Man I feel real bad for anyone that happened to graduate college during this and I graduated around the height of the last recession.
-
Ever wanted an RSS feed of all your favorite gaming news sites? Go check out our new Gaming Headlines feed! Read more about it here.
That job caused me an emotional breakdown 2 years ago without a pandemic in a remote understaffed overworked location(left on good terms, they didn't know, I used health as an excuse). More power to you, hold in there buddy.
Thankfully I have some support from my family but since getting my bachelors 5 years ago I've held one full time job(that nearly caused a nervous breakdown that resulted in my leaving) and about 14 part time jobs(with little chance of turning into something long term) all that had nothing to do with my degree. Trying to start some classes in accounting in the new year as I have some connections that could get me enough to live on on my own at least. Plus it's a good track for me, only have to deal with a handful of people and most of its numbers. Ironically the pandemic finally made it easy enough for me to start the classes(wish I had started sooner, but hey I took advantage of it to lose 50 lbs and take up Bass so some perks). Now if only half my family I depend upon weren't completely reckless in a pandemic, sigh
Well sure its not easy, but its even harder now, and I graduated right as a lot of job listings got removed. I at least managed to get a year experience while I was in school which is better than nothing.
For me? Well, less sex... But considering I'm a sex addict, maybe a good thing?
For my little Sister, that's a whole other story. Her boyfriend lives in Florida, also no concerts. Wearing a mask is also giving her really bad breakouts on her face which is making her depressed...
For my little Sister, that's a whole other story. Her boyfriend lives in Florida, also no concerts. Wearing a mask is also giving her really bad breakouts on her face which is making her depressed...
COVID ruined a lot of plans for this year for both myself and my daughter. I'm gutted to this day she couldn't spend the year in DayCare. She was pulled out 2 months into it. I've tried what I can as far as keeping her education up but all that social training with other kids gone :(. She has Asthma so she's genuinely not seen another kid since March.
I was working two jobs, and trying to get into electrician school before the initial March lockdowns laid me off of both jobs and postponed my application process into school. I've luckily been in close contact with our electricians union Director, but they've had to temporarily lay off near 2,000 workers, and convince some vets to take early retirement to lessen the burden on them. Finally was at a point in my life where I felt I had things figured out and then all this happened (I'm 34).
Yep, laid-off along with about 160 other people from a science museum that I could honestly see having to close its doors next year because of the massive revenue hit. Also the C-suite there has yet to take a pay cut from their six-figure salaries, afaik.
It was a cool place to work and I miss my co-workers. We've basically been scattered about. Freelance work is all I've been able to find because everything gets canceled after I apply to it.
It majorly sucks because we were getting the Pixar exhibit in April, which would have been amazing all around for everyone.
It was a cool place to work and I miss my co-workers. We've basically been scattered about. Freelance work is all I've been able to find because everything gets canceled after I apply to it.
It majorly sucks because we were getting the Pixar exhibit in April, which would have been amazing all around for everyone.
I've been very lucky so far. I started my first post-college job last year (programming) and my company is in what seems like an extremely stable industry. My girlfriend finished her teaching certification in the Spring and was able to get a job teaching at her preferred grade level and subject. We also moved into a different place that happened to fit our needs better than our last apartment.
We've both been saving and spending less (minus moving costs, etc. from the new place) because we know that no one is in the clear yet.
We've both been saving and spending less (minus moving costs, etc. from the new place) because we know that no one is in the clear yet.
While there are certainly large impacts of COVID on people, this particular story is not unique to a pandemic.
A college degree is not the magic ticket so many of us were sold on that will magically get us a job the day we graduate. Yes, this is only made worse in a recession where jobs are already fewer and experience is preferred, but it took me well over a year to get my first job out of college and it was not a great paying one and the only reason I caught that break was because the job required "new blood" as it's a legacy field that was quickly running out of "experts".
A college degree is not the magic ticket so many of us were sold on that will magically get us a job the day we graduate. Yes, this is only made worse in a recession where jobs are already fewer and experience is preferred, but it took me well over a year to get my first job out of college and it was not a great paying one and the only reason I caught that break was because the job required "new blood" as it's a legacy field that was quickly running out of "experts".
Completely fucking gobsmacked at employment benefit "running out". In my country you get the dole for as long as your unemployed. How are you supposed to survive?
They don't care. Just don't have the gall to sleep on the streets when your money runs out.
We've been fortunate not to have been impacted at all economically. I still have my engineering job, and my wife is still on track to graduate as an MLT, which is probably one of the few professions that have benefited from COVID in terms of labor market demand. Sure, it threw a wrench at some of our travel plans, but that's pretty minor all things considered.
I've been getting my full-time pay continuously all throughout this pandemic. I've even gotten a raise and bonuses. So I'm doing just fine...in my own little blue-collar bubble while legitimately all of my friends have lost their jobs and are struggling immensely.
If you're in the bubble, it's fantastic. But I'm well aware that we're in the minority. 52% of Americans ages 18-29 now live with their parents, the highest rate since the great depression. Wow.
If you're in the bubble, it's fantastic. But I'm well aware that we're in the minority. 52% of Americans ages 18-29 now live with their parents, the highest rate since the great depression. Wow.
To be fair, I'm pretty sure those numbers were on the rise pre-pandemic. It's a cultural shift, but those sorts of numbers are not all that uncommon in some countries.
Welcome to the future. Endlessly struggling to get by while a small minority live a life of pure leisure and luxury proclaiming us lazy.
I was going to study all year, leave high-school and then try to enter any college .
Well, I left high school, I ''studied'' and now...lmao, I will try college anyway but I have zero preparation to do so due covid.
(here we do a nation-wide test to try to enter a public college, this test is in late january)
At least I am lucky af in having parents with good condition, but this only makes me feel like a bigger waste while not doing anything useful.
I'm in Toronto and we're in a construction boom. Less people commuting and more people working from home has resulted in increased permitting hours as crews block off larger areas for more time.
For smaller projects, landlords are using tenant vacancies and empty rental properties as an opportunity to reno.
My cousin had a roof leak and it took a week for a roofer to even look at it they were so busy.
Yeah covid has fucked my entire year. Here I'm sitting in my car with nowhere to go, kicked out of work for a couple weeks (along with the rest of the leadership from my department) because somebody got a test and kept coming to work and then his test came back positive 7 days later. And So I'm staying away from family because I can't risk anyone getting sick.
On the verge of homelessness a couple times because of covid already throughout this year.
I'm tired.
On the verge of homelessness a couple times because of covid already throughout this year.
I'm tired.
When the first shelter in place order that started in California was the day I suppose to be my first class for sheet metal training, I had to wait 8 months to take the class. I finally got to take the class and now ranked but have to wait to get hired which may be a while because of California being in the purple tier.
Fortunately for me, the pandemic was actually somewhat of a boon for my industry, and that helped to offset any slowness from my wife's industry, which is also stable enough that most people kept their jobs, albeit with some temporary pay reductions. I'm a bit older than the demographic in the article, though, so it was more the last recession that hit harder for me.
Last recession, a lot of my friends and I (born 1984, mostly) lamented how we'd be doing so much better if we were about a decade older. I mean, that would still probably be true, and now it's also looking like we'd be even more fucked if we were about a decade younger, too.
No thankfully. If anything I'm incredibly lucky that things ended up being a bit better such as working from home indefinitely, which is something I've been wanting to happen for over a year now and my company said they are seeing more work being done and employees even happier since we've been able to do so.
Of course I would never wish a freaking pandemic would be what cause this to finally happen, but I definitely consider myself very fortunate that my life has not drastically changed too much aside from increased anxiety from Covid shit.
Of course I would never wish a freaking pandemic would be what cause this to finally happen, but I definitely consider myself very fortunate that my life has not drastically changed too much aside from increased anxiety from Covid shit.
Had a couple of pretty prestigious gigs lined up in which I poured a lot of hours. At least one of those was with a pretty established production company which would've definitely put me out there as a director. So instead of working on a big step in my career, I spend most of the time reading books and playing games because I barely had any gigs anymore. Luckily I saved up a lot so it wasn't an issue.
It's slowly picking up again but they aren't as big or interesting as my jobs were before COVID and definitely aren't as big as they maybe would've been if the prestigious gigs weren't canceled. Definitely took away all the momentum I had.
It's slowly picking up again but they aren't as big or interesting as my jobs were before COVID and definitely aren't as big as they maybe would've been if the prestigious gigs weren't canceled. Definitely took away all the momentum I had.
It wrecked all the non essential stuff like planned holidays etc and my son's 10th birthday was a bit of a shitter not being able to do anything we'd planned.
But where it matters; health, happiness and financially - we've been uncommonly fortunate I feel. My job allows me to work easily from home which I like, it's allowed us to move house out of the city to a nice village and financially we haven't been affected, other than no bonuses this year.
So yeah, I'm grateful in many ways for how it's gone.
But where it matters; health, happiness and financially - we've been uncommonly fortunate I feel. My job allows me to work easily from home which I like, it's allowed us to move house out of the city to a nice village and financially we haven't been affected, other than no bonuses this year.
So yeah, I'm grateful in many ways for how it's gone.
It's awful and I feel for young people in this climate. Graduating into the recession back in the mid-2000s, it sucked. My only advice for young people is to tell them that it gets better and gets easier as the economic climate turns around, and while I don't think we'll be out of the economic doldrums for a while -- double dip likely -- to not think that this sort of economic depression is permanent. And also there's nothiing wrong with your pursuits being delayed, if you're a young college grad it's okay to live at home and take time to get on your feet rather than have to be upheld to some unrealistic standard.
Here's hoping for better days ahead.
Here's hoping for better days ahead.
I'm privileged in that my job wasn't affected by COVID, so I've been able to maintain employment this whole time, but it definitely impacted my ability to find something new. This isn't a job I want to be stuck in long term, but it might just be as now my partner and I have a baby due in June. Prior to COVID and starting a relationship with my now partner, I had been planning on moving to Toronto at the beginning of April of this year, so I would've been super screwed had I attempted to follow through with that.
I can absolutely relate to all the younger people in their 20s.
I feel like this is going to have more long-term harm for my family, as it has really dragged down the company I work for. (16+ years)
The 2008 crash was my roughest year to date of my life, I was 26. I lost a home, 2 cars, and went completely broke. Took a long time to recover. VERY concerned about a relapse though.
Hopefully the incoming President and Administration do a LOT to help their people. Sigh
I feel like this is going to have more long-term harm for my family, as it has really dragged down the company I work for. (16+ years)
The 2008 crash was my roughest year to date of my life, I was 26. I lost a home, 2 cars, and went completely broke. Took a long time to recover. VERY concerned about a relapse though.
Hopefully the incoming President and Administration do a LOT to help their people. Sigh
My entire team got fired really early in the year but given a very long runway (turns out you can't just fire a team of a multi-million dollar design and expect someone else to finish it). So just as the pandemic started I got to secure a new job. It was stressful then, I can't imagine how it must be for folks just starting their careers or searching for new opportunities.
I was one of the extremely fortunate who already worked from home so the pandemic further cemented the need for positions that offer it at my place of work, therefore nothing changed for me other than actually getting a raise because my department was scheduled to get a pay increase to align with other roles in the same tier. It was definitely a "right place at the right time" situation.
I'm 30. I moved back with my parents after losing my job in April. I'm delivering packages for Amazon instead of working in my field....so yes
I've been unemployed ever since March (but with indefinite unemployment benefits), and will probably be unemployed until at least March 2021 as did ecommerce, marketing, contracts, web dev, etc etc for a hotel. All the while I was fully renovating my whole house.
I graduated and started working in 2008. With a swift crisis shock too were I was employed for six months without pay (government stuff I ended up cashin in all at once, but with a reduction in the total).
So, to people graduating just now I'd just like to say that life sucks and you better grow a thick skin because it's all shit.
I graduated and started working in 2008. With a swift crisis shock too were I was employed for six months without pay (government stuff I ended up cashin in all at once, but with a reduction in the total).
So, to people graduating just now I'd just like to say that life sucks and you better grow a thick skin because it's all shit.
Last edited:
Strangely I have been having one of the best years of my life. I graduated in June and finished an internship during the first wave of the pandemic. I was only out of work for about 3 weeks after that before getting my first real job that raised my standard of living dramatically, from being so poor most of my life that I never was able to buy new or used clothes and having to borrow video games from friends to now being able to save for a home.
It's wild that I am having my own personal "American Dream" moment while all this carnage and immiseration is happening all around me! I do understand the pain everyone is going through, my generation most of all because it's like 2008 all over again but worse! Most people coming out of college will be like kids in 2008 were, lots of debt, no opportunities. I hope Biden follows through on Student Debt Relief, but it's clear that is only one part of the problem.
It's wild that I am having my own personal "American Dream" moment while all this carnage and immiseration is happening all around me! I do understand the pain everyone is going through, my generation most of all because it's like 2008 all over again but worse! Most people coming out of college will be like kids in 2008 were, lots of debt, no opportunities. I hope Biden follows through on Student Debt Relief, but it's clear that is only one part of the problem.
The year has been double edged sword through and through.
I was accepted to a double degree program at a very good business school, my academic performance is good, and I even landed a lucrative internship at a company that might take me over once I graduate next year. On the other side, this is the second year in a row battling a serious depressive phase, social isolation, and then a close relative died recently without me being able to say good bye or attend the funeral...
I was accepted to a double degree program at a very good business school, my academic performance is good, and I even landed a lucrative internship at a company that might take me over once I graduate next year. On the other side, this is the second year in a row battling a serious depressive phase, social isolation, and then a close relative died recently without me being able to say good bye or attend the funeral...
Was supposed to travel to New York where I would attend a class that could help me start my own business, was in line for a promotion or two at work, was going to visit Italy and Spain abroad with family.
none of that happened of course. I got furloughed in March and haven't worked since, credit card racked up and now I have no choice but to find work in a position lower than mine, putting my life and my families at risk, because unemployment ends in a few weeks.
none of that happened of course. I got furloughed in March and haven't worked since, credit card racked up and now I have no choice but to find work in a position lower than mine, putting my life and my families at risk, because unemployment ends in a few weeks.