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How many times do we hear on this forum alone about how people "just walked into a place and had a job that day." or "I got a job at the bottom and worked my way up?" There's no shortage of stories such as these which no longer reflect the modern economic reality.
Here are the sad facts: That lawnmowing job you had when you were a kid "back in the day" has been taken by illegal aliens. That old mill you got your first job at and worked your way up in? It's been closed for years and the jobs are gone, never to return. That white collar job you before you retired? That company sent most of its work overseas, though the vulture capital firm that bought them out make a lot of money gutting the place while laying everyone off.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,551 posts, read 81,085,957 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rambler123
While it is a parody, it is still true.
How many times do we hear on this forum alone about how people "just walked into a place and had a job that day." or "I got a job at the bottom and worked my way up?" There's no shortage of stories such as these which no longer reflect the modern economic reality.
The latter part is correct, but not what was in the article. I have done that twice, and it's still possible. Just recently in 2009 I got a job at my current employer as an analyst, and have since been promoted to supervisor, then manager. Almost doubled my salary in 3 years. It took many more years (15) to do that back in the 80s.
I've heard this many times from middle-aged people who haven't had to look for a job in years. If you walk into a place now and ask about employment opportunities, they often tell you to apply online. If you refuse to leave, they will call security or the police.
How many times do we hear on this forum alone about how people "just walked into a place and had a job that day." or "I got a job at the bottom and worked my way up?" There's no shortage of stories such as these which no longer reflect the modern economic reality.
Here are the sad facts: That lawnmowing job you had when you were a kid "back in the day" has been taken by illegal aliens. That old mill you got your first job at and worked your way up in? It's been closed for years and the jobs are gone, never to return. That white collar job you before you retired? That company sent most of its work overseas, though the vulture capital firm that bought them out make a lot of money gutting the place while laying everyone off.
Such is the truth of modern life in this nation.
Another fact: Modern security in office towers make it impossible to literally walk in off the street and ask for a job. For example, where I work in NYC, you literally CANNOT get in to see anyone at a company by yourself without an appointment and this is for all the large buildings in Manhattan, not just where I work. The entrances to the elevator banks are literally blocked by turnstile gates and each is guarded, so don't think you are jumping over them and nobody's looking. You have to check in with the security desk, be ID'd, be photographed in some cases, put your bags through an x-ray machine in some cases, have the security officer at the security desk call the person you are scheduled to meet with (you have to have a name and company to give the security officer or you will be turned away if they cannot call someone to verify you have an appointment, especially if your name is not already on the computer system's calendar) and be given a pass to get through the elevator bank turnstile gate or the security officer has to open the gate for you himself. There is NO "walking in off the street" to see a company and apply on your own! I imagine security is strict in many other cities' office buildings too and there is no "walking in off the street" to barge into offices to ask for jobs (or any other reason, like peddling and soliciting), although in smaller cities the security may not be this technical ... it may just be a guard with a sign-in sheet asking questions and telephoning ahead to the company a visitor says s/he is going to.
And they walked 10 miles, in the snow, uphill, in below zero weather, to get to that job!
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