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I’d like to help but don’t understand what you are really asking or looking for. What is your field now? Economics? Accounting? Teaching? Or does it not matter? Are you simply complaining about having no direction and therefore not getting many opportunities because of that?
The question of which cities offer the American Dream is a bit of an aggravating one to be honest. Makes it sound like you want things handed to you or that you are looking for the easy, low road. I’m sure that’s not your intention but that’s what it sounds like. The American Dream is a tough one to build – in any city. Your post sounds like you are just 8itchin’ about the situation you are in.
If you’re just ranting then ok, go ahead and I sincerely hope it makes you feel better. If you are looking for people to commiserate with about the current employment environment, you’ll find many here and everywhere. It’s a tough world. And although people who are having a hard time finding good employment would like to think this is different, there really are many similarities with past generations getting gainful employment. I know it didn’t come easy for me anyway.
So you’re not going to find the PanaceaVille you’re looking for. People aren’t going to run to you and give you a house or a good, stable career and 2 kids and a dog. You have to build it yourself, that’s the American Dream.
Maybe I’m naive but I love this country and am a strong believer that the American Dream is still here for people, either by way of luck, or contacts, or effort, or education, or any number of other things. You’re in a place where tech is a heavy field? Take some time (and maybe loans if you need to) and enroll in an in demand programming language or something. The choices you made put you in the position you are in. That’s not a bad thing, I’m not criticizing your choices. Own them, take stock of where you are, shift if/when you need to.
I won’t get into the details of how to do it, but will end with saying that the opportunity to do it is there – staring you right in your face.
I wish you the best of luck.
Maybe naïve, maybe you just have not seen the data and thus believe that old American dream story..
here is the news...
Social mobility in the USA is worse than the EU!!!
That's right, a working class dude has LESS chance at making to middle or upper class than his or her European counterpart!
So much for the dream, it left the building with Elvis, today the average American is less likely to move up through social strata than someone from Britain...
In short if you are BORN POOR in the USA there is a 91% chance you will remain poor, and die poor. 91%
Hard to find reasonable COL coupled with good jobs. But - if you are fully employed, you should be making good money and the COL won't be as much of a factor for you. I think if you could get a good job, you would feel more settled. I'm not sure why your present skills aren't getting you that great job? Don't be wishy-washy in interviews. Be gung-ho.
Nobody addressed some of that in that things have changed. 30 years ago when I started working the college degree you had really did make a difference. It also mattered if you had a bachelor, master, doctorate. So actual education mattered. I think it is true today that that is not what counts to very many employers.
1 So often now they only care about a certification, you could have exactly what they want in education/experience and ten other things but you don't have some ridiculous certification you could get in first week on that job so they won't hire. That is one aspect, they expect these stupid certifications in some special thing they bought to handle some aspect of business or work, and if you don't have it you are not called. They also spec this in these job descriptions.
2 If you compare job descriptions today to ones thirty years ago you can see jobs today way way way over specify the position. So they hire some writer to fictionalize the position almost hoping the moon will apply. Lots of job posting are ridiculous.
3 The job pockets prevail today unlike past to some extent. You are trying Austin, that is supposed to be a job pocket. I have no experience on that one, but ones I know like Bethesda in Maryland list hundreds of jobs. Other cities where houses are affordable have almost no good jobs.
4 Connections and an insider matter more now than ever. I hate that.
I get the point about getting things handed to them. However, some places are just unreasonably tough to make a go of it. If I had stayed back home in TN, I would still be spinning my wheels because the jobs aren't there. Some places (like the Bay Area) are too expensive for a lot of people to live there.
I of course understand that some areas are better than others. I was just speaking in general that if one has a plan for a career and applies themselves towards that plan, then they can have a career. That won’t be 100% applicable, but for a good portion of the population, it works. The American Dream is not easy street. Maybe it was easier in the past, I don’t know. But it’s still there. Hard work, discipline, persistence, perseverance, flexibility, and the most important is grit. That, for the most part, will lead to some success.
Quote:
Originally Posted by evilcart
Maybe naïve, maybe you just have not seen the data and thus believe that old American dream story..
here is the news...
Social mobility in the USA is worse than the EU!!!
That's right, a working class dude has LESS chance at making to middle or upper class than his or her European counterpart!
So much for the dream, it left the building with Elvis, today the average American is less likely to move up through social strata than someone from Britain...
In short if you are BORN POOR in the USA there is a 91% chance you will remain poor, and die poor. 91%
I haven’t seen the data. I’m talking about me and the people I know I guess. My circle of friends and associates. I’m in my early 40s’. Most of the people I work with are 50+. They’ve gone through what people now say was an easier time. They don’t make it sound easy. They all (most all anyway) struggled – a lot. As did I. It took a good amount of work get to where I am, it took a good amount of set backs, it took a good amount of risks, it took a good amount of a lot of things. Looking back, I could have done better. Looking at the present, I am satisfied.
You’re talking about an entire population. I’m talking about a person. If a person wants to do well, they target the careers that are in demand and work towards that. There’s more to it of course but the opportunity is there.
My parents came to this country in their 30’s. Raised 2 kids and took care of their own parents at the same time. They were able to buy a house and feed us. They achieved the American Dream. It was a nightmare at times (especially early on) but after 30 yrs of toil, they did it. I guess some people’s interpretation of the American Dream is different than others.
The Dream is still here. It’s just not thrown at people. It needs to be won. It has ups and downs that people need to survive through and come out better and then keep building.
I’ll stop with the inspirational stuff. I believe it is here and if something were to happen and my position and entire field were to blow up, I am confident I can re-invent myself and get to an OK level in a reasonable amount of time.
Maybe naïve, maybe you just have not seen the data and thus believe that old American dream story..
here is the news...
Social mobility in the USA is worse than the EU!!!
That's right, a working class dude has LESS chance at making to middle or upper class than his or her European counterpart!
So much for the dream, it left the building with Elvis, today the average American is less likely to move up through social strata than someone from Britain...
In short if you are BORN POOR in the USA there is a 91% chance you will remain poor, and die poor. 91%
I agree with this, as long as people keep trying to do the same thing that others did in the past. Realize that we don't make covered wagons anymore because the need for them does not exist. Many jobs today are similar to covered wagons. You are competing with lots of others to get a job on its way out the door. Why would anyone want to do that? Opportunity is available to anyone. That opportunity is not the same as in the past.
Look to other industries and figure out why so many others are making lots of money and tell me that the American Dream is dead. This is an industry by industry issue. Not all are doing bad.
Another problem is that we have been taught that it is safe to get a job. We have been told to go to school and get a job. If you don't have a job you are not doing your part. The problem with that line of thinking is that things have changed. It is better to own a business of your own. Look at the Forbes 400. Most of the list are business owners. Look at people buying the big homes, more than likely they are business owners. Read the book "The Millionaire Next Door" The majority of them are business owners.
You can not get fired as a business owner. You have all the advantages as a business owner. You have a more favorable tax system as a business owner.
Working for someone else, you can lose your income at the drop of a hat. Your income is limited. You do not get any rewards as the business grows. You can not hire someone else to do the things that you don't want to do when the business grows.
anyone can be in business in less than a couple of hours.
A guy I used to work with ended up leaving the locksmith shop we both worked for. By the next day he was working for himself. That was almost 20 years ago. He started small with one van and built it into a 6 van operation with a small shop. Although he continues to work he does not have to.
One of my former classmates worked in the funeral industry. He got a job there after high school. Eventually he learned the business and after 10 years of working there him and his wife opened a small funeral service where they would pick up bodies. That turned into a crematory and then a full fledged funeral service. He now owns 6 different funeral business operations in the area. He seldom has to work anymore.
I am part of a MLM business that sells a nutritional product. It was free to join the company. It cost me nothing to share the product. Customers buy directly from the company online. I don't have to store any product or do anything product related. Everyone buys from the company. Many other MLM companies are the same way. With social media it is a breeze to advertize what i am doing. My Linkedin account alone has over 1,200 people following me. My instagram account is growing larger everyday. I love social media. I would bet that any business could grow just from the free sites available out there.
Having a business is where it is at. Working is not cutting it for more anymore.
What very few want to admit is that white collar jobs are decaying wage wise. I think the next 5 years we could see people in IT jumping out of windows when that bubble crashes. IMO re-tool and get into the trades.
Lol, don't hate. IT is similar to telecommunications, in that either you know it or you don't. You just can't hire any Jo Schmoe off the street. True, as certain technologies emerge, traditional roles will shrink. Think Cloud servers eliminating the need for hardware engineers. However, with new technology will come a need for an engineer to install, configure, and maintain it.
I say, pick a place to live that you actually want to live in. Worry less about COL and what the job situation is. If you interview decently well, and have an education, (you do) and experience (you have), you will be working.
Pick a place to live. KNow that you will probably not afford the highest of the high in terms of rents or housing. But if you like the place, the job only becomes part of your existence. Which is what it was supposed to be in the first place.
Location: Sodo Sopa at The Villas above Kenny' s House.
2,492 posts, read 3,038,978 times
Reputation: 3916
Quote:
Originally Posted by SOON2BNSURPRISE
I agree with this, as long as people keep trying to do the same thing that others did in the past. Realize that we don't make covered wagons anymore because the need for them does not exist. Many jobs today are similar to covered wagons. You are competing with lots of others to get a job on its way out the door. Why would anyone want to do that? Opportunity is available to anyone. That opportunity is not the same as in the past.
Look to other industries and figure out why so many others are making lots of money and tell me that the American Dream is dead. This is an industry by industry issue. Not all are doing bad.
Another problem is that we have been taught that it is safe to get a job. We have been told to go to school and get a job. If you don't have a job you are not doing your part. The problem with that line of thinking is that things have changed. It is better to own a business of your own. Look at the Forbes 400. Most of the list are business owners. Look at people buying the big homes, more than likely they are business owners. Read the book "The Millionaire Next Door" The majority of them are business owners.
You can not get fired as a business owner. You have all the advantages as a business owner. You have a more favorable tax system as a business owner.
Working for someone else, you can lose your income at the drop of a hat. Your income is limited. You do not get any rewards as the business grows. You can not hire someone else to do the things that you don't want to do when the business grows.
anyone can be in business in less than a couple of hours.
A guy I used to work with ended up leaving the locksmith shop we both worked for. By the next day he was working for himself. That was almost 20 years ago. He started small with one van and built it into a 6 van operation with a small shop. Although he continues to work he does not have to.
One of my former classmates worked in the funeral industry. He got a job there after high school. Eventually he learned the business and after 10 years of working there him and his wife opened a small funeral service where they would pick up bodies. That turned into a crematory and then a full fledged funeral service. He now owns 6 different funeral business operations in the area. He seldom has to work anymore.
I am part of a MLM business that sells a nutritional product. It was free to join the company. It cost me nothing to share the product. Customers buy directly from the company online. I don't have to store any product or do anything product related. Everyone buys from the company. Many other MLM companies are the same way. With social media it is a breeze to advertize what i am doing. My Linkedin account alone has over 1,200 people following me. My instagram account is growing larger everyday. I love social media. I would bet that any business could grow just from the free sites available out there.
Having a business is where it is at. Working is not cutting it for more anymore.
You had me till the last paragraph. I know everyone says their company is different but multiple level marketing schemes are predatory at best.
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