The Lost Generation: 20-somethings unable to find meaningful work

[hendo]

http://www.good.is/post/young-educated-and-unemployed-a-new-generation-of-kids-search-for-work-in-their-20s/

20-somethings out of college with an advanced degree are rightfully screwed.

Fifty years ago, 77 percent of women and 65 percent of men had attained traditional markers of maturity by their thirtieth birthday: They had left home, finished school, gotten a job, married, and started a family. By 2005, those numbers had almost halved. Now, a new crop of 20-somethings is experiencing what it’s like to be young and ambitious and unable to find work, or work that in any way aligns with what they’re passionate about. As a recent New York Times Magazine story made clear, early adulthood has become one long pause, affecting not only short-term, conventional milestones of coming of age, but longer-term stuff, too—things like the hopes and dreams and basic constitution of a person.

....

Using federal labor statistics, Sum has found that of the more than 2 million college graduates under the age of 25, about 700,000 have a job that doesn’t require a degree. And while unemployment and the lack of full-time jobs are problems, Sum says that having a job for which one is overqualified is worse. People with a job that does not require a degree—even if they have one—earn up to 40 percent less than college graduates whose jobs require their schooling. What’s worse, the longer one spends in a non-degree job, the less likely one is to ever join the college-educated labor force.

....

Lisa Kahn, an economist at Yale’s School of Management, tracked the wages of white men who graduated from college before, during, and after the 1980s recession. Over a 20-year period, those who graduated in the peak of the recession earned $100,000 less than those who finished college before or after the economic downturn.

[no_hypocrisy]

1. Ironic as I heard anyone over 30 isn't getting hired, period.

[Vincardog]

3. The real truth is no one without a connection is getting a job. The rest is just the man trying to

get us to fight each other. The over 50 crowd is supposed to fight the 20 somethings over the scraps instead of changing the whole crooked system.

[hendo]

5. Here are the actual unemployment numbers

Then again, these do not account for people who have simply given up on finding a new job.

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm

Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rate for adult men (9.8
percent), adult women (8.0 percent), teenagers (26.0 percent), whites
(8.7 percent), blacks (16.1 percent), and Hispanics (12.4 percent) showed
little or no change in September. The jobless rate for Asians was 6.4
percent, not seasonally adjusted. (See tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.)

The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks and over),
at 6.1 million, was little changed over the month but was down by 640,000
since a series high of 6.8 million in May. In September, 41.7 percent
of unemployed persons had been jobless for 27 weeks or more. (See table
A-12.)

[Betty Karlson]

10. Nepotism has changed its name:

it now styles itself Network. Different name, same wrong.

[hendo]

15. Nepotism doesnt take merit or skill into account

Whereas networking often does.

[Cal Carpenter]

2. Let's hope it's 'just' a generation

:shrug:

I don't envy these kids, that's for sure, but I also don't envy a lot of people who are mid-life or older and losing jobs, losing retirements and pensions, spending savings on health care...

I understand the value of looking at it in terms of how it is effecting the young to be sure, but it can also (in a political context) become a divide-and-conquer thing, or detract from the bigger picture.

I guess I'm just afraid this will become a generational flame war.

[LongTomH]

4. Agreed!

This economic crisis / collapse is hurting people at both ends of the age range. People over 50 - actually about 45 - are just about unemployable.

[Dulcinea]

41. Tell me about it.

I have a degree, 20 years of experience in my field, & have been out of work 19 months & counting. No one will even interview me. I took my year of graduation (1987) off of my resume, too. It doesn't take advanced math to figure out I'm in my mid-40s.

[prolesunited]

53. Yep

First in my blue-collar family to go to college. My dad was a steelworker and I remembered all-to-well the constant fears of layoffs in the '70s when the region turned into the Rust Belt.

I told myself that that was NOT going to be me. I was going to college and get an education. I worked hard all of my life and did a damn good job. I never made a ton of money, but I didn't have to worry about how to pay the bills and could even afford a vacation.

Then, I was laid off from two jobs within three years, neither one for cause. One was related to local politics and the other was lack of seniority in a union. I've literally applied for hundreds of jobs. I don't know what I'm going to do when the unemployment runs out.

I did everything "they" said to achieve the American Dream, even had a little taste of it, but now I've been tossed aside like a smelly old rag.

It would be interesting to see a breakdown on UE in terms of age and education levels.

[pnwmom]

6. I know a young man who worked hard, graduated early with what should have been

a very practical degree in mechanical engineering. Three months on the job, his whole division got laid off and a year later, all he's had are a couple telephone interviews. Such a shame to see all that education and hard work go to waste.

With a third of young college graduates having jobs that don't require their degrees, why is it that we're advocating college for everyone? I can never figure that out.

[hendo]

7. BS, MS, or PhD?

The further he went with his education the more over-qualified he will be for entry level positions.

Here's to hoping that he can find a job! :)

[pnwmom]

17. B.S. And he did very well and graduated in 3.5 years.

Because he was trying to get a job on the competition. A lot of good that did him.

[hendo]

8. Oh, and the reason why they are still advocating college is this

From the article in my OP.

People with a degree, any degree, are still more likely to be able to find work than those without one. However, they rarely are able to find a position that matches their chosen degree.

And yet it’s still very much the case that those with more education have a lower rate of unemployment. According to the most recent data available, for those 25 years and older who didn’t finish high school, the unemployment rate is 14 percent. For those with only a high school diploma but not a college degree, it drops to 10.3 percent. For those with some college or a two-year degree, it falls to 8.7 percent.

[pnwmom]

18. Great. We're mostly trying to help employers, then, by giving

them college grads for the cost of a high school grad.

[uncommon]

45. Ding ding ding - you win!

[uncommon]

44. I wonder this too - most college grads I know are working in unrelated fields right alongside

people without degrees. The only difference is a huge student loan bill.

We need to advocate that people go in the direction they are best suited for that will give them the best chance for success - this is NOT always college and I am tired of hearing it.

[ClarkUSA]

9. 8 million jobs were lost before Pres. Obama's economic policies were implemented.

This is the aftermath, even in recovery from a near-Great Depression II.

I have a friend who is going back for her masters degree while working as a crew member at Trader Joe's 30 hours a week. She's pretty upbeat about her prospects when she graduates next year. You gotta do what you can.

Thankfully, because of HCR, she doesn't have to worry about buying health insurance for a few more years.

[MedicalAdmin]

36. clarify; "Thankfully, because of HCR, she doesn't have to worry about buying health insurance "

Doesn't have to worry because ... (fill in the blank please).

In my case, I don't qualify for subsidy (I make too much on paper) and because of a pre-existing condition I can't offer the shit insurance that is offered at HUGE premium costs.

And no, Virginia, Santa Claus isn't going to fix this. I have been offered insurance which I cannot afford, I don't qualify for the state pool(haven't been turned down) or subsidies (make too much on paper because I own (a small) part of the clinic I work at and on paper my gross income is too big despite the fact that my takehome is less than our receptionist by a wide margin.

And as a clinic manager, a former employee of BCBS, and former union lobbiest who worked on health insurance issues, I can tell you that nothing in the HCR bill will change my situation or that of anyone else one freakin iota.

So if this chick has figured out how to game the system, then I and a lot of other people desperately need to know how to as well.

[diane in sf]

11. Sounds like what happened in the mid 70s when I was coming out of school. No one

I know had a real job until sometime in the 80s unless they had some kind of family connection or did something extremely technical. That was the first third of the boomers hitting a bad, too small job market, plus the 73 oil shock.

Just to add, I have a number of friends now in their 50s who lost jobs in the last five years who have not been able to find anything. They are just hoping to survive long enough on unemployment, odd jobs, and when those run out welfare plus scrounging to collect their now diminished social security payments.

The young and old are all victims of the last thirty years war on the middle class.

[jdp349]

12. As a member of this generation

I can tell you that at no point in my life have I ever felt such an overwhelming and crushing sense of failure and regret. I went to a top tier 1 university and graduated a few months ago, studied economics, politics and business and graduated with a 3.5. I held 5 different internships in broadcast journalism, television networks, the film industry and politics. I have a nice resume but it's absolutely useless because I have no job to show for it. I don't need another internship, I need a job!

[Mimosa]

14. Sad to say, you picked the wrong fields

Too many people are choosing to be educated in fields which have been cutting back severely for nearly 20 years. Evenwhen the economy was better those professions were overly competitive and there weren't even openings for teaching jobs unless somebody had very impressive experience and a C.V.

[pnwmom]

19. What are the good fields? The young engineers often aren't

getting jobs either.

[NutmegYankee]

24. Isn't that just messed up?

And yet we constantly hear the call that we need more engineers!

[pnwmom]

25. My nephew got a mechanical engineering B.S. from an excellent school

more than a year ago and still hasn't found a job. (Well, he did get one but got laid off with his whole division after 3 months.)

[hendo]

28. maybe he could get a group of engineers together

start their own company, make something cool and unique, and use it as a means to get bought out ;)

Its all about the entrepreneurial spirit!

[cap]

47. you need access to capital

an angel investor requires that you put up some of your own money. So where's the money coming from?

[hendo]

55. Show me a business plan,

there is also the option of a micro-loan ;)

Yes, it is damned hard to start a business, and even harder to get it off the ground. However, in these times when the big corporations aren't hiring, it is an option. Every big corporation started small.

[Art_from_Ark]

30. I guess medicine would be the best field (as far as prospects go),

but not too many people have an aptitude for that type of work.

[hendo]

29. Wrong fields? Since when are business degrees in less demand? NT

[prolesunited]

54. Are you at all telegenic?

Why not create your own YouTube channel and promote the hell out of yourself?

[Drale]

13. Im having trouble just finding

part time work, Ive filled out like 60 applications and I've had one interview.

[pnwmom]

20. Hang in there, Drale. Wish I could do more than say good luck! n/t

[Drale]

26. Thanks

my friend is leaving his job at the end of the month and I am trying to finaggle my way into the place of his replacement.

[pnwmom]

21. self-delete. nt

[hendo]

35. Do you have a degree? NT

[L0oniX]

16. The 20 somethings are doomed unless they are good at growing food.

The whole world is going down the oil drain and denial keeps it going that way. Get informed and get prepared or you can look forward to starving. I plan on sailing down to the islands when the country crashes ...and it will crash!

[Name removed]

22. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[LanternWaste]

42. Wonderfully dramatic...

Wonderfully dramatic dystopian fantasies straight out of hack-authored and badly-written science fiction short stories.

[RagAss]

23. From this hotbed of alienation...perhaps a revolutionary?

[hendo]

27. a revolutionary for what purpose though.

Not all revolutionaries do good things, in fact some are quite evil.

[Romulox]

37. Reshuffling the deck is an end in itself. nt

[hendo]

38. Even Hitler was a revolutionary. So was Mao

and both of them brought ruin to their countries.

If you would like, we can go back to Oliver Cromwell, he was pretty bad too.

Change at the barrel of a gun, or in Cromwell's case, edge of a sword often fails to bring about a more progressive government. The American Revolution is an exception.

[Romulox]

43. Hitler and Mao were thereafter the Status Quo. Your double edged sword cuts both ways!

:hi:

[hendo]

46. That it does

However, they both created systems that were damned near impossible to break away from as long as they were alive.

[Romulox]

48. Still, "Hitler was once a revolutionary" is not a good argument in support of Chairman Mao's gov't

If this were algebra, the two sides of the equation cancel one another out, and no logical point lies in pointing out that those in power were once out of power.

[hendo]

49. :) Yup, slow day. What can i say, I was bored ;)

edit: and I like bumping important threads ;)
and yes, i would still bump this even if it were not my own.

[phylny]

31. Our daughter has a BS in Engineering Science, a BA in Philosophy,

and a minor in Civil Engineering. She cannot find a job in her field, and is working at a chain drugstore. Working her ass off, mind you.

We're very proud that she is self-sufficient and has health benefits in this day and age.

[hendo]

33. Job prospects?

A civil engineer would make a great Home inspector, and Philosophy majors make great lawyers :) Might she be interested in either of those?

[MrScorpio]

32. There's always Paris... nt

[hendo]

34. and live under the rule of Sarkosy? I'd rather not. NT

[the redcoat]

39. Ain't it the truth...Just got my B.S.E.E.

and just getting an interview is nearly impossible. When I finally got one, I didn't get the job because they decided (after they interviewed me) that they needed someone who spoke Mandarin. Sigh.

I've been blessed with a caring family, so right now I'm still at home, teaching SAT classes while I earn my Masters, which is actually decent hourly pay, but not many hours.

[hendo]

50. Well, a lot of the people you woudl be talkign to in your field

live in China. Good news is that if they wanted someone who spoke Mandarin, they were likely going to ship you off to China. So, you dodged a bullet (assuming you want to remain in the US).

[ksecus]

40. sad but true

I have two children, a 20 yr old son and an 18 yr old daughter. Both are enrolled at Kent State and are having a rough time of it. My daughter is going into the medical field and I believe there will be plenty of jobs for her when she graduates, my son is undecided and unsure which field he wants to get into. Theyve both worked in retail to save money for school but even those jobs are getting tough to land.

[hendo]

51. There will always be jobs in medicine :)

As for your son, he may want to think long and hard about what he studies.

[Greyhound]

52. And the race to the bottom comes around the clubhouse turn... n/t

[hendo]

56. We're number 1!!

on a side note, a few things that the US is #1 at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/13/america-is-number-one_n_760544.html

[hendo]

57. Bump for great justice! NT