money. While most students covet these positions, they are also very difficult to obtain through application alone, and require some kind of connection within the firm itself.
It can be stressful and time-consuming to search for summer employment. Considering that most students must begin to apply for jobs in February, this takes a toll during the school year. It takes time to tailor each resume for each position, craft emails, and search online for any kind of position that would pay money.
More needs to be done from the private sector to support the student community. Large corporations are capable of paying students, who are currently working for nothing. Without this support, the socio-economic divisions that have been growing for the last thirty years will continue to do so.
It is foolish to suggest that the society we live in is meritocratic, and that all students who fail to find employment after graduation are lazy and at fault for their own struggles. Students who actually experience the challenge of finding adequate summer employment will understand that, in fact, the current socio-economic system privileges some students over others. At the very least, people’s attitudes towards millennials need to adapt to the reality that summer work is not what it used to be.
Alex Hempel is a third-year student at Trinity College studying economics and European studies.
