Your career options after graduation aren’t as cut and dry as you think. The world is changing at such a rapid pace that for every type of job that becomes near-obsolete, there are two or three types of jobs to replace it. Sure, there’s not really a high demand for fax machine manufacturers anymore, but luckily, you probably aren’t majoring in fax machine production. You do have qualifications to work in this brave new world if you’re willing to look farther than the tradition, almost to the impossible.

And this is career advice that goes well beyond advice for freelance writers.

One of the things that frustrates me most about English programs in schools is that I don’t believe students are being prepared for new media. Frankly, it just doesn’t make sense to teach 99% of your courses with magazines and newspapers in mind. These forms of media are by no means dead yet, but they certainly aren’t thriving industries. Yet few schools are teaching students to write for industries that are thriving, like online writing.

The more I examine this problem, the more I realize that it isn’t just college English departments that are getting this wrong. People are, in general, ignoring the changes new media is bringing to the world. In most fields of business, Twitter is extremely relevant, so much so that it deserves one or two classes devoted to it, especially for marketing students. I don’t know a single college that offers a class devoted to Twitter. In most fields of music, YouTube is extremely relevant…same problem. Universities should offer courses on podcasting and social media and blogging and hell, even Facebook. Yet they don’t.

And you’re the one suffering.

You don’t have to, though, if you have a little more foresight than your professors. Yes, you can still get a traditional job as a teacher or nurse or whatever. Just realize that no matter what the “traditional” positions may be in your career, these are never your only options. If you want to be a teacher, do it - just also realize that there are online tutoring options. If you want to be a nurse, do it - just also realize there are informatics and mobile nursing technology options. No one is going to throw these career options in your face, simply because the people in power to do so (namely, your professors) are, for the most part, uninformed, scared, or dismissive about new media.

I’m a freelance writer, but no thanks to my professors. I may be a good freelancer because of some of the skills they taught me, but they did not show me this career course. Regardless of your major, realize that there are career paths out there that you had no idea existed. Find them. Explore them. Consider taking one of those routes. Ultimately, you may grow to love new media as much as I do.