Skip to main content
SFU Health and Counselling Services
Registered Clinical Counsellor

Two students sleeping in class.
The insecurity and self-doubt of unemployed/underemployed youth has become profitable.

Alternative titles for this post: Why I'll Probably Never be Rich; How Unemployment Became Profitable.

Sometimes I stumble across something that simply hits a nerve. It doesn't happen too often, but when it does, my usually calm, big-picture perspective becomes uncharacteristically erratic and obsessive, at least until I've sorted out why it is that I got so irked in the first place.

So what is it that's gotten under my skin? This. It's called the Bold Academy. From the website:

"The Bold Academy is 4-week experience designed to help college students and recent grads find clarity, build confidence, and unlock their full potential. If you want to do big things to “change the world” but aren’t sure how to get started, we’re creating this for you.

Too many college students are carrying diplomas that speak nothing to their true potential. These same high-potential young adults struggle with societal expectations surrounding what their career should look like. In many cases, they haven’t been given the chance to explore what work would really be meaningful to them, nor the specific skills required to make new ideas happen or to gain momentum toward ambitious goals."

Wow, sounds great so far! Actually, I really agree with everything that's being said here. Finding clarity, building confidence, unlocking potential - these are all really great things that I believe every career can benefit from, especially for those who are experiencing dramatic indecision during a formative period like university. Societal expectations do play a large role in students' career paths - they create myths, they make people feel foolish for not having their lives planned out, they give us metaphors that make us out to be products to be sold as opposed to valuable human beings, they encourage people to study things they have no real interest in. Additionally, it's true that students don't often get the chance, or at least they aren't encouraged to take the chance, to explore what work would be meaningful to them. They do want to do something meaningful, they just don't know what meaningful, well... means.

Additionally, the Bold Academy isn't just about sitting in a classroom listening to someone spout information for a month. It actually sounds like fun and bills itself as a sort of wilderness adventure, like something you might see on reality TV.  So, as I was reading about the Bold Academy, I was understandably getting pretty excited about the fact that it existed, and that someone - finally - someone was at least trying to do something constructive to address these issues. That someone is Amber Rae, a sort of self-made motivational expert who's done some pretty impressive things. From reading her website, it's clear that she really believes in what she's doing, and she's certainly not going to make any apologies for being herself. It's refreshing to see that kind of genuineness, and it's likely a big reason why she seems to be as successful as she is.

It's not Amber that I have a problem with (she sounds wonderful), and it's not even the nature of the Bold Academy that I have a problem with (it sounds like a great learning experience and a lot of fun). What I have a problem with is the program's $7500 price tag.

The Bold Academy is marketed at college students and recent grads. What's more, the strategic use of the letters BA suggest that the program is primarily directed at arts students, conveniently playing off the stereotype of the aimless arts student who doesn't know what they want to do once they finish their degree.

So, we have something that's mostly targeted towards helping a group that's very likely to be (A) knee-deep or on their way to knee-deep in student loan debt; (B) unemployed or under-employed; and (C) feeling very insecure about their future careers.

And they're going to shell out $7500? I don't think I've met a single student in my work as a career advisor who could afford to pay $7500 for something like that. At least, not the ones who really need the help. I've talked to students who have no idea what they want to do. I've talked to students who want to learn more about themselves and what they find meaningful, and sincerely want to take action to do so. I've also talked to students who've had to take jobs significantly beneath their level of qualifications just to pay rent and buy groceries - I can't even imagine referring them to the Bold Academy, because they'd most likely laugh in my face. $7500, after all, does buy a lot of groceries.

I know it probably takes a lot of money to plan and execute a project the size and scope of the Bold Academy. But make no mistake - this wouldn't be happening if somebody wasn't making money on it. It might not even be that much money, but this wouldn't be happening if it weren't profitable. And that means that, in a way, the insecurity and self-doubt of unemployed/underemployed youth has become profitable.

The thing is, the Bold Academy isn't going to have any problems getting their 24 participants (that's $180,000 by the way). The reason they're not going to have any problems getting their 24 participants is because people are generally insecure right now - especially populations like recent college graduates who don't know what to do with their lives. People are hearing about how bad the job market is, they're hearing about the fact that there's going to be a labour market crisis, they're hearing about how they need to have everything figured out and that they have to get a good job, and they're throwing money around in order to do something about it. It's the same reason that people (and/or their parents, I should point out) pay the exorbitant amount they do for post-secondary education.

$7500 is not pocket change. $7500 is more than a full summer's earnings for a lot of students. It's a nice thought that those people who really needed the kind of thing that the Bold Academy offers could be able to actually afford it, but that's probably just not true - the price tag alienates those who need the help the most. In reality, the Bold Academy's participants will be the kids from wealthy families, who are already going to the expensive schools, and don't necessarily have to worry about things like a roof over their head or food on their plates.

So, ultimately, I'm afraid to say that this is one BA that's just not worth it.

*Dave's opinions are his own, and not necessarily those of SFU, SFU Career Services, or Our Learning Community.

SFU Health and Counselling Services
Registered Clinical Counsellor
David Lindskoog is a Registered Clinical Counsellor at Health & Counselling who used to work as a Career Advisor with Career Services. David is passionate about suicide prevention, social justice, career and professional development concerns, and the use of role-playing games in therapy. Check out his group: Dungeons & Worry Dragons. While you're here, check out Dave's Diary! It is an ongoing series of journal entries touching on various aspects related to careers and well-being. Want to hear Dave's thoughts on a particular topic?  Send him an email, and he'll do his best to include it in his next post!  
visibility  82
Mar 19, 2012

You Might Like These... Prospective, Professional Development, Career Exploration

Co-op students jumping in the air
The Co-op Connection Helps Retention

In this blog post, Heather shares with us why co-op is an important experience for all students, whether it be to further career aspirations or to gain future employment opportunities. 

author, courtney, smiling
A Second Term in Government: More of the Same?

Having completed my first work term for Health Canada as a Communications Officer Intern, I was eager to try something new, and the government was not where I believed that was going to happen. That is until I was offered a position at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada...

Working on campus
The 10 Minute Commute – Resources and Useful Information for Working on Campus

Have you ever thought about working in a place that you are familiar with?  Perhaps a Tim Horton’s close by? For many students the idea of working at SFU might be a great option, if you prefer a 10 minute jaunt to work after class or an opportunity to learn more about how a university operates.

You Might Like These... Co-op Reflections

Kory
Co-op in Toronto: My Experience Working for the Ontario Public Service

Are you a student who, like Kory, has struggled deciding what career path best suits you? Have you ever wondered what it was like to work in Toronto? Are you considering a career in public service? If you answered yes to any of these, read this post! 

Direction post with path as the destinations
You Can Only Plan So Much

What are your plans for the future? Does this question make you cringe? Don't worry: you're not alone. The pressure to have our future plans all figured out can be overwhelming. But the truth is, we don't need to have it all figured out. How can we predict the future when it's always changing?