paradox wrote: ↑May 30th, 2021, 9:17 am
lynchburgwildcats wrote: ↑May 29th, 2021, 11:14 pm
paradox wrote: ↑May 29th, 2021, 9:01 pm
Things have been trending left since the financial crisis of 2008--or possibly as early as 2003 Iraq War. Either way, it's no secret that things have been moving in that direction. We really can't blame millennials for considering socialism when they come out of college with huge debts and bleak job prospects. It's not their fault.
And then a little over a decade earlier when they should be entering their prime earning years, what happens? A pandemic hits just a few years into a relative economic boom period to derail things all over again. I lost the highest paid job I've ever had due to it. The job/company was terrible though so it's not all bad in that regard.
The 2020 college class graduated into a trash job market too, and 2021 to a lesser degree. The 2021 class lost valuable summer internship opportunities in 2020 as well.
It's tough. I had a similar experience in the aftermath of the 2008 crisis. There are many who still haven't fully recovered from that one.
My brother got laid off from his accounting job early during the Great Recession. He tried for years to get back in. Eventually he was too far out from having any experience or schooling for anyone to give him any consideration, so he just gave up and settled for the relative stability of a union job in grocery. Pay is mediocre but other than no company provided retirement, the benefits are pretty good.
I'm not in the give up boat (at least not yet). Toiled for years in college athletics to catch my break, by the time I got it, I was well beyond burned out and it was a pretty mediocre compensation package. So I left, got by for a year in a dead end job, got my break in marketing only to be laid off after a few months because of COVID, got by for around six months in a dead end temp job, then took a job in healthcare with mediocre pay but overall pretty good benefits.
Mostly a dead end job as far as going up the career ladder is concerned unless I want to get promoted into a job where I'm working 50-60 hours regularly, and this time for the whole year instead of just when the athletics teams are in season, so it would be even worse. And I am never going back into a job that requires that much work unless I am forced to for financial reasons. It's not a great job, but it makes me feel productive, keeps me busy, relatively low stress, I'm home on night and weekends, and OT isn't generally allowed for hourly employees, which is basically anyone but management and providers (MD, NPs, PAs, etc.).
I'm 36, I spent the vast majority of my 20s and early 30s toiling away at work with little semblance of a personal life to try to get ahead professionally and financially. At some point in time you have to face reality and get some stability, work-life balance, and job security.