Young, Educated, and Unemployed: Lost Generation

[SoCalDem]

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

* October 9, 2010 • 12:30 pm PDT
* 208



Every three months, GOOD releases our quarterly magazine, which examines a given theme through our unique lens. Recent editions have covered topics like the impending global water crisis, the future of transportation, and the amazing rebuilding of New Orleans. This quarter's issue is about work, and we'll be rolling out a variety of stories all month. You can subscribe to GOOD here.




The Lost Generation: What it's like for 20-somethings to go in search of meaningful work—and not find it.

Since January, for 35 hours a week, at a rate of $10 an hour, Luke Stacks has been working for a home-electronics chain. He answers the phone and attempts to coax callers into buying more stuff. This is not how he imagined he would be spending his late 20s. Like a lot of us, Stacks was given a fairly straightforward version of how his life would unfold: He would go to college and study something he found interesting, graduate, and get a decent job. For a while, things went pretty much according to plan. Stacks, who now is 27, went to the University of Virginia, not far from where he grew up, majoring in American Studies. He later enrolled in a Ph.D. program at the University of Iowa, with the eventual goal of becoming a professor.

Flash forward to the fall of 2008, when the stock market crashed. There were never enough jobs for newly minted Ph.D.s to begin with, and now the likelihood of landing a tenure-track teaching position in the humanities was slim. Academia stopped looking like such a sure bet and Stacks grew disenchanted with his program. Even if he were to finish his doctorate, he reasoned, a job was in no way guaranteed to follow. He wondered, “How bad could it really be out there?” Turns out, it’s pretty bad.

So, in May of 2009, equipped with a master’s degree and a decent amount of courage, Stacks changed course. Shortly after graduation, he moved back in with his mother, who lives in Chantilly, Virginia. And from a desk in his bedroom, still littered with childhood toys and posters, Stacks started over.

What confronted him was not exactly pleasant. What once thrilled him—curating museum exhibits, making comic books, being a curious person—now seemed to make little financial sense. “I’m not confident that schooling has a direct connection with employment anymore,” he says. “But if I hadn’t received the kind of education I did, I would be less of an active citizen and less engaged in the world in ways I would not have discovered on my own.” And while passion and intellectual curiosity can’t be measured in dollars and cents, he expected they might at least secure a paycheck.

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[handmade34]

1. I have a couple

of kids feeling the pinch... the article is very good

[bobbolink]

2. There is a whole generation discovering that it is a mistake to link jobs with "education".

Education is of value for its own sake, not just as a job ticket.

From this article, at least one is now beginning to see that, and that alone is a plus.

[maryf]

11. Though the new battle cry from superintendents is Job Readiness

and bringing companies into the schools. Of course the jobs will be mostly service, food and military, so the tests are very necessary...to make sure they can push the right buttons...:grr:

[bobbolink]

12. In this country, it has always been about what the companies wanted.

My parents fell for that crap, too.

I wonder if the majority of the populace will ever get that we peons are nothing but machine widgets.

[maryf]

13. time for us widgets

to play with the machine, get it working for us...

[KoKo]

3. K&R...

[customerserviceguy]

4. American Studies - what kind of job does that prepare you for?

Anyone hoping to get some sort of professorship with something that has no practical application was just heading for the brick wall. Looks like the young man in this story managed to hit it.

[girl gone mad]

6. I could introduce you to Physics, Math and Engineering PhD's..

who are in exactly the same boat.

[customerserviceguy]

7. True

and the computer network administration degree that the State of Washington paid for me to get back in 2002-2003 still goes unused, but at least it has some practical application. I fail to see where American Studies leads to a possible job path other than teaching this to someone, who in turn will not find a remunerative use for it.

[SoCalDem]

10. I also wonder about all those journalism degrees

How sad to have spent so much money getting a degree that graduated people into a career that is so very different from what it was when they first started studying it.... and one that offers so few paid positions these days

[SoCalDem]

14. My husband has a degree in architecture, but never became an architect

and we know many others who never actually worked "in their field"...but what the good ole Liberal Arts colleges did for so long, and did so well was this:

It allowed for a specific field of study, but also included many other courses that expanded the intellect and curiosity of students...and that allowed them to see beyond their actual degree,

[Nikia]

8. Maybe some sort of museum job, non profit, or government job

In a better economy, some businesses would train liberal arts grads. I think now that if one majors in liberal arts that it is better to get a more practical grad degree unless you are at the top of your class, have already interned extensively in relevent industries, and/or have good connections. Recently though, I saw an article with a link to salary.com. Suprisingly the average English, History, or Political Science major does tend to make more than many "practical" degrees.
Anectdotally, I know a number of business majors who had trouble finding work and even a few engineering majors.
The problem is that there are so many college grads now and not enough jobs requiring degrees. Employers seem to be less flexible as well, wanting only people who meet their cookie cutter qualifications.
Regardless of major, every student's goal should be to get as high of GPA as possible, gain good internships (preferably one who can hire you full time upon graduation), and to make as many connections with people who can help you in your career as possible. I wish I had known that.

[stray cat]

5. also hitting over 40s

[SoCalDem]

9. and by then no one has money or time to go back to school & change careers

Politicians re-invent themselves all the time & don't realize that the rest of us are not as able to keep doing this.