It is irritating that people are constantly talking about the "downturn"--who was the brilliant person who came up with that euphemism?--always talk about people losing their jobs.
But not about those people who have not been able to find jobs over the past year. These are people who hold multiple degrees. They are not competing in the job market with the people who just lost their jobs at Linens 'n Things or even will be losing them at GM, DHL, or any of these other corporations. No. These are people who occupied upper tier management positions in specialized fields. And hold multiple graduate degrees within those specialized fields.
And the worst part of this particular cohort is that they don't qualify for unemployment benefits. Instead, they live on their 401k's or what little savings they have left. While it is devastating that people are losing their jobs, from where I stand, at least they have benefits they can look forward to. And Congress is contemplating extending unemployment benefits for those who have already been on them for a while. Again, relatively speaking, the appear "lucky."
But not being able to find a job after going to school at least seven additional years to the four for a B.A. is absolutely devastating. Because the likelihood is that while receiving that additional education, that person was not being paid, or if they were for being either a Teaching Assistant or a Research Assistant, the actual pay is enough to qualify one for food stamps and other Federal Aid.
It would be nice if, finally, the mass media would address this very significant cohort of the population in their stories, rather than just focusing on the easy, sensationalist stories regarding lay-offs in large corporations.
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