TikTokers say they are going to college just to be 'societally accepted' but are planning careers that don't require degrees anyway

• A TikToker said she'd decided to work in a bakery after completing a master's degree in economics.
• Comments poured in as people said they could relate to abandoning their subject after graduating.
• Viewers shared the areas they had studied before pursuing jobs that didn't require a degree.

Some TikTokers are sharing that they feel pressure to go to college, even though their desired jobs don't require college degrees.

On June 2, TikToker Kanny Morgan posted a video that showed her posing in an apron while eating a cookie, alongside a lengthy on-screen caption that read she had "done a whole masters degree" but decided after ticking off "all the societally accepted things" expected of her she could do now whatever she wanted. She chose working in a bakery.

The clip blew up, and comments poured in from graduates who said they'd also rejected their intended professions in pursuit of something more meaningful.

Viewers shared how they'd pursued everything from medicine to marine science and criminal justice, but had since ditched these specialized topics to work at a theme park, become a coffee shop barista, or become a self-employed seamstress instead.

Others said they hadn't even finished their studies yet but were already counting down the days until they could graduate and leave the profession behind.

"I will finish my master's degree in a month and then I will work as a nanny and travel the world. Can't wait for being at peace," one viewer wrote in a top comment that received over 1,000 likes. 

Morgan and her followers are hardly alone. A December 2021 analysis conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York of Census Bureau and Bureau of Labor Statistics data found that 41% of US college graduates between the ages of 22 and 27 were underemployed, which meant they were working in roles that didn't require a college degree.

Some viewers commented beneath the TikTok to say they envied those who had made this decision, but felt compelled to pursue a career in the field they had already committed so much time and money to studying, or that they had tried the entry-level job route after college but felt pressure from others to aim bigger.

"I would honestly be happy in my little starbucks job if i didn't constantly hear how i'm supposed to be doing something better," one viewer wrote.

Others also pointed out it was a privilege to take on a potentially lesser-paying role right out of college and not something everyone could do, even if they wanted to. Studying for a degree to then pursue an unrelated dream can come with a hefty price tag. According to the Education Data Initiative, the average federal student loan debt is $37,338 per borrower, while the average private student loan debt is $54,921 per borrower. 

In a follow-up video posted on June 7, Morgan offered a bit more little more context to her original post. She said she'd studied economics as an undergraduate and graduate student and had tried working in local government and at a non-profit, but felt she was always trying to prove herself. She said she felt "insecure" about her abilities, and "wanted to try something new."

Her job in the bakery was a part-time, freelance role that lasted just one week, she said, and she still wasn't sure what she wanted to do overall, but liked the idea of working in a bookshop, becoming a writer, or traveling and becoming an au pair. 

"It's not always easy, sometimes it's really really hard, especially when it might just be easier to get a corporate job, and that's what all your friends are doing, and that's kind of the norm," she said. "But it does feel like I'm betting on me, and I'm willing to make that bet."

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