HuffPost: I Worked My Butt Off in School and All I Got Was This Crappy Economy

[marmar]

via AlterNet's PEEK:



I Worked My Butt Off in School and All I Got Was This Crappy Economy

Posted by Brett McKenzie, Huffington Post at 4:12 PM on September 23, 2008.

"In this crap economy, you'd have to be flat out, shave-your-head-bald bonkers to walk away from a steady paycheck."




When I graduated in 2004, our commencement speaker was a female Hewlett-Packard executive I had never heard of (no, it was not Carly Fiorina; she was otherwise occupied with giving the HP board a four-page list of reasons to fire her). She talked about the world we were inheriting from our parents and the difference we would make if we worked hard and shared our innovative ideas with the world (or was that the Saved by the Bell commencement speech? Same difference).

We sprang forth from our folding chairs, proudly collecting our diplomas and tossing our caps, ready to share our ideas with the world and max out our 401ks and decorate our cubicles with grown-up toys, like Rubik's cubes and business cardholders. We printed our GPAs on our resumes and pledged "I will work SO hard for you" in job interviews and begged professors who hardly remembered us to act as references for professions they had no concept of (in retrospect, asking the Colonial History professor to vouch for your graphic design prowess may not have been the best decision). We celebrated our first job offers with cases of Old Style and bought Target furniture and learned how to set our alarm clocks.

And 19 months later, we found new jobs. And 19 months after that, we found newer jobs. Because that is what "Millennials" (or Generation Y, Children of the Boomers, or what have you), do, according to a March 2008 study titled "Millennials at Work." Approximately every 1.6 years, perhaps thanks to a lackluster bonus, a stinky coworker, or an impossible boss, those of us born between 1977 and 1988 decide, "well I can certainly do better than this," and reactivate our Monster.com accounts.

Until now.

Now, thanks to a host of issues beyond our control, we are stuck. Because in this crap economy, you'd have to be flat out, shave-your-head-bald bonkers to walk away from a steady paycheck, health insurance, and the ability to afford a bottle of wine to weep over while Jim Cramer sentences your retirement fund to death (cue toilet flushing sound effect, followed by emphatic "Boo-yah!").

Shouldn't people be applauding that 26 year olds even have retirement funds, when the average American has about $8,000 in credit card debt? The first lesson fiscally responsible Millennials are learning is, "sucks to be you!" ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/100053/i_worked_my_butt_off_in_school_and_all_i_got_was_this_crappy_economy/

[Captiosus]

1. This post will likely be crass, but /shrug

All due respect to Brett:

First of all, his definition of "Millennial" is wrong.
Most sociologists begin "Generation Y" in 1981, not 1977.

That said, I'm "Gen X" and my story is no different than his.

In fact, I'd say it's worse because while he went to college, I was busting ass to try to find a job, any job in the face of the Tech Bubble rupture. Here I am, 7 years later, doing the same thing I was doing in 2001 - busting my ass to find a job, any job because the economy keeps rewarding people from downsizing or sending entire plants overseas. Dear Brett; Sorry, I've struggled through two of these market busts, and your situation pales compared to people who was in the working class through all THREE market busts of the last 20 years.

Also, I take severe issue with what Brett writes here:
"...perhaps thanks to a lackluster bonus, a stinky coworker, or an impossible boss..."

To be blunt: Boo-fucking-hoo. This is the biggest problem with Millennials and I saw it all the time at work. Their boss would get in their face - usually mine too if we were in the same department - and they would bitch and moan for days, sometimes weeks, eventually quitting because the boss was "unfair" or "impossible".

Regardless of whether the economy is good or bad, anyone working should be thankful they're working and earning money, doubly so when the economy is bad. Very few of us have achieved what we thought we would achieve while we were growing up, but we've adapted and learned to deal with such things as a rude coworker, or overly strict boss, or a less than expected bonus.

Jumping from job to job over such superficial problems as "a stinky coworker" speaks volumes about the work ethic of the up and coming "working class". Got a smelly coworker? Learn to deal with it. Anonymously leave deodorant in his desk. Got a boss who gets in your face? Learn to deal with it. So you have a retirement plan? Hooray for you! Too bad you have to keep consolidating 401k plans to keep them together. And it's people like Brett who, due to their "job hopping", have made employers decide to make new hires wait 6 months to a year before even thinking about giving them benefits.

If I was an employer and I saw a resume come up to me with someone who was qualified but spent, on average, 1.6 years at each employer, they would be at the bottom of the pile of prospective employees.

[ddeclue]

2. Ditto: Gen X - 1966

I've been through this:

1990-1992 - Thanks George Sr.... Peace broke outand the economy went down hill quick after I graduated from Georgia Tech - Graduated in 1989, couldn't find a job using my engineering degree until June 1992 (a summer internship at the space center). Worked my college job at Kroger for 2-1/2 years after graduation while looking.

1994 - Economy was not doing so well for me in Atlanta that year and I didn't have a lot of experience yet and was trying to go to grad school.

2002 - Economy tanked after 9/11 and dot com bust. Had to go looking again - was unemployed several months that year but not as bad as 1994.

2008 - Economy bad again this year - been unemployed 2-1/2 months of the year and have scrambled to stay employed through a few different jobs. Finally found a good one provided that it doesn't get killed by this stock market crash.

Hunting tips:

Put your resume out there on monster.com, hotjobs.com, dice.com, aerotek.com, careerbuilder.com, etc.

Put your resume out there on company sites as well.

Create automated searches to automatically report new finds to you.

Look for jobs on craig's list.

Don't be afraid to relocate - you may not have a choice.

Make sure your resume includes important skill keywords that recruiter database searches are looking for.

Get up everyday and spend 6 hours a day looking for a job.

Don't be afraid to send to jobs where you aren't an exact fit - emails are free and perhaps they will like you for the job anyways or perhaps they will call you for a different job later.

Leave your resumes up on the job sites even when you are working and remember companies aren't loyal to you - they aren't even loyal to your boss. They'll fire your Vice President and lay off a whole division if it moves the stock price up or increases the quarterly bottom line.

Doug D.