Generation R (for recession) is a new book/film project I and several colleagues are working on. “R” is for recession, and we’re curious how the Great Recession is altering young adults’ hopes, dreams, aspirations, and circumstances–in both big and small ways.
We want to hear from you, and provide a place for you to talk about how this recession is affecting you (if indeed it is). If you’re in your 20s and want to vent, share, encourage others, or just ask some questions, this is your space.
So tell us your story! Add a comment below and get the conversation started.
In case you’re not sure where to start, here’s a couple of questions to start you thinking:
- What fears about work and the future do you have, given the recession and the transformations in the economy. What went your mind as you saw the banks collapse and the US economy go under?
- Are you more willing to take risks or do you think you have lowered your expectations and want to play it safe?
- Is education still worth it in your opinion? Why or why not?
- What does the American Dream mean to you? Has that view changed?
- Do you thinks it’s harder to get ahead than when your parents were your age? Why?
- What are your thoughts about the statement: This is the first generation of Americans who will do worse than their parents?
For more information on the project, visit: www.generation-r.org
My friends and I graduated from college in June of 2010. I can only think of maybe a handful of people who have full-time jobs. The rest of us are either unemployed, unpaid interns, or working at a part-time job that has nothing to do with what we went to school for. That is our reality right now. After eight months of being unemployed, I was finally able to get a part-time position as a museum attendant at a local museum. However, I find myself extremely discontent. I’m paid $8 an hour (less than what I earned at my student jobs in college) and have no real responsibilities. In fact, I had more responsibilities at my UNPAID internships than at the job I’m currently at. I know that I’m extremely lucky to have a job at all, but this isn’t where I thought I would be one year after graduating from college. I know that I’m capable of doing so much more. I’m a good worker. I believe that I did everything in my power as an undergrad to become a viable candidate for employment after college (part-time jobs, internships, etc.). What I have learned, and what so many of my peers have learned, is that there aren’t enough jobs out there. And in addition to that, we are competing with laid-off workers who have had years and years of experience. How are we supposed to get our foot in the door?
My friends and I are in post-grad limbo. Yes, it’s disheartening and depressing. However, I don’t regret going to college and I don’t regret the major that I chose (I was a humanities major). What I regret is the timing. I regret graduating during a recession.
I’m 20. I am presently in college and in about six months I am to graduate early with a BA in art history.I constantly wonder why I am even bothering to graduate early. Unfortunately, my liberal arts degree is worthless in the real world. There is no way I can compete for a job with just a BA in art history. Museums only hire people with MA’s and PhD’s for research or curation. I would be perfectly fine with staying in college and accumulating the grad school debt if I knew I could secure a decent job. However, my field is so competitive and there are so few positions open that the likelihood of getting a stable job is really grim.
So I started looking at possible alternatives to pursuing art history. I thought about teaching history as a high school teacher. I thought about going in Peace Corps and then doing grad school. Then I thought about going to law school instead. It seemed like a real opportunity. I know a lot of established lawyers and I like doing research and making arguments. It sounded like the best possible solution not to mention the ridiculous amount of pay I would have the potential to earn. So then I did the research… Apparently, not even people from first tier schools are being hired as associates. Many of them end up as paralegals drowning in debt in shabby apartments. So there is really no hope in that either. Basically, I feel like I wasted 50,000 dollars on a sheet of paper that really is just bunch of fibers pressed into a sheet and decorated some simple printed calligraphy. Do I really want to spend the energy and money on another certificate? I really don’t know.
I think a lot of people my age in college constantly wonder if college is really worth the time, energy, and money they put into it. We really start realizing that just a simple BA does not really amount to much when you end up competing in today’s job market. I am sure some degrees are really worth it but mine was not.
We’re hearing this more and more in our interviews–wondering if college is still worth it. I’m sure it’s not much consolation, but the degree is certainly worth it. Try not having a degree and see where you land. But that’s cold comfort, right? It does seem that you have to be more and more strategic today about which college degree, since the BA itself has been watered down in meaning. Having a BA is like having a high school degree 20 years ago. You were smart to do your homework about law school. I’ve seen a lot of lawyers with no where to go and a ton of debt.
I know how hard it is our there right now. Hang in there. And keep networking and getting creative with marketing yourself. There might just be a job that you never thought of doing but that fits your degree. Keep talking with everyone about it. Something will pop.
I graduated in 2009, with an engineering degree from an Ivy League School. I can’t really speak for students and recent graduates from other schools, or from other academic fields. However, I hope my experiences will help shed some light to our national situation.
First of all, around 2008, the mood on campus became pretty grim. We knew the job market will not be nearly as nice as it was a year ago. Back then, there was a joke that, “we didn’t apply for jobs; jobs applied for us.” However, the graduating class of 2008 only managed to send 1/3 as many students into employment as the previous academic year. I personally know more than one fellow ivy league engineer who still doesn’t have a job. After I graduated, I remember hearing about a spree of suicides on our campus. Generally speaking, the mindset in the school I graduated from is pretty somber. The feeling of dashed hopes and fatalism is pretty pervasive.
I was unemployed for a few months after graduation. I kept applying for jobs, and ultimately, I landed a job, not due to my credentials (although, I suppose they helped), but because I knew someone who recommended me into a company.
On the up side, my boss actually appreciates my work, and treats me pretty well. At least this is a sign that employer-employee relations are not always adversarial. I work in a pretty small firm, and I feel as though my company needs me as much as I need the company. This scenario makes me life a little easier.
On the down side, the fear of losing my job is always looming over my shoulder. Like I said, my boss appreciates my work. On the other hand, I remember losing sleep pretty often when I was in college, wondering if my degree will be worthwhile. I think that fear persists in my head now, and over the next few years, will continue to make me less marketable to employers, compared to older members of my field.
As for housing and what not; I actually have good to excellent credit according to the 3 credit bureaus, but I absolutely refuse to tie myself into a loan or mortgage. I would much rather rent than try to own a house. I’m happy with using public transportation and a bicycle instead of a car. If I do get fired, I don’t want to be stuck with such a liabilities. I would rather be able to break out of my apartment lease and move to a cheaper location. I think the fear of unemployment, and the ease of getting fired, will make my generation fearful of financial commitments.
Lastly, I would like to leave with one foreboding note: A lot of people my age who I talked to seemed to be fed up with living in the US and are creating plans to migrate elsewhere. A lot of them want to move to Canada. Others want to move to Europe. Some friends of mine want to move into third world countries like India or China. Some say they only want to go for a year or two so they can get work experience, see the world, and hopefully ride out the economy. However, there are others who say they want to migrate permanently. I was browsing UN statistics, and it seemed like USA has the highest economic disparity amongst all OECD countries. Almost all other OECD countries have universal healthcare. All of them seem to have higher minimum wage ($10.25/hr in Ontario, CA), too. With trends like these, it seems other countries will help you if you ‘lose’, while America will punish you if you ‘lose’. You can see why this is so appealing to our generation.
Furthermore, Every OECD country (except us) has a minimum number of vacation days that your employer must give you. In France, that number is 30. The workers in other countries seem to work less hours than we do. Unemployment seems to be lower there than here. The list goes on. A lot of my peers are painfully aware of these numbers. I think one of our biggest fears is that, in the near future, employers will have too much power over us. We will get smaller salaries, less vacation days and longer workdays. If we don’t like it, then too bad; we will be fired, lose health insurance and struggle in a vicious job market. Given these vulnerabilities of an American employee, that which we are becoming, I think it is clear why our generation would want to leave.
While I didn’t graduate from high school in 2006, I am definitely identifying with this Generation R label. When I graduated from college in 2002, the US was in the middle of a recession (albeit not as bad as the present one) and I couldn’t find a job. I graduated at the top of my class, #1 in my department, and couldn’t even get an interview. I took a job that paid $16,000 per year, then got laid off after less than a year. I worked three jobs – restaurant host, substitute teacher, and dance instructor and got fed up with scraping by, so I decided to go to law school. I got into a top 30 law school, excelled, got a job and was laid off within a year of graduation. I was unemployed for 6 months and took the first job that was offered to me because I was drowning with a mortgage and student loans, which pays the same salary as my mother, who is a high school teacher. My classmates from law school are experiencing similar low-salary offers and one of my licensed attorney friends just took a job as a paralegal. Did I mention my husband was laid off over a year ago and can’t find a job either? I’m tired of scraping by, never getting ahead, always falling behind, and, at age 30, still having my car and car insurance paid by my parents.
One of my students just posted this as a FB status update. She had just been to a career fair and looking for jobs.
“it’s official, my life after college will suck.”
Pingback: For the first time the economic gain from marriage are greater for men than women | Babs Ray
My mother and I were having this discussion the other day as I was having a nervous breakdown. I grew up in a average middle class family, which with the current economy and raising prices doesn’t seem all that middle class now. All my life my mother (age 58 now) told me that college opens doors and is better in the long run. I agreed as a teenager, and I still agree now that education is important as a 24 year old with his first child due in four months. The education I have received from St. Joseph’s University has been valuable. My mother told me when I was a teenager, “if you do go to college, you will be without for a while, as your friends who become tradesmen make more money up front and get it sooner.” She continued, “but when you graduate, you will make more than they do.” Things I witnessed all my life reinforced these traditional values. But now, the game has changed. I am less than 6 mos away from graduating, and the job prospects are just not there. I have sat through 6 years of college and training, while watching friends who are involved in various trades such as construction or plumbing excel and get their own houses and provide for their families. As I scramble now, with a baby on the way, I see mostly senior level job openings; almost none are entry-level jobs. This is my dilemna now. I plan on getting a job as a cashier at a local Shop Rite to tide me over, at least it is unionized so there is some protection in this volatile economic time. Not exactly what I had planned when I decided to get a $160,000 education.
Ok, I’m just testing the site. Don’t be shy– be the first to leave a comment. I know something must be bugging you. Aren’t you sick of being called entitled and spoiled by the older generation? What’s it like out there on the job market? Is your BA the golden ticket they promised it would be? Are you stressed about anything right now? Start the ball rolling….