“If it pays well enough” seems to be a mentality shared among many in our generation when it comes to choosing a career. Throughout college, many of us learn about specific causes that resonate with our values. However, it’s also very common to put those values aside when you need a stable income, seemingly choosing to dismiss one’s own morals. Rather than viewing certain jobs as simply good or bad, students should strive to have nuance about the careers they pursue, understanding that these roles provide the ability to encourage change.
When choosing a career, students should first, at a fundamental level, consider if the daily tasks of the job align with their identity.
“People should ask themselves: are they going to be able to look themselves in the mirror and feel like they spent their day in a worthwhile way?” said Daniel Drucker, assistant philosophy professor. “If you’re someone (who) would feel terrible at applying your skills to things that (your company does), then knowing that sooner rather than later would be really helpful.”
Additionally, investigating the specifics of your potential occupation can help you understand the actual moral implications of the role.
“Learn the structure of the organizations that you’re considering joining, (and) to what extent you would be an important part of things that you find bad (or) morally questionable,” Drucker said.
The corporate structure of your career even factors into your sense of culpability. For some, how essential you are to a certain action reflects how responsible you are for the impact.
“It could be that you are the enabling cog in the machine, in which case you really need to think about how important your values are to you,” Drucker said. “If you are working in a very large organization where (it) would replace you easily … then the question of complicity becomes much harder.”
Let’s say you are offered a job at a chemical weapons manufacturing company. You know that you have the skills needed to perform the role, but it doesn’t align with your personal values. However, you also know that if you do not take the position, another individual will take the job who may not have any moral concerns. If you choose to take the job you have the opportunity to implement your values, even if it is only on a subtle level, mitigating the negative consequences.
One’s level of autonomy in their career is a moral consideration that cannot be overlooked. When one is given more freedom, they can choose to prioritize certain ethics in their company’s actions and implement their own moral values.
“You can’t just be following orders. You have to do what is available to you,” said Ryan Born, assistant philosophy instructor. “As you want to climb the ladder, there’s going to be more and more opportunities where you find yourself with a role that has some responsibility. … The moral expectation is you have to be able to do what you can to make things better.”
No matter what job you eventually end up with, you will have the ability to impact the effect your corporation has on the world. Even if it’s only a minor level, each of us will have the responsibility to fulfill our role, aligning with our own moral codes as best as we can. Thus, picking a career is not just about avoiding certain corporations, but rather about selecting roles where you can implement the change you want to see.
Stark is a Chemical Engineering major from Orange County, California.
