Not Working Nation: Tales In Transition

Julia, 25, Forensic psychologist

Where do you live? Jacksonville, N.C.

When did you graduate or move? Graduated in May, moved in July.

What was your field of study? Forensic psychology.

How long have you been actively job-hunting? 8 months.

What sort of job are you looking for? Anything at this point.

Any interviews? I was called in for an interview, only to be called back a couple of hours later to find out that the job had been filled.

What are your biggest obstacles? (Do you have to move back in with your parents? Do you have a mortgage to worry about?) My husband is in the Marine Corp and his current duty station has us living in a small, isolated town with limited job opportunities. I'm finding my education is making me over qualified for most of the jobs in the area and because I have spent so much time in school and I don't meet the experience requirements for the jobs that are in my education range, I'm sort of stuck in limbo.

What are your biggest frustrations? I think the most frustrating thing is sending out countless applications daily and never hearing anything. Is anyone out there?

What are your biggest fears? Never getting hired.

What do you do all day? Job applications, cleaning, taking care of the house, the dog and my wonderful husband.

Do you have big financial worries -- family obligations? Loans you're supposed to pay back? A growing credit card bill? Student loans, student loans, student loans and a growing credit card bill.

Any final thoughts? I wish there was more job support for military spouses. 

David, 26, biomedical engineer

Where do you live? Richmond, VA

When did you graduate or move? May 2009

What was your field of study? Biomedical Engineering/Mathematics/Physics

How long have you been actively job hunting? I have been looking for a job since graduating this past May.

What sort of job are you looking for? Ideally, I would obtain a position as biomedical engineer and develop cardiac medical devices, such as, artificial heart valves, ventricular assist devices, and implantable cardioverter defibrillators. Alternatively, any mechanical engineering job would suffice. Regretfully, the job title, fry cook, is looking like an excellent position with plenty of room for advancement.

Any interviews? What's an interview?

What are your biggest obstacles? (Do you have to move back in with your parents? Do you have a mortgage to worry about?) I need to get reestablished. In other words, I need a short-term job, an apartment, and a car.

What are your biggest frustrations? I can't find a car.

What are your biggest fears? That I will stay underemployed.

What do you do all day? I tweet on my-face-space-book blog. Also, I babysit my two year old nephew.

Do you have big financial worries -- family obligations? Loans you're supposed to pay back? A growing credit card bill? I have a hefty amount of school debt. I do not have any credit card debt.

Do you have a partner or spouse who works? No.

Any final thoughts? I'm considering putting together a fake resume just to waste the time of the human resources department. I'm bored and frustrated. Yes, I received my PhD from Harvard.

Alison, 28, school counselor

Where do you live? Chicago, IL

When did you graduate or move? I moved back to Chicago in June of 2009

What was your field of study? School counseling.

How long have you been actively job hunting? Ever since I got here.

What sort of job are you looking for? At first it was strictly school counseling, then I opened up to any kind of counseling, then any kind of youth work, now I'm to the point of applying for office jobs. I need money, so I'll do anything.

Any interviews? Yes, they come in waves. I'll go two weeks with nothing and then have 3 in one week. I've been VERY close to getting a couple, and later got edged out by a bilingual candidate.

Are they in the same part of the country or a different part? Same part.

What are your biggest obstacles? (Do you have to move back in with your parents? Do you have a mortgage to worry about?) Really, just living month to month is an obstacle. My husband and I are both looking for work so we have to scrape together rent, utilities, and credit card payments every month by temping and selling our things.

What are your biggest frustrations? I am frustrated with consistently being edged out by bilingual candidates at the very last second after much effort and multiple interviews. For example, one school required me to submit a huge binder of programming to address their hypothetical problem scenarios, which I worked on for weeks. I went to two interviews with them and at the last second they hired someone else with ZERO training in counseling because she is bilingual. Apparently that counts for more than my graduate degree in counseling. If you want someone who is bilingual that badly, please state that in your job posting so I don't have to waste my time and get my hopes up. I am trying to learn Spanish but there is no way I can become fluent overnight, so it seems like there's absolutely nothing I can do to get a job in this town right now despite all my good training and experience. It makes me feel hopeless.

What are your biggest fears? I am afraid that I will never find something in my field and I will be miserable working at McDonald's or something, working hard everyday for minimum wage and still not being able to cover my rent, bills, and loans.

What do you do all day? I look for jobs every single day. I have applied to at least 10 jobs each day since I got here. That takes up a lot of time. I also watch more TV than anyone should, sleep more than anyone should, and feel miserable.

Do you have big financial worries -- family obligations? Loans you're supposed to pay back? A growing credit card bill? I am on a six-month unemployment leave from my student loan and that [is ending]. That is SCARY. We buy everything we need (gas, food, etc.) on the credit cards and the balances are getting higher and higher. What happens if they max out?

Faye, 34, photo editor-cum-life coach

Where do you live? Portland, Oregon

What was your last job title? Photo editor

In what industry? Photography/software

How did you find out you were losing your job? In a board meeting where the president told us that she was closing my department.

Did you have to leave immediately, or did they give you a few weeks to get used to the idea? The company has been slowly going under and there have been several waves of layoffs. The president of the company had been very transparent in that she wanted to keep as many people on board as possible for as long as she could. We had been on furlough for several months before my layoff. I had the rest of the week to collect my things, pull portfolio images off the server, etc. and was invited to be in the work space after this week to use the internet to look for work, make copies, use any equipment for job search.

Tell us a little about what you did: I stayed through the week, gathered all of my personal files and pulled work files off the server for use in my portfolio. I still have a great relationship with people in the company and stop by every once in awhile to say hello.

What was your favorite part of the job? The great people.

What was the worst part? The repetition, monotony of production work.

Did you feel like you were making a difference? Yes, as much as I could.

What have you done since you've been laid off? I have been training to become a life coach and will be certified this month. I have also taken in lots of freelance work, mostly making logos and illustrations.

Have your spending habits changed since you've been laid off? (Have you cut back on anything? Given up coffee?) Yes, I am more frugal...shopping primarily at second hand stores and buying food at discount outlets.

Do you have big financial worries? Kids in college? Etc.? I am a single mom with young kid in childcare, car, student loan, etc. no yachts or mansions.

How many jobs have you applied for since you've been laid off? 10

Are they in the same part of the country or a different part? Same.

What kind of job are you looking for next? Will it be in the same field or a different one? Why? Part time graphics work so that I can build my life coaching business, which will pay more and be very rewarding, personally.

Susan, 38, lawyer

Where do you live? Beltsville, Md.

When did you graduate or move? May of 2007

What was your field of study? Law.

How long have you been actively job-hunting? Since I finally became a member of the Maryland Bar in December of 2008.

What sort of job are you looking for? A plaintiff's attorney in employment or labor law, or in-house for a labor union or progressive non-profit.

Any interviews? One, in March.

What are your biggest obstacles? (Do you have to move back in with your parents? Do you have a mortgage to worry about?) Debt, debt, debt. I have enormous student loans. I owe my parents thousands of dollars at this point, and I owe back rent. I am living with a friend rent-free, since my family lives in other parts of the country.

What are your biggest frustrations? I'm frustrated that I worked hard to get myself through law school but I can't find steady work. There are too many lawyers and not enough jobs in this part of the country. But moving would be nearly impossible, since it would mean taking a different state's bar exam, not to mention the costs of moving.

It's also frustrating that my friends have money and spend it freely while I am constantly struggling. I can't regularly go out to eat, go to concerts, go on trips, go shopping... ultimately, I can't spend as much time with them as I would like because they are often doing things that cost money. And while I can't afford rent, they are buying houses and things to put in their houses -- and some of them like to talk about their purchases a lot, inadvertently rubbing it in. It's hard not to be resentful, since I feel I'm as deserving of a little security as they are or of the nice things they have.

 What are your biggest fears? I'm afraid I will never, ever stop owing money. I'm afraid my friends and family will tire of my situation and my frustrations. I'm afraid I will fall through the cracks. I'm afraid my mental state will deteriorate.

What do you do all day? I work out or take a long walk every day; I'd go insane if I didn't. I spend several hours every day online job hunting, looking for contacts and/or applying for jobs. I have done some pro bono and volunteer work. I volunteer for dances I like to attend so I can go to them for free -- without that opportunity, I'd be miserable. I watch a little TV, but find it depresses me if I watch too much. Sometimes I read, other times I go on day hikes. I stay current on political issues and I write my opinions about EVERYTHING (I've recently started a new blog). I do yard work and household chores. I spend copious amounts of time trying to connect with my friends on social networking sites, I think because I am so slightly worried they will forget about me if I don't. And sometimes I get angry at what seems like the futility of it all.

Do you have big financial worries -- family obligations? Loans you're supposed to pay back? A growing credit card bill? I can't get a credit card, which is for the best. I owe an unspeakable amount of money in student loans. I owe money to my parents, but they are patient with me. I also owe back rent to my last landlord. My unemployment checks don't really pay all my bills and expenses, so I borrow additional money from my parents periodically. I am lucky they can afford to help me, and they do sacrifice because of it.

Do you have a spouse or partner who works? No.

Any final thoughts? I still do want to be an attorney for a progressive cause. Most of the time, I believe that is what I was meant to do on this earth. But sometimes I can't help wondering if the decision to go to law school wasn't the biggest mistake I've ever made. Still, it does me no good to regret. The only thing I can do is keep hope alive and try not to fall through the cracks.

You can find Susan's blog at http://eatingthefruit.blogspot.com/

Krissy Domm, 31, creative writer: A clean house

 It was spooky being surrounded by the translucent images of other women’s breasts in a dark room at six in the morning, but that was my main task at the hospital.  I used to hang Mammo X-rays on the illuminated rollo-scope for the radiologists to decipher.  It was a part-time job and the pay wasn’t compensating the drive, so when my summer class schedule clashed with my work schedule, I chose to dump the part-time job.  It was really quite liberating.  Being a creative writing student, I felt that the added free time would allow me to concentrate on finally writing that long-talked-about collection of short stories.  But as they say, when you are busy you do more.  I wasn’t very busy.

            Sure, I had math and science classes three times a week, which kept me semi-occupied with occasional bouts of crying and calculator throwing, but I still had plent y of time to look for jobs and do some writing.  Which I sort of did.  After spending a few weeks sending out my resumé without getting so much as a sorry-you’re-highly-unqualified-for-this-position reply, I decided to give up and enjoy the summer. 

            My boyfriend at the time rented a room in his friend’s house.  Being somewhat of a neat freak, I’d compulsively clean his bachelor pad when I was over.  Knowing that I was broke, and noticing my attention to detail, he asked me if I would clean his house for pay.  So I began to clean twice a month for twenty dollars an hour.  Then I called my former landlord and asked him if he had any work for me.  He owned an apartment complex and hired me to clean and paint the vacated apartments, the hallways, and eventually his large, ransacked-by-children house.

            The work he had me do was anything but glamorous.  In fact, I started (and then deleted) a blog about cleaning called “I Will Clean the @$%&! Outta Your House.”  I wrote about how I judged my clients when I cleaned, the diarrhea back-splash underneath the toilet seat, the mouse-droppings and dog food in the left-behind trash bin at the apartment complex, and so forth.  At one point, my former landlord had me clean out a rental house that was abandoned by (what looked like) a family of badgers.  There was broken glass in the living room, boxes full of cigarette butts, wet clothing and empty beer cans in the basement.  They stole the dishwasher and unplugged the refrigerator.  On the hottest day of the summer I stood weeping in front of that moldy fridge filled with a sloppy mess of rotting meat, vegetables and mayonnaise.  I had forgotten my latex gloves.

To read the full essay, click here.

Nate, 26, teacher

Where do you live? South Dakota

What sort of job did you hold? Teacher

 In what industry? Middle school/High school education

 How old were most of your coworkers? A few around my age but mostly older folk

 How did you find out you were losing your job? Principal called me into his office in March. He asked me how I was doing. I admitted poorly. He told me my contract wasn't going to be renewed.

 Did you leave right away or did they give you a few weeks to get used to the idea? They gave me the option to buy out my contract and get a long-term sub for the rest of the year. I told them no. I'm glad I did. The contract pay I'm still getting throughout the summer has helped a great deal.

 Tell us a little about what you did: I taught mostly seventh grade, but I had a few courses of High School students. My topic was Language Arts/Literature.

 What was your favorite part of the job? Interacting with the students, getting to know them as people and trying my best to help them grow.

 What was the worst part? Grading, paperwork, the kids who made it difficult. My energy was shot at the end of the day and I could hardly get anything done.

 Did you like going to work? Some days. Mostly no. I was actually glad days when I would get sick, because that was an easy out.

 Did you feel like you were making a difference? Sometimes. I was always glad to help those who genuinely wanted to learn. Most times it was an up hill climb. Those that told me I was a horrible teacher I took with a grain of salt, but it still stung.

 What have you been doing since you've been laid off? Looked for work, but equally loafed. When you find out the thing you thought you wanted to do in college was not something you were good at, it definitely becomes a downer. It's easy to say that I'm depressed.

 How do you spend your days? Wake up late, skim the state work site for jobs, put in a couple online applications, take a nap, watch a movie, play online games.

 Have your spending habits changed? Trying to go to movies and rent less stuff. Unfortunately my eating habits haven't changed much because I can't cook worth a crap.

 How many jobs have you applied for since you've been laid off? 10-20

 What kind of job will you go for next? Will it be in the same industry or a different one? It will be different for the obvious reasons. I've been trying to gravitate to semi-educational jobs, but I've also applied to places where the experience is not so obvious. I'm afraid the old adage might be true, "Those that can't do, teach." If I go back to education, it could be even more difficult for me.

 

Katy, 22, art and neuroscience graduate

Where do you live? Minnesota

When did you graduate from college? May 2009

What was (were) your field(s) of study? Art and Neuroscience

How long have you been actively job-hunting? Since May

What sort of job are you looking for? Anything in the art, music, education, environmental industries — or just the food/beverage industry so I can support myself and my art.

Any interviews? No.

What are your biggest obstacles? Moving back in with parents in the remote suburbs.

What are your biggest frustrations? Living with my parents again, completely isolated from peers. Having to drive a half an hour to visit with my only two high school friends still in town. Not being able to meet new people in non-bar situations.

What are your biggest fears? Becoming a failure and wasting my youth.

Do you have any big financial worries? Loans you're supposed to pay back? A growing credit-card bill? My biggest worry is I'm going to take a mind-numbing job I absolutely hate just so I can get out of my parents house and support myself.