When I graduated high school four years ago, I was told by almost every “grown up” that if I wanted to get a good job, I would have to get a college degree.

At the time, it seemed simple; earn a college degree, get a job, have a good life. That’s how the equation worked.

However, now that I’m a few months away from receiving my bachelor’s degree, I see that the simple equation I thought life once was is nowhere close to being true.

Somehow, during those four years, a college degree stopped guaranteeing a job in the real world.

Having that piece of paper that says you are qualified to do things is no longer enough.

Now don’t get me wrong, a college degree is a tremendous asset, but it seems that employers today want more. They want you to actually have experience doing whatever it is that you are applying for.

This can become quite the predicament. How exactly can you get experience if you can’t get hired due to lack of experience?

Now the obvious choice would be to take on an internship, however they are not always feasible.

If you’re a student, which many internships require you to be, you may still have other classes to take during the same semester as an internship, but this isn’t a huge issue.

It starts to get tricky though, when you consider that the majority of internships are unpaid and require a commitment of 20 hours a week minimum, like a part-time job.

Unless you are just incredibly fortunate enough to not have to have a continuous flow of income, you will need to have a job that actually pays you during this time.

The balancing act of a job, internship and school is not one that many people can manage.

So, we’re back to square one.

This is just one of the many challenges that I, along with many others approaching graduation, will face.

Unfortunately, due to the job market, entry-level positions have become far more competitive and are no longer a guarantee upon receiving a college diploma.

But perhaps this is what college really prepares us for. It prepares us to work diligently, despite lack of sleep and money, until we finally get not just a degree, but also a job.

Now if only someone had explained that to me on the first day of my freshman year.