A couple of days ago I wrote a comment in the Vent-hole diary about how frustrated I am with my inability to find a job in this economy. As a lot of you know, I recently graduated from law school, and I took the Bar. I thought it would be relatively "easy" to find a job to fill the time until the end of October when results come out, yet here I am over a month later with no job and no prospects. Student loan payments are going to come up due soon, I can't keep putting them off (nor do I want to because at the end of the forbearances/deferments whatever interest isn't paid becomes part of the principle balance.
So I was checking out the Huffington Post to see if I missed anything interesting today, and I ran into an article about a survey from people who are unemployed. While the numbers they found in the poll are pretty dismal, it does make me feel marginally better that I'm not alone.
The numbers are pretty grim, too: Only 20 percent of those surveyed think they will land a job in the next few months, even fewer expect to get their old job back (11 percent), and most people say they feel stressed (77 percent), depressed (68 percent), helpless (61 percent), and angry (55 percent).
The survey finds that 55 percent of the unemployed say it's their first bout of joblessness in five years, 60 percent were given no notice whatsoever by their employer, and only 11 percent think they'll get their old job back.
[snip]
-- 75 percent of respondents are considering changing their career.
-- 43 percent said they'd received unemployment benefits from the government in the last year.
-- 53 percent said they had no health care benefits.
The article included a link to some additional quotes (PDF) from the survey takers, some of which I'd like to share:
After 38 years...the co[mpany] I worked for let six people go — three in billing where I worked. My seniority should have counted at that time. I wasn’t mad — more shocked than anything. I gave 110% every day I worked there. I put my job before my husband — now "ex" — and before
my kids.
I have been unemployed so long that I can no longer put off my student loan payments, which are twice the amount of all my other bills combined.
I am so afraid to become that person. . .
Even low-paying jobs are hard to find. My age (57) is hurting me.
If it makes that person feel any better, my age (26) doesn't seem to be helping me much.
Nobody has called me in seven months. I don’t feel important. I’m not contributing to family finances.
I don’t want to move back home with my parents. Right before I became unemployed, I had moved out on my own for the first me.
Interesting, I'm trying to get OUT of my parents house, I've NEVER lived on my own (I was either here at home or in a dorm at school). Just THINKING about how expensive it would be do to everything I want to do makes me feel more than a little depressed sometimes.
The lack of income and loss of health benefits hurts greatly, but losing the ability to provide for my wife and myself is killing me emotionally.
I think my Dad went through something like this before he found his current job. I know for a fact that money (the lack thereof) is causing my parents marriage a lot of strain (and it's stressing me out because I can hear all of the yelling)
I know I have talent and skill in the profession I am trained in. It is a blow to my self-esteem that I know I have this skill and it is just so difficult to compete for work in my field. I have already moved to another state in an attempt to find work, and it’s still a struggle.
I know EXACTLY how this person feels. I want to leave Ohio, and I'm thinking I'm going to end up leaving Ohio if more opportunities don't come up soon. It certainly doesn't help that I can't even apply for legal jobs because I don't know whether I passed the Bar yet.
I have never been unwillingly unemployed before.
I feel like I wasted my money going to school and still not being able to find a job.
This is sooooooooo me right now. I went into SO much debt to go back to grad school (my undergrad degree was in political science, there's NOTHING you can do with that without an advanced degree_. I'm starting to think that I wasted my money AND my time.
Everywhere...they have hired from "who they know." All my experience and skills don’t help the lack of knowing someone to get into a certain place of employment.
It's probably always been more of it's "who" you know not "what" you know, but in this economy, it's even worse.
Being unemployed is frustrating, demeaning and, at this point, frightening. Articles in the paper say we "baby boomers" will have to work for a few more years especially since so many of us have lost half if not more in retirement "funds". Now, you tell me, how can I work for a few more years if I can’t even get a job interview?!
Both financial and psychological problems are the result of not being productive. Keeping alert and busy is essential.
While I know that unemployment benefits are out there, I REALLY don't want to apply for them. I'm sure I'm not the only unemployed person who feels that way. This economy is dismal. I am at the point now where I don't even think being in a legal environment anymore is essential. I just want to be able to pay the couple of bills I have (including getting rid of some credit card debt) and start saving up to finally be out on my own. Not being able to work is seriously demoralizing. There are days where I don't even want to get up or leave the house. And I feel like this as someone who doesn't have to take care of anyone but herself, imagine how people who have FAMILIES to support are feeling?
Feel free to add your own unhappy employment story in the comments, we can commiserate together :o)