"Lost Decade for Under-35 Workers"

[nepenthean]

I do not know about anyone else on this board in healthcare, but my jobs lavish many hours upon me. The only caveat I have learned to offer myself is, "Make DAMN sure you are ready for those hours, mate."

Tolerating physically handicapped, mentally handicapped people can easily wear on you. And then there are the difficult patients to consider as well.

[Underling]

Yea buddy, you got sold out. Someone lied to you in order to get your $80K. I would look into becoming a Cop. I know it sucks but if you want to be a wage slave that is a sector that work can be found, especially with a degree. Good luck buddy! We need as many good guys in law enforcement as we can get so I recommend it.

Its a sound idea, but if things go sour. I'll have to make the choice between a getting a paycheck or quitting the job they have me doing...aka tear gassing innocent and hungry people and upholding the piece of shit system that put them in that position.  I really don't know if I could stomach that moral decision. I'd honestly rather be part of the mob, than the jerkoff in the riot gear.

[max_power]

I graduated from college right into the .com bust in 2000 and have never landed a good job. Its just been getting worse since then. It breaks my heart to see young people get suckered into going to college and wasting their time and money. I try to warn some but just end up sounding like a major downer and annoying naysayer.

[divelly]

My 27 YO  daughter has an RN.
She was hired before graduating at $68K/yr plus benefits.
After 1 year she took a new job- 3x12 hrs./week for $80K.

My sister-in-law is a 35 YO pursuing a PHD.
Her only employment has been as a waitress.
Her field-Women's Studies.
Her goal- Professor of Women's Studies.

Back in the Stone Age when I was in College I wanted to be a Film Critic.
My advisor told me that 2 or 3 critics  actually got a paycheck- the rest got free movie tickets and popcorn.
I changed majors.

My HS buddy has an MFA.
While starving as a sculptor,he started driving a cab.
He saved up to buy a medallion for $40K ,wound up pulling in $65K/year and recently sold the medallion for $450K.
He is now a partner in a bar in USVI.
He never sold a sculpture.

[byelka]

The only reason I work a straight job is so I can keep my kid health-insured. If there were some way to get affordable health insurance besides signing your life away on the dotted line, I'd quit tomorrow and sell and honey and goat cheese and subversive cross-stitch and essays and the "trash" I find in other people's dumpsters.

I graduated college in 1992, in the middle of a really bad recession. No one had a job. I had a degree in Russian and religion...kinda like the women's studies major above. I had no prospects at all, so I moved to Russia. Might as well be unemployed someplace interesting, right? I think we are going to see a lot of graduates doing stuff like that, if they can scrape together the means to get there. Hiding out somewhere, hoping that things will improve.

[msufan]

The thing that we lose perspective on is that someone making $9/hr is extremely rich by global standards.

[PonyBoy78]

I do not know about anyone else on this board in healthcare, but my jobs lavish many hours upon me. The only caveat I have learned to offer myself is, "Make DAMN sure you are ready for those hours, mate."

Tolerating physically handicapped, mentally handicapped people can easily wear on you. And then there are the difficult patients to consider as well.

I'm in healthcare as well (radiology).  They can't throw enough hours at me, and I end-up working on average 50-60 hours a week (plus another 40 hours on call).

I got into this field figuring that it would be recession-resistant, allowing me more time to prep.  The plan is working so far..

[hillwalker]

Still eating Ramen and PB&J a year after I've graduated is not what I envisioned when I started this journey...but its a damn good thing I LOVE Ramen and PB&J.  

Eating Ramen and PB&J as main staples over time is going to have you laid out with -amongst other things- a serious vitamin b
deficiency, ask me how I know.

$12 an hour, if it's full time work, isn't *that* different from $30k per annum, which is only $15 hr, which is a few tax brackets higher.

Walking to work is already putting you way ahead where you would be earning $3/hr more and driving to work.

It's harvest time, and there are gardens everywhere, you'd be doing well to eat every single vegetable you
can lay yer broke-assed hands on.

I don't have any idea where you live, but here in america, unless you are deep in urban hell, there is cheap and high quality
food to be had if you ain't picky and learn where to look. Don't go to a farmers market during the market, go immediately as
it's closing, and ASK if you can have some of the stuff folks are packing up. 'I don't make a lot of money, and I really can use
some of that squash and those cucumbers."

If you went into environmental biology because it was yer passion, good on ya. If you did it because you thought it was going
to land you a cool job, you should have talked to folks in the field first. that's on you.

I make a great deal more than you, and I know that rent/utilities can be tough, look for cheaper. I haven't bought 'new' clothing
in a very long time. I don't buy new clothing any more unless there is no alternative. You got them internets, use'em. Yer paying
for it, might as well. I buy pretty nice stuff off of ebay, and pay about 1/10th-1/50th what I would pay in a store. There is a lot
of good used stuff out there. Check your local salvation army/goodwill too. They want your $5, they can use it. Get a full working
outfit for $8.

I presume you have school debt, seems everyone your age does. on $12/hr it's going to be tricky. But until that $15 turns into $50 or
so, you'll find that it's just digging you in deeper. Again, ask me how I know.

[Max und Moritz]

Actually, NO amount of money is worth sacrificing your LIFE for. Why do we do it?

Because we like to eat and have a place to sleep

post of the day right here. simple. yet so brutally honest and to the point.

Ah...for a moment I thought it was because everyone likes to have a metal coffin on wheels to teleport in, a ball-and-chain they can punch letters into and speak to communicate meaningless dribble across thousands of miles, and a million other "things" that make life completely worth living. Thanks for straightening that out. 

nice sarcasm.
people have extras but i believe the primary reason people work is food and a roof.

Are you on acid?!  Food and a roof can be had for nothing more than a bit of manual labor by oneself. It doesn't require submitting to a system that feeds you feces at every drive-thru, and a roof over your head in exchange for half a lifetime worth of debt. And that's just the beginning.

Sorry, Tim, but that´s just not true. In half of Europe and many other so-called third-world countries even working Monday to Sunday you´ll have a hard time keeping the wolf from your door - oops, sorry, I forgot the US is the navel and be-all of the planet and other countries´ reality doesn´t count

[Timactionfigures]

Actually, NO amount of money is worth sacrificing your LIFE for. Why do we do it?

Because we like to eat and have a place to sleep

post of the day right here. simple. yet so brutally honest and to the point.

Ah...for a moment I thought it was because everyone likes to have a metal coffin on wheels to teleport in, a ball-and-chain they can punch letters into and speak to communicate meaningless dribble across thousands of miles, and a million other "things" that make life completely worth living. Thanks for straightening that out. 

nice sarcasm.
people have extras but i believe the primary reason people work is food and a roof.

Are you on acid?!  Food and a roof can be had for nothing more than a bit of manual labor by oneself. It doesn't require submitting to a system that feeds you feces at every drive-thru, and a roof over your head in exchange for half a lifetime worth of debt. And that's just the beginning.

Sorry, Tim, but that´s just not true. In half of Europe and many other so-called third-world countries even working Monday to Sunday you´ll have a hard time keeping the wolf from your door - oops, sorry, I forgot the US is the navel and be-all of the planet and other countries´ reality doesn´t count

Yeah that's right! Farming and building cabins out of trees doesn't result in erected structures to live in and food to eat. Funny thing though...we've already BUILT a country filled with enough housing for everyone. But it is not affordable to everyone. And we know why that is.

Now all that's left is hunting, gardening, raising animals, and living together as REAL communities. Not these fake completely divided INDIVIDUALS who stumble around each day alone...away from their families...just trying to make it...never SURE of anything! But you can be sure the corporations and banks will keep you trapped in poverty...or rather...DEBT!

We have more "stuff" than 90% of the world! But who ever said that was a blessing? No one. They said it was a dream.

[Time]

I can relate to this personally, I'm 25 years old. Graduated from college with a B.A. in Environmental Biology last Fall and despite my best efforts combing govt, private, and non profit avenues of employment...I still can't find a decent job.  

The biggest problem? Starter/Entry level positions ($30k+) are non existent even in the supposedly growing "green" sector! I was told my degree would yield quick and fulfilling employment!  Seems to be a decent amount of high level administrator/research specialist jobs, neither of which I'm qualified for; and it doesn't seem like I ever will be at this rate.  The best I can find is low level manual labor work that is "related to the environmental field, which I wouldn't even mind if it payed more than $12/hour.  I can understand "getting my foot in the door" with a job like this...but I did not spend $80k on college to work for the same amount of money my High school dropout friends make working at the Exxon in my hometown!   I can barely pay Rent/Electric/Internet and feed myself on that.  

I work at an Animal Shelter for $12/hour right now because I can walk to it from my house but still having to call my parents and ask for money to buy shoes, clothes, minor emergencies is getting rather disheartening when I'm sitting on a degree in a "growing field" with seemingly no entry level jobs. IMO, people seem to better off  on the job hunt doing a certification program/vocational program or getting a craftsmen s license than going to college these days.

Still eating Ramen and PB&J a year after I've graduated is not what I envisioned when I started this journey...but its a damn good thing I LOVE Ramen and PB&J.  

That's what my alma mater told me when I was pursuing a business major.  The colleges are masters at using the intertwined nature of the "american dream," family expectations, money, et cetera to sell majors, no matter what the true job prospects.   Now I'm in insurance sales answering phones and dealing with other people's problems all day.  I'm an order taker.  Fun.

[Timactionfigures]

I can relate to this personally, I'm 25 years old. Graduated from college with a B.A. in Environmental Biology last Fall and despite my best efforts combing govt, private, and non profit avenues of employment...I still can't find a decent job.  

The biggest problem? Starter/Entry level positions ($30k+) are non existent even in the supposedly growing "green" sector! I was told my degree would yield quick and fulfilling employment!  Seems to be a decent amount of high level administrator/research specialist jobs, neither of which I'm qualified for; and it doesn't seem like I ever will be at this rate.  The best I can find is low level manual labor work that is "related to the environmental field, which I wouldn't even mind if it payed more than $12/hour.  I can understand "getting my foot in the door" with a job like this...but I did not spend $80k on college to work for the same amount of money my High school dropout friends make working at the Exxon in my hometown!   I can barely pay Rent/Electric/Internet and feed myself on that.  

I work at an Animal Shelter for $12/hour right now because I can walk to it from my house but still having to call my parents and ask for money to buy shoes, clothes, minor emergencies is getting rather disheartening when I'm sitting on a degree in a "growing field" with seemingly no entry level jobs. IMO, people seem to better off  on the job hunt doing a certification program/vocational program or getting a craftsmen s license than going to college these days.

Still eating Ramen and PB&J a year after I've graduated is not what I envisioned when I started this journey...but its a damn good thing I LOVE Ramen and PB&J.  

That's what my alma mater told me when I was pursuing a business major.  The colleges are masters at using the intertwined nature of the "american dream," family expectations, money, et cetera to sell majors, no matter what the true job prospects.   Now I'm in insurance sales answering phones and dealing with other people's problems all day.  I'm an order taker.  Fun.

Been there. And do you know what the real irony is? They aren't REAL problems! It's a bunch of utter stupid nonsense. 

[Time]

You got it, timaction.  The best ones are the people you know stretched to buy (as in emptied the ash tray of coins and turned over all their relatives' sofa cushions!) that shiny new BMW only to find out that their insurance goes up like $100 a month.  Those are the most fun conversations to have.

[steelmoon]

I don't usually bother posting here, but with so many supposed "lawyers" who don't know their asses from a hole in the ground, I must to protect the innocent.

In July the Dept. Of Education began offering an "Income Based Repayment Plan." Basically, 150% of the poverty line is payment free. Then you pay 15%. Finally, a humane plan. No more 50% of pay to student loan repayments.

Yes, defaulted and previously consolidated loans are eligible. Defaulted loans need merely pay 3 mos. on the income sensitive plan, then can shift to the income based plan. Previoully consolidated loans merely need to state that they plan to go into public service and get the forgiveness in 10 year, Intent is ephemeral, and in the loan boilerplate.

Jeez, where are the goddamn lawyers??!!!!!

Also, if you're lawyers, why don't you know the limits of state and federal collections. Do you know how to defend yourselves against collections, or do you whimper like ignorant whipped dogs ignorant of the law?

Oh, and, BTW. If you're really a lawyer and have kept these chumps on chump change for a couple of decades, they'll be so desperate as to cut your consolidation interest rate to less than half of what you paid before. With ZERO penalties and collection costs.

Oh, and, if you work in a nonprofit, the loan is forgiven in 10 years. Everyone else 25 yuears. The nonprofits get no tax consequences. Every one else pays, but think bankruptcy, settlement with the IRS, or what else might happen in 25 years.

Where are the goddamn lawyers??!!!!!

You're right, on paper IBR functions as a loan deferment plan that allows the borrower to pay less per month for as long as they qualify by having a low income.  But they can end up paying a lot more in accumulated interest over the term of the loan, although it's true some interest is covered by the gov for the first three years of payments if they can't cover it.  They qualify for loan forgiveness on the balance of the loan after 25 years of qualifying payments. (That's a long time to be working for chump change, as you put it). 

IBR isn't much different from Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR), which has been around for a long time.  I looked into it when I got out of law school and went to work in a state job, but I was able to get a better deal (i.e. paying more on principal and reducing accrued interest) by negotiating directly with Sallie Mae.  I also qualified for some public service loan forgiveness.

Oh, and you can't be in default to use IBR.  So it won't help the unemployed very much - and a systemic lack of jobs is the real problem facing recent grads.  And it only covers gov-subsidized loans, not private loans.  But IBR can definitely help some people, especially those planning a career in non-profits or other low-paying fields.  Of course, those jobs are pretty scarce these days too.

Maybe you should research your posts a little better before flinging insults around?  Research is one of the things lawyers get paid to do.  Of course if you're a REAL lawyer/MBA you already know that.  (Hey, just trying to protect the innocent here from purported experts who come here to set us all straight.  )  Thanks for the Harlan Ellison reference, though.

Jeez, where are the goddamn "lawyer/MBAs"

[steelmoon]

On a side note, anybody know what happened to bri?