Contrary to numerous news stories, there has never been a better time to be in college. There has never been so much attention given to the quality of programs and the accountability of institutions. There have never been so many degree programs and non-degree opportunities. There has never been so much attention given to the topics of cost and affordability or so many counseling programs and flexible schedules to make college accessible to those who work.
This is also a great time to enter the job market. A social science sage once said that "demography is destiny." And the demographics are in students' favor. The decline in the number of persons aged 18-30, which so concerns employers, the military, and colleges alike, will be to graduates' benefit. Job offers and salaries will increase for the well- prepared because of the forces of supply and demand. Without major changes in immigration policy, the supply of talented people ready to enter the workforce will decline and the demand will increase.
In fact, the next ten years will be a great time for your career search. It is estimated that 4.1 million people will reach age 65 each year and that about 200,000 jobs are created each month, just in the U.S. In the global market, opportunities multiply, amplified by global interdependence. The adage that work expands even as jobs disappear is still true.
Increasingly, the world in which we live is interdependent. Singular events with dramatic consequences have always occurred. What is new is that the consequences can be so far-reaching because of the dramatically increased interaction and interdependence of people. Through telecommunications and jet travel, both currency and disease are spread in ways never imagined.
This increasing interdependence of people, and the greater concern about long-term and distant consequences of local actions, led Rene Dubos, the Pulitzer Prize-winning microbiologist and author, to say that the general formula of management for the future must be to "think globally and act locally."
As a scientist, Dubos understood natural systems, and how an action in one part of a system could cause effects in another part. He then applied that reasoning to social or human systems and helped change the way we think.
This now seems obvious, especially after watching the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ecological consequences of oil spills and forest fires. The action of one person can cause a major effect on an entire ecosystem. It also has consequences for communities and businesses.
Biologists have studiedthe relationships that living things have with each other and their environments for many decades. However, it is only in recent years that scientists and policy- makers in large numbers have come to realize that the principles of interdependence which may be seen in a single forest, or an island, also apply to the planet and its place in space.
The use of systems thinking for considering consequences both broadly and narrowly, for contemplating the consequences of interdependence among peoples and societies, is now applied to other spheres of life as well. I believe it provides a useful backdrop for talking about education, economic development, civic responsibilities, and career choices.
Think globally, act locally. Think and act; global and local. These are powerful pairs. Think! Reflect! Act. Become involved! Think with the widest possible lens, to take in as much as possible, and then decide to act, taking the first step locally, today.
During the past several decades, there has been growing interest in incorporating global knowledge into the curricula of schools and colleges. For some, this interest has become urgent. We know the imperatives:
- National security
- Economic competitiveness
- Environmental interdependence
- Increasing ethnic and religious diversity of our towns and schools
- The fact that many of our citizens work for foreign-owned global firms
- The fact that even small businesses must deal with international trade, currency, and products
- The fact that our school and college graduates will likely be supervised by (or will supervise) persons of different ethnic and nationality groups
- Peaceful, respectful relations between nations
Walk down the main street of any town or city and you will see the global impact: foods, building materials, cars, businesses closed due to global competition, new businesses opened, jobs created by foreign firms, and diversity in the population.
But look at the schools. Do our school and college curricula include readings and discussions about the history, literature, and heroes of other cultures, or of other peoples in our own country? It takes local action to make these changes - local action in response to a global imperative.
This theme of "think globally, act locally" applies to career preparation as much as it does to concerns about the environment and an informed citizenry. Think globally: study other cultures. Act locally: study the language that will provide youwith the greatest mobility. After all, it is said that we can buy in any language but can sell only when we know the language of the customer.
Think globally on as grand and large a scaleas you can so that you can visualize the connections and interactions, both actual and potential. And act, exercise your knowledge, engage your mind, show your concern for education, the environment, the economy, and the freedoms that undergird them all. Act today, where you are. And just think what a world we would have if everyone would think globally and act locally, creating cooperation across boundaries.
