What is the result of over-parenting and high stress in college and after?

Those in the field of psychology and sociology are drawing preliminary conclusions toward indecision and poor adaptation during the college and post-college years.

It is “the age of the remote,” a time when 20-somethings are apt to change channels, or job-hop, in search of a career that fits them best, said Micheal Flora, president and CEO of Ben Gordon Center, 12 Health Services Drive.

Flora described job-hopping as a means to an end, the end being contentment both professionally and personally.

Employers need to be aware of this phenomenon because many new to the job market are looking for the job they click with. Their newest job may be the one they stay with, Flora said.

Peter Gutierrez, the assistant chair of the psychology department, said he has not noticed reluctance to enter the “real world” from his students, but they are taking a more measured approach.

Between-time for undergraduate and graduate school has lengthened because students are taking more time to understand exactly what their chosen profession entails, he said.

As Lev Grossman recently noted in TIME magazine, “twixters”- those making the transition from education to career- are not lazy although they may still live with their parents and have unstable personal and professional lives.

Although it is tempting to call this development a trend, Grossman makes a more definitive assertion.

“This is a much larger phenomenon of a different kind and a different order,” Grossman said.

This different order is evident on campus, with more students taking a year or more beyond the traditional four years.

Peter Santoro, a 25-year-old, sixth-year senior, could have graduated three years ago, but finds taking his time more rewarding.

By moving at his own pace, he said he can be more sure of his future.

“You can make all the money in the world, but if you’re miserable for 30 years, what’s the point?” Santoro said.

He said he watched friends graduate on time and promptly hop from job to job looking for their career fit. He said he is determined to fulfill his long-time goal of attaining a psychology degree. In the meantime, he said he is organizing an alternate career path if psychology does not satisfy him.

Working as a courier for FedEx, he makes enough money to begin saving it. He said it gives him security about his future.

Elsewhere on campus, incoming freshmen are struggling to cope with the demands of college.

At the NIU Honors office, it is not uncommon to have a freshman join the program, having been on the honors track all through high school, and promptly fail after one semester, said peer advisor Julie Edmunds.

Without the constant encouragement of a parent and no incentive to disclose poor grades, it is easier to fail, she said.

“In high school, I had such a grasp of what I was doing,” said Somya Manjal, peer advisor for the Honors office.

Manjal said college quickly became intimidating for her, and by about junior year her parents’ wisdom finally began to make sense.

Both Manjal and Edmunds had encouraging parents who stressed the importance of success, but each agreed that when they made significant mistakes, their parents forced them to figure it out themselves.

Having survived the transition from high school to college, Manjal said she would much rather “screw up” earlier than later and the self-learning of dealing with her own problems while younger was invaluable.