A Quiz for the Unemployed
I've actually stopped arguing online about unemployment, because it is obvious that the economy is pretty bad right now, and even skilled positions are difficult to come by. If you are in the construction or manufacturing industries, it's even worse. As such, if you are currently unemployed or underemployed, this will simply be another bit of salt in your wounds. I do not intend this to make you feel worse about a terrible situation, so stop reading now.
--------------------------------------------------------------
However, it has been really nagging at me how many people out there simply refuse to make themselves employable, and then blame businesses and managers for their failures. I have composed a simple quiz I'd love to give everyone who is unemployed:
1. In what field is your bachelor's degree?
The VAST majority of people I have argued with about this do not have one. They instead got into dream jobs that paid really good money to those who had high school diplomas. When the economy crashes, those are the first people you dump, because they're the easiest to replace. Those who DO have a degree are often sporting degrees in English, History, or Art, and are absolutely incensed that they can't get hired for positions that require understanding of accounting, business practices, or basic engineering principles. If your degree is all you have, it needs to be worth something.
2. What experience do you have? In what jobs? In what fields?
Those who get past stage one usually fall flat here. You have a degree in Computer Science, but your experience is working as a sales guy at Gamestop because it got you games for cheap and you could bum pot off your boss? Congratulations, you aren't qualified to be a programmer. You have a degree in economics but you never bothered to get an internship during college, so you're looking for a job with NO real world experience? You're going to be waiting a while.
3. What jobs that pay a decent wage have you applied for, despite being overqualified?
This one pretty much cleans up the remainder. You are unemployed. That means you need to find a way to make enough money to live. I don't give a shit if during an up economy you were able to demand $30 an hour to work on a production line at GM. Now you need to be willing to work as a pizza delivery driver for minimum wage plus good tips. Why? Because doing so will provide for you and your family while you look for the good job. What I keep hearing from people who have been long-term unemployed is "I used to make $X, and I'm not going to take a lesser job just because I can't find one that pays me more than I'm worth."
4. Finally, what offers do you have available if you were willing to move?
This one is huge here in Michigan. I know of people in Chicago who are actually trading up jobs for better salary and benefits. I have friends in Iowa who are currently hiring and looking for good employees. But all the people here in Michigan are out of work, running out of unemployment, and completely unwilling to move to improve their lives. If their excuses made sense, like "kids in this school district who have a stable life" or "older relatives who are sick", I get it, but the ones I hear are "I have always lived here, and I like it here. Why should I have to move because I live in a shithole?"
It's pretty simple. If you have a college degree in a good field, you are willing to swallow your pride and take lesser positions to become experienced, you are willing to take jobs that pay in order to make ends meet, and you are willing to move in order to find better opportunities, you likely aren't out of a job right now. If you are, you'll be the first hired when the economy starts looking up. Most of the people I run into who are unemployed and bitching have none of the above, and seem to think it's the job of businesses to hire unqualified, ungrateful, unmotivated employees as a community service.
Here's a case study for you:
I went to college and got a degree in Computer Science. I did this because the pay was worth it. I WANTED a degree in History, but I also understood that I could be a big fan of history, studying it on my own time, and still make real money. I worked at a 1.5 year work co-op with IBM to gain real world experience during college. I worked as a systems administrator on campus during my final few college years. In short, I made myself valuable and employable. I did this KNOWING what I was doing.
I was especially lucky, because I got out of college when the bubble was still growing, and I made good money, far more than I was worth. And I really didn't like it. It was stressful, and I was often unable to take vacations or even spend the money I was making. It occurred to me that I really needed to change jobs. During this time, the bubble burst, and I started to also realize that what I had been doing was never going to pay like it used to. So I made a hard decision. I dropped my income and went back to school to get an MBA and hopefully get away from computers. To do so, I moved back to Kansas, and I took a job making a fraction of my previous salary. I understood that what I was doing was necessary to make me able to work where I wanted.
During my MBA, I realized that what I really wanted was to finish a PhD and be a college professor in Business. I chose Business because professors in that discipline make easily double the amount made in other departments on campus. I really WANTED to go into Psychology, but doing so would mean I'd spend the rest of my life making shit wages. I made a choice. To follow this choice, I had to move again, to a city in which I knew almost no one, and to a school I'd never attended. I would also cut my salary down to around $17,000 per year as a graduate student for 5 years. I'm 2 years along in this process, and I've never been happier.
I made specific choices and sacrifices in my life. I did so because I understand what employers want, and what they value. I studied markets and salaries to find out where the good money was and where it wasn't. I made smart decisions, and as a result, I've never been unemployed. I have, however, worked tirelessly to make my life better, and I am a great, smart, worthwhile employee everywhere I work. Every time someone who made poor choices claims that it should be the job of business to reward them for making bad decisions, it makes me sick.
--------------------------------------------------------------
However, it has been really nagging at me how many people out there simply refuse to make themselves employable, and then blame businesses and managers for their failures. I have composed a simple quiz I'd love to give everyone who is unemployed:
1. In what field is your bachelor's degree?
The VAST majority of people I have argued with about this do not have one. They instead got into dream jobs that paid really good money to those who had high school diplomas. When the economy crashes, those are the first people you dump, because they're the easiest to replace. Those who DO have a degree are often sporting degrees in English, History, or Art, and are absolutely incensed that they can't get hired for positions that require understanding of accounting, business practices, or basic engineering principles. If your degree is all you have, it needs to be worth something.
2. What experience do you have? In what jobs? In what fields?
Those who get past stage one usually fall flat here. You have a degree in Computer Science, but your experience is working as a sales guy at Gamestop because it got you games for cheap and you could bum pot off your boss? Congratulations, you aren't qualified to be a programmer. You have a degree in economics but you never bothered to get an internship during college, so you're looking for a job with NO real world experience? You're going to be waiting a while.
3. What jobs that pay a decent wage have you applied for, despite being overqualified?
This one pretty much cleans up the remainder. You are unemployed. That means you need to find a way to make enough money to live. I don't give a shit if during an up economy you were able to demand $30 an hour to work on a production line at GM. Now you need to be willing to work as a pizza delivery driver for minimum wage plus good tips. Why? Because doing so will provide for you and your family while you look for the good job. What I keep hearing from people who have been long-term unemployed is "I used to make $X, and I'm not going to take a lesser job just because I can't find one that pays me more than I'm worth."
4. Finally, what offers do you have available if you were willing to move?
This one is huge here in Michigan. I know of people in Chicago who are actually trading up jobs for better salary and benefits. I have friends in Iowa who are currently hiring and looking for good employees. But all the people here in Michigan are out of work, running out of unemployment, and completely unwilling to move to improve their lives. If their excuses made sense, like "kids in this school district who have a stable life" or "older relatives who are sick", I get it, but the ones I hear are "I have always lived here, and I like it here. Why should I have to move because I live in a shithole?"
It's pretty simple. If you have a college degree in a good field, you are willing to swallow your pride and take lesser positions to become experienced, you are willing to take jobs that pay in order to make ends meet, and you are willing to move in order to find better opportunities, you likely aren't out of a job right now. If you are, you'll be the first hired when the economy starts looking up. Most of the people I run into who are unemployed and bitching have none of the above, and seem to think it's the job of businesses to hire unqualified, ungrateful, unmotivated employees as a community service.
Here's a case study for you:
I went to college and got a degree in Computer Science. I did this because the pay was worth it. I WANTED a degree in History, but I also understood that I could be a big fan of history, studying it on my own time, and still make real money. I worked at a 1.5 year work co-op with IBM to gain real world experience during college. I worked as a systems administrator on campus during my final few college years. In short, I made myself valuable and employable. I did this KNOWING what I was doing.
I was especially lucky, because I got out of college when the bubble was still growing, and I made good money, far more than I was worth. And I really didn't like it. It was stressful, and I was often unable to take vacations or even spend the money I was making. It occurred to me that I really needed to change jobs. During this time, the bubble burst, and I started to also realize that what I had been doing was never going to pay like it used to. So I made a hard decision. I dropped my income and went back to school to get an MBA and hopefully get away from computers. To do so, I moved back to Kansas, and I took a job making a fraction of my previous salary. I understood that what I was doing was necessary to make me able to work where I wanted.
During my MBA, I realized that what I really wanted was to finish a PhD and be a college professor in Business. I chose Business because professors in that discipline make easily double the amount made in other departments on campus. I really WANTED to go into Psychology, but doing so would mean I'd spend the rest of my life making shit wages. I made a choice. To follow this choice, I had to move again, to a city in which I knew almost no one, and to a school I'd never attended. I would also cut my salary down to around $17,000 per year as a graduate student for 5 years. I'm 2 years along in this process, and I've never been happier.
I made specific choices and sacrifices in my life. I did so because I understand what employers want, and what they value. I studied markets and salaries to find out where the good money was and where it wasn't. I made smart decisions, and as a result, I've never been unemployed. I have, however, worked tirelessly to make my life better, and I am a great, smart, worthwhile employee everywhere I work. Every time someone who made poor choices claims that it should be the job of business to reward them for making bad decisions, it makes me sick.