When I meet somebody new in Ames, it usually does not take long before the question, “What’s your major?” inserts itself into the conversation. The same question, slightly reworded, pops up when I am socializing with new faces outside the university environment. “What do you do?” is that slightly reworded question in this after-college scene.

I don’t mind answering the question, “What’s your major?” because I am proud to be a journalism student at Iowa State. Writing has always been a tool I use in my personal life and also in my career. Writing is what I use to express my identity, thoughts and feelings. Writing is an integral part of who I am. And, it happens to be the same tool I use to support myself financially.

Frankly, the second question does bother me a bit: “What do you do?”

I wonder if the answer to this question will seal my fate after I leave the university’s protective surroundings and enter the real world. If I answer that I am a sanitation worker, will I be treated differently than if I answered brain surgeon, corporate CEO or engineering professor at Iowa State?

The assumptions we make about people based on what they do to earn a paycheck are part of what I see as the American class system.

Aristocracy and blue bloods may not have had birthright privileges in America’s historical unfolding as a nation, but a person’s occupation and finances replaced his or her pedigree.

Today, in modern America, a man or woman’s career and bank account are weighed as the measurement of success in a highly materialistic culture. This societal approach to measuring the worth of an individual puts a great deal of faith in dollars and cents.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the minimum wage in the state of Iowa is the same as the Federal minimum wage, $5.15 per hour. A representative of the McDonald’s Restaurants Business Office in Ames told me the starting wage for a counter worker in an Ames McDonald’s is $6.50 an hour.

Let’s do the math. If I worked 40 hours a week at an Ames McDonald’s, and there are approximately 52 weeks in a year, I would earn a taxable income of $13,520. My worth as an individual would be minimal. My apartment would probably be small and my rent payment low. My car would probably be used, and I may have a high school diploma or GED. An adjective used to describe me in the eyes of society: diminutive.

The May 2004 Annual Report on Professional and Scientific Salaries at Iowa State lists the average yearly salary for an engineer as $69,582. This engineer would probably own a home rather than rent, and the mortgage payment for that home might be high. The engineer’s car might be a 2004 Toyota Sport Utility Vehicle. Finally, his or her level of education would probably be extremely high. An adjective used to describe this engineer in the eyes of society: somewhat less than gargantuan.

If you are in a situation where you are meeting new faces and the dreaded question, “What do you do?” surfaces, imagine a world where the answer to that question doesn’t matter. But, to be on the safe side, arm yourself with these alternatives.

1. What do you do in your spare time?

2. Tell me about your family.

3. What do you think about _______ ? Fill in the blank.

Create your own alternatives. This is the best part of having a higher education.