Zane Helsel Rebecca Agosta ENGL 1102 4 April 2014

The College End State Many of us are told to go to school, get a degree, get a job, and to start a life, but for many of us this can change at the drop of a hat. Economies rise and fall job markets that were wide open when you started become saturated in your field. So by the time you have that so highly coveted degree so then what do you do? What does this do to the individual? How are they viewed by their families or peers? Or even themself? Many times unemployment figures receive the bulk of the focus and studies but what about the figures of those whove graduated from college and find themselves in careers highly removed from their major? I want to focus this inquiry on several topics and their relationship to my core questions first I want to establish what an identity is and how it relates to the individual and how they are viewed by not only others but also themself. Following that I want to take a look at the data to see how common or uncommon this trend is or if it is only derived from isolated incidents. Beyond that I want share what Ive learned from those that Ive interviewed who fall in to this category and examine what they have to share. Lastly I would like to expand upon my methods of research, periods of observation, and interviewing techniques. I will provide a detailed bibliography at the conclusion of this paper.

Identity The Concept of identity is presented by James Paul Gee in such a way as to really form the basis for its usage as an analytic lens of an individual. Gee give us as researchers four different perspectives of identity where each type of identity is developed from a source of power and has is its own power. The first is the Nature-identity or N-identity, it is a way of looking at yourself Gee says [it] is a state that I am in, not anything that I have done or accomplished (101). He uses the example of being a twin; this is the most basic of all identities as we all have something that fits here that we have no control of or over. Gee goes on to argue that N-Identities must always gain their force as identities through the work of institutions, discourse and dialogue, or affinity groups (102). This can be demonstrated when someone who is transgendered is legally recognized as something different then their born gender, the institution gives that identity the strength to be fully realized. The second form of Identity is the institutional identity or I-Identity it is who you are, in my personal life for me that would be that I am a veteran it is not something of achievement but can be seen by Gee as either a calling or imposition(103). In my case it was a calling to serve but the same cannot be said for someone who is drafted or conscripted in to the military. The institution giving the power in this case would be the Department of Defense, this identity is fully realized in the regulations I am expected to follow giving both the identity and the institution power. The third perspective of identity is that of the discursive identity or D-Identity; this is the individual characteristics of a person. This is something that has to be validated through the

discourse or dialogue of other people Gee (103). The power identified here is that of recognition, it is reinforced by more people seeing this trait in another like saying someone is being mean and asking your friends if they think so as well, when they back you up it will reinforce this identity of being mean on to the original individual. The fourth and final perspective Gee give us is that of the affinity identity or the AIdentity; this is defined as allegiance to, access to, and participation in specific practices (105). We are told by Gee that this identity is powered by participation or sharing with the group, it is something you must be actively part of to claim as identity. This is not limited to a group that you would formally join but can be one informally bound by members who have common ideas or experiences and engage in dialogue pertaining to it. The reason I take the time and space to share Gees definition of identity is that each form of identity weighs differently in its application to the individual and the same identity can be demonstrated in all four forms each having wildly different implications and interpretations. I want to focus on the last three, the I-Identity, D-Identity and A-Identity of college graduates specifically those who have degrees and do not work in a field related to their studied major.