I'm studying for my dream job. But inflation is shifting my priorities

This First Person piece is written by Kyla Cassandra Cortez, who is a university student in Toronto. For more information about CBC's First Person stories, please see the FAQ.

I was in elementary school when I decided I would become a journalist. After one workshop about print journalism, where we would practice writing news and feature articles, I was hooked. I was that kid who asked my father to turn on the television to watch the morning news, and he'd get mad because it would make me late for school.

Unfortunately, money got in the way. As I tried to convince my parents to let me pursue journalism after the workshop, they said that a job in journalism had no financial security unless I became a news anchor (but they cautioned me that apparently I was not pretty enough to be one). They also worried I might get death threats because that's a real possibility in the Philippines, where they lived before they immigrated to Canada. 

They've encouraged me to follow more traditional white-collar jobs — doctor, engineer or lawyer — since they did not have the money to pursue those career paths when they were young. And lately, it has been tempting to do so.

I've always been financially responsible.

Whenever I'm making a financial decision, I determine if it's something I want, or if I need it. The delicious burger from the food truck parked on campus? I'll skip it. If it's a textbook or novel for my undergraduate degree in literature and media, I'll buy it, but with a heavy heart. It weighs on me to know that purchasing the required school material will shrink my bank account. It makes it harder to enjoy learning. 

I resent losing out on "the college experience" when I see other students enjoying their weekends at nightclubs or parties, going on trips or studying abroad. I wish I could afford those activities. Sometimes I'm envious of their lives, knowing that these students likely have financial security despite the rising costs of living.

The price of everything is going up: renting an apartment, groceries, the cable and phone bill, water and utilities, insurance and hygienic supplies. Financially speaking, it's getting harder to live in a city like Toronto. 

Sometimes I have to choose between my bank balance and safety. Should I wait for transit late at night as a single woman? Or should I get an Uber and watch my bank account decrease again? 

I'm not the only student feeling this way about inflation and rising costs. I understand why some friends and relatives changed their undergraduate programs just to be employable, and I don't blame them. I wonder if I made the right choice in studying literature and media, or if my majors are as useless and unemployable as my family, and random strangers, suggest. 

Maybe my parents are right. It would make more financial sense to become a lawyer, even if I don't want to be one. I've read about layoffs in the journalism industry in Canada and the U.S. It confirms what other people have been telling me: there is no job security as a journalist. This makes me want to pursue law even more. Having a roof over my head, eating good food and feeling financially secure is tempting. 

But even then, I'm unsure, since becoming a lawyer is financially difficult, too. It costs nearly $300 to take the Law School Admission Test and $115 to apply to each Ontario law school. Paying tuition of up to $34,000 per year already sounds like I would have more loans to worry about. What if I don't get any scholarships or bursaries? Would all the trouble of studying for another three years and repaying the huge school loans be worth it just to live comfortably in this era of inflation? If I become a lawyer, would it actually be easier for me to live, or would it just be harder for me to maintain the lifestyle I want? 

I'm conflicted about what I must do to best support myself. 

Both careers have pros and cons. But I might need to choose financial security over a career I love.

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