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Today's post-college path may seem freer than when I graduated, according to Joe Scott, a career specialist at Rutgers University who's worked with thousands of students over the past 26 years. The economy has bounced back and young people are reinventing what it means to have a job. But more and more students are beholden to student loans, which can be just as restricting as the recession was for my graduating class."Unfortunately, students might be less inclined to pursue their dreams because of their financial situation," he told me. The average person in 2016 will graduate with more than $37,000 in debt, according to the Wall Street Journal—a full 6 percent higher than the year before."A perfect example is a student that is not willing to relocate because they are concerned about the cost of living on their own," Scott said. "They might be more willing to take a job that will allow them to live [at home] with their family to save money rather than relocating for a better career opportunity. I have also seen students make career decisions based on money instead of pursuing a career they are really interested in."Because crushing student loan debt is making things just as bleak for recent grads as it was for grads in my day, those of you who just got your diplomas can learn a lot from the trials and tribulations of young people from my era. Take my friend Sean, who during senior year in college got an internship with an engineering firm. It was boring, but it paid great for a summer job. We talked about traveling the world after college, but when we graduated in that miserable economy, the firm offered him a full-time job and he took it—temporarily, for the nice paycheck."The 'recent grad' glow was super brief. Since then, I've just felt like a shitty version of an old dude."
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