Posted on 12/14/2008 4:39:43 AM PST by Rebelbase
Life was supposed to evolve this way: Study hard, graduate from high school, go to college.
Study hard, graduate from college, get a good job.
Work hard and earn a promotion that nets more money and more responsibility. Maybe fall in love, get married and have a kid or two.
Buy a house.
Take vacations.
Prosper.
Thats what many members of generations X and Y expected out of life. Most were wearing OshKosh or diapers or were a mere twinkle in their parents eyes the last time America faced a prolonged recession.
No one ever mentioned hiring freezes, layoffs, foreclosures or repossessions to them. Not one thought of earning a business degree only to search for a job for months on end. There was never a word about having the promise of a home deferred by an economic downturn.
Inflation and deflation were just vocabulary words.
Now its reality for many 20- and 30-somethings, who are feeling the anxiety of living through their first recession.
As a student taking 18 credit hours at N.C. A&T, serving on the university yearbook, working as the features editor for the campus newspaper, shepherding students as a residential assistant all while maintaining her spot on the deans list Alexandria Harper can be described with one word: overachiever.
Her reward came at A&Ts December commencement, where she walked the stage a semester ahead of schedule to receive a degree in liberal studies .
Just dont ask what shell do next, other than returning to her childhood room in her parents Westerville, Ohio, home.
Not because Im not accomplished, the 22-year-old said. Ive had internships. Its because of the economy.
That has her a bit stressed.
Shes facing a nine-month void until she starts graduate school and, so far, nothing to fill it.
Shes hoping for something that will advance a career in her chosen field, print journalism. She has even inquired about working for free.
No takers.
Im applying for scholarships and keeping my fingers crossed, Harper said.
The alternative is settling for ... anything.
Ill have to do what I dont want to: Make a living doing something that may not interest me to make ends meet, she said.
This is not how she imagined her undergraduate career ending.
Im really, really nervous. I know I have what it takes. I have the knowledge. I have the drive. What I dont have is the security.
Vivian Lutian is always ready with an encouraging comment, but these days, shes stocked with more than just words.
Ive had to buy more Kleenex, said Lutian, an adult career counselor at Guilford College who works with students who are older than 24.
Lutian has worked in the career counseling business for more than a decade, and she has seen economic ups and downs. But the mood of the students coming to see her this semester has tangibly changed.
Im getting a lot more people who are emotionally upset, coming in in tears, Lutian said. Either theyre being laid off or theyve been fired or theyve been out looking for a job far too long, in their opinion.
The National Bureau of Economic Research recently affirmed what peoples pocketbooks had been telling them: The country is in a recession and has been for months.
Not all the news is bad, though. More than 70 employers signed up for Guilfords job fair last month, topping the number from last year.
But in the Triad, Lutian said, job opportunities tend to be in the service industry.
Maybe its OK while youre going to college, but its certainly not what they want to be doing when they finish, she said. Thats a part of the problem. The types of jobs that are available are not the things people consider to be a career. Theyre jobs.
Processing the economys free fall means balancing reality against perception. Having come of age in boom times, younger generations arent prepared for the fact that the careers they planned for may not be available now that theyre ready.
Theyre getting frightened, and theyre feeling like theyre never going to find anything, Lutian said. Ive just felt a lot of pessimism, a lot of heaviness.
There are still jobs out there, and Im still encouraging my students to go after them. Be patient because its going to take longer. It absolutely will take longer than you expected.
This spring, the world looked rosy for Brian and Deanna Miller.
Deanna Miller, 35, had landed a new job with a significant salary increase. The timing seemed perfect for her and her husband to move out of their two-bedroom apartment and buy a house.
We had talked to a mortgage lender, gotten pre-approved for a mortgage and were looking at houses online, she said.
Then summer came, and Brian Millers hours were cut from 40 hours a week to 30. He found out Monday that his job was being eliminated.
The company he worked for sells lighting fixtures and ceiling fans, and mainly deals with new construction, Deanna Miller said. Theres not a lot of houses being built.
That means no house for the Millers either.
We cant risk moving out of the apartment with the rent that we know we can afford with no problems, with the utilities we know we can afford to move into a house where we can end up being ‘house poor, she said.
Its made us say we have to stay where were at now. Theres enough room.
Brian Miller, 27, is looking for new work, preferably a position that would put his bachelors degree in human development and family studies and his masters degree in public health to good use.
But the pickings are slim.
Its become a part-time job looking for ... another job, his wife said. Hes online. Im online. We talk to people.
Meanwhile, the couple has cut back.
We dont eat out as much, Deanna Miller said. I clip coupons religiously.
I told a friend of mine that, for the first time, Ive really, really realized Im an adult. Im having to deal with taxes ... and really be concerned about job security. Its completely changed.
Ash Jones is idling at one of lifes intersections.
On the one hand, hed love to study law.
Im very analytical, said the Greensboro College senior. I love researching and reading. That definitely gives me some desire to go toward a law-oriented job.
What he doesnt want is the crush of student loan repayments that could come after graduate school. Hes living on loans now and is worried about paying off those debts.
Hes not even sure how much he owes.
I havent looked at the figure in a year, Jones said. Im scared to do so. Im not sure if I want to look at it and the interest on it all.
On the other hand, he could get a job. If he can find one.
The way I looked at it when I got into school was that a college degree equaled a good job, Jones said. The economy has changed so much in the five years that I have a different perspective right now. Having a college degree doesnt necessarily mean getting a good job anymore.
Jones, 30, was a bit of a late bloomer. While many of his peers set off for college, graduated and started careers, Jones was just approaching the starting line.
I was in the military for a while. When I got out, I just roamed around and wasted a few years of my life, said Jones, a political science major minoring in ethics.
Those days are behind him, and his spring graduation looms. But first, he needs to decide which way to turn.
Being 30 and starting off late, the question is, do I want to put myself in college longer, incur more loans and cause more of a financial burden on myself? Or do I want to just get out with a four-year degree, a bachelors degree, and get on the road with that?
He sits at the proverbial intersection, idling.
Lucy Paschal wont remember her first recession. At 6 months old, her biggest concern is a fresh diaper and ample food.
But the economy is making an impression on her parents, 29-year-old Michael Paschal Jr. and his wife, Courtney .
Though neither of us has lost a job, we are still struggling to pay our bills right now, said Courtney, 30 . I feel like Im constantly playing catch-up.
Theyve dissected their budget to see what can be trimmed. Netflix didnt survive the scrutiny. Neither did the gym membership.
And that weekly trip to the grocery store?
Its not a weekly thing anymore at all, Courtney said. Now itll be two or three weeks.
But Courtney has one thing going for her: perspective.
My husband was going to trade in his car to get a more family-friendly car, she said. But because things are the way they are, its hard to get loans. We dont have the money to outright pay for that stuff.
The Paschals are renters who aspire not to be. She knows it may take them a few years for that goal to be attainable.
Thats OK, she said. We have plenty of room.
If youre looking at 401(k)s and things like that, yes, obviously, Ive taken a hit on that, she said.
But the good news for people our age is that theres plenty of time for it to go back up.
Go back to school and get a degree to teach high school math, chemistry or physics. You’ll not only find a job, you’ll earn a good salary with a Master’s Degree.
OR, go back to school and get your RN degree. You’ll find work in Hospitals, Nursing Homes, and Schools. If you go farther and get an additional specialized RN degree, your job outlook will expand. (Gerontology, Pediatrics, etc)
Or go into law enforcement. Or get a degree that will enable you to run a kitchen in a prison system.
There ARE jobs out there, you just have to know where to look and be willing to expand your knowledge to obtain employment.
“That was about the time that the government began requiring 1099s reported to them on the value of the exchange. All them laws are still on the books.................. “
Indeed it was, just about that time...we all complied of course!
I remember the early eighties...owned a house with 14% interest rates, then DH lost his contract and we had to move. House on the market over a year... Took a ten percent loss on the house which felt like a catastrophe, had to dip into savings at closing. That was also a high-tax time...
My this recession be no worse than that one. But I'm afraid it'll be much worse.
Great story! It’s refreshing.
Don’t worry. The grammar police catch us all at one time or another. Or the spelling police in my case.
I have a cousin-in-law who makes 60,000 a year training horses in KY. She is happy as a clam and so is her hubby who does the same.
My MIL has stated that she needs to start working on her degree.
LOLOLOL!
Ask me what happened with my PhD in Natropathic Medicine. It was a great idea when I worked for the Psych who was willing to underwrite me and send me patients.
Not so good after that. Foot massage for stress relief only goes so far. Education is not always the end all be all.
That is a guarantee of marginal, low wage employment.
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