- cross-posted to:
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- cross-posted to:
- [email protected]
Well, at least it’s a systemic issue and not just me. I’ve been saying awhile now that experience is toxic and the jobs posted aren’t real. How can one send out a thousand applications and get a single interview?
It’s a terrible time to be midcareer.
When Philip Kowalski lost his job earlier this year as a USAID contractor working on aid to Ukraine due to Doge cuts, he was confident in his credentials: a master’s degree from the University of London and years of hands-on experience managing American foreign aid contracts that he thought would help him land on his feet.
Instead, he found himself adrift in what he calls “a massive pool of unemployed people who are highly qualified all competing for the same tiny pool of available jobs”.
“I’ve put out maybe 400 job applications in the last five months,” Kowalski said. “I’ve only gotten a handful of interviews. I think I’ve interviewed with six different places. It’s a really bleak situation.”
Kowalski, 36, is far from alone. From the tech-centric coasts to the US deep south, job seekers describe a market where even advanced degrees, decades of experience and thousands of applications often yield little more than silence or, often, scam calls.
This was already the case in 2020, but no one was covering it because “unemployment’s so low, it’s a you problem.” Upskill. Go to networking events. Spend a shitton of money and go into debt so you’re even more desperate for entry-level work despite decades of experience.
Meanwhile, rent goes up 15% a year, and you’re making half what you did when you moved in, after a grueling, monthslong job search that forces you to put rent on a credit card.
As Carlin said: “It’s bullshit, and it’s bad for you.”
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The entire economy at this point is companies seeing just how far they can push the horse towards the cliff edge. This is also why they’re so desperate for AI to work out for them; they know that there’s no coming back from how badly they’ve screwed workers, so next step is getting rid of the workers.
no one was covering it because “unemployment’s so low, it’s a you problem."
Kinda seems like low unemployment would make it harder to find work, no?
I hate living in this market. I’ve hated my job for years, but there’s nowhere else to go. It’s been this way for years, before the market got flooded with overqualified candidates. Now it’s a complete disaster, there must be so many people silently struggling right now.
The truly infuriating thing has been all the gaslighting around it. I posted recently about a 41% underemployment rate for college grads, but I can’t seem to find it right now. Had I known how bad shit was about to get – even without the pandemic – I may have stuck with my dead-end job at Gannett, with a subsistence wage 20 years in and no opportunity for advancement, instead of resigning with my final day being in January 2020.
Financially fucking us isn’t enough for corporate America; they’re not happy unless we’re also demoralized. And after hitting my second anniversary of living in a van yesterday, well, mission accomplished. My sleep is erratic, I never feel rested, and I don’t have A/C.
In Texas.
In summer.
I have zero hope for things turning around, because even in-person connections go nowhere. You have a good 20-minute chat at some sort of social event, exchange contact info (usually after “we might have something you’d be perfect for”), and that’s the end of it, even when I proactively follow up.
And while my housing situation is less than ideal, others have it even worse. There have been so many tech layoffs in Austin that way too many people are chasing few (if any) real jobs, and as such, someone who bought a $600K house with the assumption of a $200K salary with raises every year are now talking about being offered $80K, no options and shit benefits. I’m divorced and have no dependents, so my decisions affect no one else.
But a lot of people are looking to leave as a result, and because of mortgage rates, home sales are precipitously down, so they can’t. There’s always the option of being an absentee landlord, but with wages plummeting in the exact demographic that would buy this sort of house, no one is interested in renting for more than your mortgage payment. And you have to pull your kids away from their friends; stopping going out to eat or any social activity that isn’t free only exacerbates this without being in the neighbourhood of a financial solution.
The knock-on effects are myriad. This is what societal collapse looks like.
The knock-on effects are myriad. This is what societal collapse looks like.
Agreed 100%. Trying to not use the words “societal collapse” because we need hope to survive and I think it’s enough to just say “things are very bad right now”. Saying “society is collapsing” kinda just makes everyone feel bad in an unproductive way. I don’t think you are incorrect, I just think this is a way we can use language to help keep our heads straight.
If society is truly collapsing, then there isn’t much any of us can do about it except be there for each other. Keep your loved ones close and integrate in your community. We can survive this, and we can enjoy each other’s company along the way. We just have to stick together.
I was very careful with my wording. X “looks like” != X “is happening.” I agree we can’t fall into nihilism, but it’s no better to downplay the state of things.
