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I didn't expect it to happen overnight, but it's taking a long time. I live in Austin, Texas, which is supposedly the most recession-proof city in America, but I'm not buying it. Not long ago, I finished grad school, and I haven't been able to find a job. Many of those offered in this area are in the service industry. Not to sound arrogant, but I didn't just earn my Master's Degree and rack up lots of debt to go wait tables, work at a cash register, or become a bartender.
Once upon a time, several companies laid off the older workers past their prime and replaced them with newly college graduates. That trend seems to have trained. The last gig I did was a temporary assignment at Dell. I worked on the assembly line making less than $8.50 an hour. The majority of the people there were high school dropouts or from the lower rungs of society. In other words, I was overqualified for that position.
I keep hearing all this good news from Congress that the economy is recovering, but I'm not seeing it. Just this past week I've applied for 87 positions. I've now sent in resumes and applications to over 1,000 places in the past 3 months while I did a part-time gig. They're calling this "The Great Recession" now because this is the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.
As someone with a Master's Degree in geography, I'm wondering if the world is overpopulated now. I worry we've exceeded our carrying capacity, and there aren't enough jobs or resources for 6.7 billion and counting people. I voted for Barack Obama because I didn't trust McCain or Sarah Palin. I know the conservatives are trying to blame this on the Democrats, but Bush is the one who got us into this mess. Meanwhile, Barack Obama has made a lot of promises, and I hope he can keep them. Does anyone have any clue when the job situation is supposed to improve or have we passed the point of no return?
I didn't expect it to happen overnight, but it's taking a long time. I live in Austin, Texas, which is supposedly the most recession-proof city in America, but I'm not buying it. Not long ago, I finished grad school, and I haven't been able to find a job. Many of those offered in this area are in the service industry. Not to sound arrogant, but I didn't just earn my Master's Degree and rack up lots of debt to go wait tables, work at a cash register, or become a bartender.
Once upon a time, several companies laid off the older workers past their prime and replaced them with newly college graduates. That trend seems to have trained. The last gig I did was a temporary assignment at Dell. I worked on the assembly line making less than $8.50 an hour. The majority of the people there were high school dropouts or from the lower rungs of society. In other words, I was overqualified for that position.
I keep hearing all this good news from Congress that the economy is recovering, but I'm not seeing it. Just this past week I've applied for 87 positions. I've now sent in resumes and applications to over 1,000 places in the past 3 months while I did a part-time gig. They're calling this "The Great Recession" now because this is the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.
As someone with a Master's Degree in geography, I'm wondering if the world is overpopulated now. I worry we've exceeded our carrying capacity, and there aren't enough jobs or resources for 6.7 billion and counting people. I voted for Barack Obama because I didn't trust McCain or Sarah Palin. I know the conservatives are trying to blame this on the Democrats, but Bush is the one who got us into this mess. Meanwhile, Barack Obama has made a lot of promises, and I hope he can keep them. Does anyone have any clue when the job situation is supposed to improve or have we passed the point of no return?
A few things first. Austin...while great...IS NOT the most recession proof city. They are for sure insulated, but are just within the last 12-15 months being exposed to the economic conditions. And I hate to break it to you...but you just got a Master's degree in Geography. Geography. Is that really the best and most 'bang for buck' choice you could have made during this economic crisis? Were you really expecting to be inundated with job offers in the Geography job market or it's ancillary employment opportunities? That is why you're working service jobs, and are over qualified at the temp ones. Austin inherently is a service oriented market.
It's at it's core a college/State government town.
The economy lost over 14 MILLION jobs. People are having to take lesser jobs, for lesser pay. You as a recent college graduate WILL be one of them. Welcome to the real world. The job situation...you have to "re-tool" your perception on the job situation. You're expecting a return to "normal". What you have to realize is...while there will be an improvement, in jobs, the economy both local and national, there will be NO RETURN to what you saw pre-2008. In the mean time, you're either faced with getting a State job or getting out of Austin, job wise for sure.
Recovery definitely seemed to slow down but there has been very encouraging news recently from companies that are good indicators of economic growth, Caterpillar, Union Pacific, and 3M. If you're constructing things, shippings goods or making goods they benefit.
The change they voted for, was getting the one's who put us in such a deep hole and dire straights out ASAP. Free men, honest men, do not need to steal and cheat their way to wealth and power.
What position did I expect to land? What does geography have to offer? Hello people! Has anyone ever heard of GIS or urban and regional planning? Have you heard of environmental specialists, cartographers, remote sensing, or data sampling? One of the first things I learned in my major is that most Americans are clueless when it comes to geography. They don't understand it's an interdisciplinary study, and they assume it's all comprised of cartography which is mapmaking.
Believe me! I'm ready to leave Texas anytime. I originally wanted to move out to California after finishing college when I got my undergraduate degree, but the economy has put those plans on hold. That's why I went to graduate school. I'm more than willing to move somewhere over 1000 miles away if I have to.
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