University of Washington
B.A. Political Science & Near East Studies
“So I’m a guy with a goal, a big goal. I want to work for the government and make a difference, you know serve the country. So I make plans: get into school, get into a better school, graduate and then go do my thing. However, I got so wound up focusing on school that I didn’t stop to make plans for the period that falls between school and getting a government job.
“I guess I used to think that finding something to fill that gap would be easy. Not so much. I’m graduating into the worst job market in 26 years. It’s frustrating to know that my almost zero professional work experience coupled with a very specialized degree in an unusual field is facing off against people who have years of experience and degrees in their field of work. It’s one of the rudest wake-up calls I’ve had yet.
“So here I am, unemployed, biding my time in a super cheap apartment. I’m looking for jobs, and still working on trying to get that government job, but it’s a slow processes. It’s a limbo that I never expected to be in, in an economy that is unforgiving of limbo. Sometimes I think about what I should have done differently, but I have to let those things go and move forward. I’ve realized that I have to make a fundamental shift in how I think, about myself, about the world, about how I look at employment.
“In a way I’m kind of grateful that I have some extra time on my hands. It gives me a chance to revisit some of things that I love but didn’t have time for before. It gives me a chance to rediscover life. And yet, it’s beyond frustrating.”
first, thank you for reading. unfortunately, there will be no post this week. i am moving across town, which, if you ask me, feels like i am moving across the country. nevertheless, there is plenty more to come. stay tuned for next week.
-e.l.
p.s. have a wonderful fourth of july! please remember our founders and all the sacrifices they made to supply us with the rights we have made available to us this day.
University of Washington
B.S. Physics
“It sounded so simple in the beginning. Do well in high school, join the Army and go to college. All the paths in my life have led to getting a college degree. Unfortunately, I have no idea where the path goes from here. For the past year I have been living off of savings and looking for jobs that don’t exist. I never would have imagined that such a challenging degree would result in such failure.
“The current crisis has forced me to evaluate and reevaluate every dollar I spend, from food to entertainment…and I was thrifty before the economic downturn! Although I am in no way convinced that these challenging times are a blessing in disguise, I hope for the best. Luckily, I am surrounded by great family and friends who help me keep my sanity through games, jokes, exercise and other random activities.”
University of Washington
B.A. Finance
Favorite Childhood Cartoon: Gummi Bears
“Since before I was a teenager, my life was planned out before me. After graduation from high school, I’d move to Seattle, study business administration, graduate into a high paying job, move into the suburbs with a wife, picket fence and dog. While life has since thrown more than its share of kinks, none has provided a greater opportunity for reflection and reevaluation than the current economic crisis. The path all of us have been on together is suddenly jarred, and each of us left to figure out our own ‘recovery’–economic or otherwise.
“I’ve been forced to stop, step back and reevaluate my life, my priorities, what I really want and what will really brings me happiness. I’ve learned that the path we planned on, is not necessarily the best path for us and sometimes it takes the job market — or world itself — to come crumbling down to help us find a new, better direction for us.”
Brigham Young University – Idaho
B.S. Business Management
Favorite Soda: Diet Coke
“I was working for a construction company when I was laid off. As most know, construction was one of the first hit by the bad economy. Being a marketer for a construction company, I had a feeling the lay off was coming. I was laid off Nov. 10, 2008 and haven’t worked since.
“Now, I am living off savings and unemployment. I look for work daily, but find I am either overqualified for jobs or underqualified. It is a frustrating situation, because I feel like I did everything I was supposed to and didn’t get the things I had expected from it.
“Everything has changed. I mean, I always knew I would go to college, get a degree and get some great job that would make me happy. I had that job for 6 months. Now, everything I ever expected for my life, isn’t that way. Jobs in marketing just aren’t out there right now, so I am going to be back to college this fall. I feel like college is the only safe place right now, until there are more job opportunities. I have to make myself even more employable, even if that means 2 degrees.
“But through all of this, I realized it has given me opportunities. I would never be going back to school, had this not happened. I wouldn’t be challenged everyday. I like that when I thought my life was set, I get to start all over again. It’s scary for sure, but also exciting to figure out what I will do next.”
University of Washington
B.A. Interdisciplinary Visual Arts
Favorite Childhood Cartoon: He-Man
“I work as a freelance designer, or that’s what I tell people I do, mostly because it’s easy to say, and I don’t like explaining myself to people very often. But what I really do is manage an apartment in lower Queen Anne for much of my time, repair and remodel endless supplies of old houses for an ex-landlord, and design my little heart out when I’m not doing either of those things.
“I’m not using my degree at all, but that has less to do with the recession and this so-called economic crisis, and more to do with my plans for life, in that, largely I don’t have plans. I may not be using my degree, but then I never planned on using it, I never even planned on going to college, but here I am… dutifully plugging along, happily moving forward, ever forward.”
Brigham Young University – Hawaii
B.A. International Business
Favorite Dinosaur: Triceratops
“The plan: go to school, graduate school, work in parents’ companies, and take over parents’ companies… live happily ever after or something like that. At least it was the plan for the career part of my life.
“Then I was laid-off from my dad’s company. You know things are bad when your own father lets you go! This changed my plans. I had to sell everything! I was devastated and confused. I tried to find work in other areas and started taking jobs through a temp agency. I had to pay the bills. I ended-up moving 9 times in 18 months and being laid-off three times during that same period.
“Did I feel like a failure? Yes. Did I ever think I would consider “lying” on a job application by only listing my high school diploma, so I wouldn’t seem overqualified for the grocery bagger position at Whole Foods? NO!
“I have really simplified my life and am learning that “the plan” that I had may have been what I thought I wanted, but in reality I am surviving on less and learning more. I’m a better person and will be a better employee because of it… Just wait and see!”
Brigham Young University – Provo
B.A. Theatre Studies: Scenic Design
Favorite Dinosaur: Triceratops
“I currently have a part-time job working at a bakery for just over half the hourly wage I was making at the architecture firm. I’m working fewer hours for far less money, resulting in a paycheck that mostly just covers the basics. Additionally, I’m hoping to go to grad school eventually, along with all of its associated expenses.
“If I hadn’t been laid off, I never would have sent a half-dozen cold emails to the local historic preservation organizations asking for an entry-level or internship position, and I never would have gotten my internship with the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation. While it isn’t a paid position right now, I LOVE IT!”