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I went to a baseball game with my girlfriend tonight, took her home, and a friend of mine that I've known since high school texted me and wanted to come over to my condo. We're both 32, grew up together, similar family situation, same neighborhood, same college major, etc. We have as similar backgrounds as you'll find.
He has been in and out of work for years. He dropped out of college years ago after being accused of dealing drugs. There wasn't sufficient legal proof for charges, but it was enough to permanently ban him from UT-Knoxville. This was in 2008/2009. The long and short of it is that he has had numerous short term jobs, but cannot consistently stay employed.
He told me in person tonight that he was "desperately trying to stay self-sufficient." I just couldn't believe it. I have my faults, but I've been self-sufficient for many years. I've done what I needed to do to acquire skills to be relevant. Frankly, I don't even think he tries - there are plenty of jobs here paying $15/hr if you want to work. It might not be desirable work, but $15/hr for relatively unskilled labor that I know he could get is doable in my neck of the woods. He seems to have every excuse in the book. He acts with a local theater company and is waiting on an acting break. He has some vague this or that in the pipeline. He's working on some sort of personal project that he's sure will generate income. There is always an excuse as to why he can't, or won't, do an 8-5 job. 3
I've had employment struggles myself here in Tennessee. Tennessee is a terrible state for workers. Outside of Nashville, the market for white collar professionals is and remains poor. Wages are low and benefits are poor. With that said, he can't even get consistent $12/hr work. We aren't in close enough contact for me to really be able to diagnose the problem, but I just find his mindset bizarre.
We are in an employee's market, especially at the low end, where he is. $12/hr jobs or so are abundant, yet he can't seem to secure anything for more than a few months. I don't think he has any major personality problems or mental health issues. He has been low income for a decade now after he should have graduated college, and can't seem to break out of the new college grad (he didn't graduate) mindset, or employment market.
How many low income do you know that get stuck? How many don't try to better themselves?
I think you are making a generalization. You do not know anything about this person. Some folks are not 9-5 people. Who knows? I can think of a few highly paid people who are lazy. Life is just unfair. I have seen so much in the work force that I am numb. Hard work does not necessarily leads to success. There are too many variables.
But what we have are companies looking for "experienced" people - and they can't find any, so they keep the jobs open for 6-12 months. Meanwhile, there are zero entry level jobs that require no experience.
Where do these people think people got their experience from?
An empty chair does not solve more problems than a rookie.
If we TRULY had an employee's job market, we'd see tons of entry level jobs that required no experience. That hasn't happened since the dot com boom of the late 90's.
Until **** happens to you, you wont understand. Compassion is a virtue that some people never possess until they need some and it is given. Then compassion lives.
He probably does have some sort of mental health issue. You don't have to seem crazy to have a mental health issue. He is smart enough, as he went to college, but he lacks follow through and takes too many risks which wouldn't normally work out, such as drug dealing and acting. I don't know him, but its possible he has ADHD. I say that because it seems he lacks follow trough and doesn't want to do work he isn't that interested in and he takes unwise risks. I hear about people like this who have a lot of potential and once they get treated, they do well. Just my guess. Perhaps you could see if he would like to get some help to see if that is his issue.
That was my thought. Some people with mental health issues and ADHD just have a hard time. My cousin has ADHD, drug issues, and is finally back in college after dropping out of one, finishing community college, taking a break to work as a GM at Teavana, and we will see what happens with his degree is psychology. He likes to smoke pot, my uncle HATES it, but it is his life. Hopefully, he finds what he likes.
Although I do not have mental health issues, I have chronic health issues and I am looking for my "what's next." I want to move overseas, but money is tight. I have an English degree, would love to be a librarian overseas, but schooling overseas is too much and I don't want to go for a MLIS is the States. I'm looking for countries who can use English degrees.
A friend never did very well but okay. It's getting harder for him to find jobs. Many employers now run credit check before hiring someone. If you don't have a good credit rating, you are a security risk and don't get the job.
Another friend went to an ivy league college and thought he was smarter than he was. He has ADD or ADHD. He hasn't been able to hold a job.
A third friend left her job on a whim. She never thought it would be hard to get hired after 50. Surprise!
You mention drugs, OP. My experience with people involved in the drug culture in some way is that they are all differently motivated.
I have no idea which comes first, the drugs or the rather out of alignment life expectations, but it is pretty common. I suspect that the drugs are a symptom and not the cause, but I'm just guessing.
Because I have rentals, I talk to a lot of people with not enough income and bad credit and they all have lots of excuses. They also value their own free time very highly and won't take a job that involves nights or weekends, and God forbid that anyone would want them to work on a holiday. I can tell an unemployed person about a good job with high pay and good benefits and they loudly lose interest when they find out they would start on the night shift. Oh no, can't do that.
This is one of the posts that I thought was worth a reply.
I don't think he was a serious drug user, or that he is today. The two of us have done various drugs recreationally together, and somewhat recently.
I don't think our recreational drug use has any impact at all on his lifestyle, unless his drug use is at a very different and problematic level than it appears to be at.
But what we have are companies looking for "experienced" people - and they can't find any, so they keep the jobs open for 6-12 months. Meanwhile, there are zero entry level jobs that require no experience.
Where do these people think people got their experience from?
An empty chair does not solve more problems than a rookie.
If we TRULY had an employee's job market, we'd see tons of entry level jobs that required no experience. That hasn't happened since the dot com boom of the late 90's.
Again. Back to your lack of logic. Everyone had no experience at one time, so if there are 0 jobs that require no experience no one would have a job right now. I would expect someone with 3 business degrees to know this.
I agree. Everyone I know that is poor is a combination of stupid And lazy.
And everyone who arrogantly makes disparaging blanket statements like this was born a lace curtain silver spooner who NEVER had to TRULY earn ANYTHING on their own merit- they just ride their inherited privilege right up to their inherited ivory tower!
How about EARN your own way just once in your life before making such stupid blanket statements, mmmkay, Champ??
Aren't blanket generalizations fun? I mean, who do YOU think you are?
Everyone had no experience at one time, so if there are 0 jobs that require no experience no one would have a job right now.
Wrong.
It means recent grads and career changers CANNOT get jobs now. The job market was not this irrational in the 20th century.
Back in the late 90's there were entry level jobs that required no experience. Many got those jobs. Many still have jobs thanks to that experience.
Quote:
I would expect someone with 3 business degrees to know this.
I know this, the problem is you don't. You appear to believe that the current job market is rainbows and unicorns.
Tell me, since you apparently think the job market is rainbows and unicornsl, how do you expect recent grads with zero experience, and career changers, whose experience is not counted by employers (so they're treated as if they have 0 experience) are to get jobs in the fields they studied for?
It is easy to talk smack. Let's see you actually bring real actionable information to the discussion.
It means recent grads and career changers CANNOT get jobs now. The job market was not this irrational in the 20th century.
Back in the late 90's there were entry level jobs that required no experience. Many got those jobs. Many still have jobs thanks to that experience.
I know this, the problem is you don't. You appear to believe that the current job market is rainbows and unicorns.
Tell me, since you apparently think the job market is rainbows and unicornsl, how do you expect recent grads with zero experience, and career changers, whose experience is not counted by employers (so they're treated as if they have 0 experience) are to get jobs in the fields they studied for?
It is easy to talk smack. Let's see you actually bring real actionable information to the discussion.
Actually recent grads (and most recent college grads in their 20s) are getting a multitude of job offers now that pay way more than $15 an hour even if they have little or no relevant experience (ex. there are a ton a job listings that ask for "1 - 5 years" of experience & a BA degree..
It is actually career changers who are on the other side of say 35 and worse in their 40s or older that seem to be having the most trouble.
And back to those $15 an hour jobs and the trades. If you have a college degree and older than the 'just out of school 20 something' you are seen as "overqualified", and if you are interviewed the interviewer will ask in several different ways with suspicion why you want such a position and you never hear back.
And unfortunately the 'damage' is done in the OPs situation. "too many short term jobs" (a year or less in succession ) and especially a period of current unemployment more than a couple months will at some point make you completely unemployable. Remember a "resume" is nothing more than a work history and the only skills that count are those that were done in a work setting.. '
You cannot 'change' a poor work history Period.
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