Posted on 10/26/2007 2:09:03 PM PDT by Zakeet
Think you've got problems? Let Ken Ilgunas offer you some perspective. Ken's got problems, and the Buffalo News has generously offered him space to tell the world about them:
I am 24, live with my parents, can't find work and am floundering in a sea of debt five figures high. I think of myself as ambitious, independent and hardworking. Now I'm dependent, unemployed and sleeping under the same Super Mario ceiling fan that I did when I was 7.How did this happen? I did what every upstanding citizen is supposed to do. I went to college. . . .Upon graduating, I was helplessly launched headfirst into the "real world," equipped with a degree in history and $32,000 in student loans. Before ricocheting back home, I would learn two important lessons: 1) There are no well-paying--let alone paying--jobs for history majors. 2) The real world is really tough.
At one point, Ken was so "desperate" that he even considered working for a bank or an insurance company!
"I had hit an all-time low. Could I surrender my soul for health coverage and a steady income? Could I sacrifice my ideals by falling into line?"
Our hero stood firm.
(Excerpt) Read more at opinionjournal.com ...
HAHA!! “Mr. guru of the groundroast”....
Sweet. The skill most people lack is the ability to hustle.
Well, what did he think he’d do with a history major? You can teach or maybe become a dem congressperson. I guess he has loftier goals for which he thinks he needs no background.
I was a history major in college. I intended to become a history professor. Life, however, intervened and when I left school I took a job in a meat packing plant. I took the job because it was the only one in the paper that day that advertised that they offered benefits and I had a family to worry about.
Seven years later I was managing the company. Ken should try to get a job, any job, and bust his ass until he gets where he wants to go.
Your entire post was spot on. I liked this part the best. I always used to say "there's dignity in all work." Least, that's what I told myself when I was a dishwasher. And I was right!
Here are two management-trainee openings I found on Craigslist in about 30 seconds...yeah, there’s no jobs out there!
http://buffalo.craigslist.org/ret/459020397.html
http://buffalo.craigslist.org/bus/439563614.html
Amen. I love threads like this one. I like sharing my stories and reading other success stories. I always say, “If you can’t make it in America, something’s wrong with you.”
But...when is this kid going to come up with a plan to market himself?
He sounds like a vegan working in a deli - all he can do is cut the cheese.
As I was just saying, “if you can’t make it in America, something’s wrong with you.”
Signed, Single Mom. Kid in College. Two Jobs. 14 hours a day.
He could always go to work for Air America. That’s history..
parasite lib
It is sad. It’s a good place to start. I know several people who put themselves through college doing that.
I’ve always said everyone should spend 6 months waiting tables and 6 months working retail. Maybe then, we’d respect the jobs these folks do, and wouldn’t have boors in restaurants, giving the staff hell, or store dressing rooms that look like a teenager’s bedroom floor.
The show where George has the woman over while his parents are away & he finds the liquor cabinet locked so he serves he prune juice is hysterical.
“Do I smell Kasha?”
ping for later
I’ve had kids finish their educations and move back in with us. They need to pay room and board, even if only a token. They need to live by our rules. I’ll tolerate 3 months to look for a decent job in their desired field. After that, get a job, or get out. I won’t enable sloth.
What integrity? If he had learned anything at all about history, he would realize that he is living in the greatest, most prosperous, nation and time in history. If he can't make it here, he won't make it anywhere.
Before he goes out searching for that job that won't compromise his integrity, it might help him to learn the definition of integrity. Sounds suspiciously like he is confusing integrity with pride.
Yeah, I can relate.
I don’t dig this work stuff myself, but I haven’t found a way around it even after 40 years of trying. My parents were very intolerant like that.
Carlisle England, 1966:
“Mum, Dad, I want a telly of my own!”
“Get a job!”
“There’s this motorbike I could fix up and...”
“Get a job!”
“Joanne would go out with me more often if I could afford nicer places...”
“Get a job!”
“My very own extension phone...”
“Get a job!”
My dad had no trouble at all explaining why a smart boy like me should be sweeping floors in a local warehouse.
“They pay yer’ to do it.”
I got the message, a little slowly perhaps but a lot sooner than our hero here.
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