Thesis advisor: Carlo Rotella / This country currently finds itself in a backwards way. Since the late 1970s, our policy choices have led to a significant disparity between national economic productivity and individual workers’ pay. As GDP steadily grew between 1979 and 2020, wages remained largely stagnant and many Americans now find themselves incapable of keeping up with rising costs of living. Unlike most workers struggling in this precarious economy, college students graduating from elite universities are given the choice to embark on careers in financial and consulting sectors to achieve financial stability. That stability can only be achieved through only a handful of work-options, however, can feel restrictive to many college students, meaning this new America of limited opportunity is not felt exclusively by the working class and instead can be intuited at every class level. Over the course of one dissolute summer, I sought to better understand why many students, despite having the option to work lucrative jobs, feel pessimistic about working after graduation. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2022. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Departmental Honors. / Discipline: English.