At SF State, finding an open Segment III class is a struggle for some. Beyond SF State, finding an open job that will be proportional to our education might be even harder.

Long have people joked about college graduates working at Starbucks. But look how hard simply getting an education has become.

For many of us, showing up to class on time or late means standing at the door and looking up and down the rows of desks, hoping for an empty seat. Best case scenario: that last empty seat presents itself. Worst case scenario: we sit on the cold, hard floor. We pack into the room like sardines in a tin. We compromise our academic comfort level and therefore compromise our capacity for success. We do this even though we signed up for the class months in advance, pre-paid for the chair and desk and books and materials and… You get the point.

The truth is, the uncertainty we find within the CSU classroom is preparing us for the uncertainty we will face post-graduation. People joke about the “real world” outside of college and the struggles of the distant future. But, in fact, we are now struggling with the same kind of issues presented to those so-called “real world professionals.” For us, there are fewer seats; for professionals, there are fewer jobs. No matter how qualified we are, or how hard we work, for some of us the door will remain shut forever.

We point a finger at Wall Street for the sputtering economy, but do little to ensure a better work force to refuel it.

So, California—maybe this issue really does start with education. Is it hard to get a class because of the economy, or is it hard to boost the economy because I’m sitting on the floor in English 214?