Generation Why, Why, Why?

Why finding a job as a twenty-something college graduate is more difficult than ever...


No one gets excited about jury duty. But there I was, clutching the summons in my hand like it was a ticket for the Polar Express. Last time I received the notice in the mail, I gladly sent back my excuse: I am a full-time college student not living in my hometown. But now I have no excuses. Pitifully, shamefully, I felt relieved to get out of the house and resurged with a new sense of purpose as a citizen.

My dad laughed and said, “you are now the perfect jury candidate: twenty-something, unemployed, and living at home.”

He forgot to mention frustrated.

Indeed, I am twenty-two years old, trying to jumpstart my career in the horrific traffic jam of a broken-down economy. I graduated from college in May, did some traveling abroad and then enthusiastically entered the cyclone of job hunting along with my peers. Nearly three months later, my enthusiasm has turned to resentment.

So far, I’ve done everything correctly in my life, following that certain yellow-brick path of “success” that the world told me I should follow: work hard, stop to sing and dance, avoid the flying monkeys, and at the end of your journey you’ll find an Emerald City, glowing green with your well-earned riches. I took advanced placement classes in high school, filled my plate with extra-curricular activities, worked fulltime during the summers, and graduated magna cum laude in Journalism with a minor in photography from a California State University.

I am passionate, experienced, and geared up to go. But none of this seems to matter.

And I know I’m not alone—a thought that is more frightening than comforting. A friend of mine recently graduated with her degree in Liberal Studies and a Multiple Subject Teaching Credential. Everything about her persona and background screams “teacher” and she has applied to elementary school positions throughout California. Yet no one is hiring. In fact, out of about 20 graduates from the program, only two have landed full time teaching jobs.

The go-getters, the over-achievers, the type A personalities are all drowning in a sea of rejection letters. Something is just not right with this picture.

Countless young hopefuls like yours truly, who have settled back into our parents' houses, are living in rooms still plastered with childhood memorabilia while a pile of “stuff” from our college apartments sits in the garage. To bide our time, we are taking on part-time jobs unrelated to the career field for which we prepared. Many of us shuddered at the job market and chose to continue our education with grad school. But what about those who can’t afford more bills?


The stigma of young adults who move back home after college has always been negative. “Those kids” are deemed as losers, living out of their parent’s basement, working at the Ampm—altogether lazy and unmotivated. But in 2010, “those kids” are more like me. We live at home because we are saving money. Like our grandparents’ generation, a recession forced us to grow up quickly and make practical choices—quite the opposite of the pale-faced, basement-dwelling dweebs everyone imagines. Our parents, however, still struggle with the stereotypes, frowning to their friends: yes, our Jimmy is back at home now. He still has no life.

Luckily, some parents like mine are supportive. They fully realize the job market is much narrower than it was when they entered. And having heard my complaints about capped classes and scheduling conflicts throughout college, they understand that graduating in only four years amid state-wide budget cuts was a miracle of its own.

But why is a four-years degree no longer good enough? Though the world and workforce may, I refuse to downplay my education level.

I also refuse to downplay the hardships that others are currently facing throughout the country. I know friends’ parents who are struggling to stay afloat after losing their jobs. With mortgages to pay off and children to support, their situation is much graver than mine.

Still, as a part of Generation Y, I feel a certain sense of entitlement. But what I want isn’t too much to ask. It is simply to move on with my life and get to work, goddamnit! I’ve sent out countless cover letters, resumes and applications to handfuls of jobs in journalism and related fields across the entire country. I’ve even considered unpaid internships that might get my foot in the door of a publication. I’ve made phone calls and persisted with those friendly “just checking up on my application” emails, landing a few interviews. But no luck yet.

Maybe it’s not all about luck. A voice in my head told me one day, “So you want to be a writer so bad? Uncross your fingers and keep writing!” So here I am. I truly believe that although we may wait for the economy to improve, we cannot wait for destiny to come find us.

Our country was built upon the strength of those who persevered through adversity and labored toward their greatest dreams. Now doing so seems more impossible than ever for the twenty-somethings like me, but we shouldn’t have to settle for mediocrity. I say, let’s keep persisting, keep aiming for the Emerald City or whatever dreams we foresee. In the meantime, if petty real-life commitments like jury duty excite us and get us out of the house, so be it.