The Job Security Myth

I was raised in a Southern, blue-collar family. “Git r’ done, boy!” and “Does a bear shit in the woods?” were some of the typical phrases heard on a daily basis. I received a rifle for my 10th birthday. Like Bubba in Forrest Gump listing every shrimp dish, my Dad has a different boat for every type of boating activity you could possibly imagine: a flats boat, a deep sea boat, a bass boat, a ski boat, a john boat, a paddle boat, a canoe, a jet ski, etc. And now they’re contemplating the purchase of a pontoon boat.

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What Do You Do?

How do you answer the question “What do you do?” It’s a decidedly quarterlife question. Until your mid-20s, most people go on the assumption that you are a student (an annoying assumption for those of us who didn’t take the collegiate route), and thus the question need not be asked. But during your post-graduate age, whenever you go out to parties, or bars, or leave your apartment at all, the question inevitably gets asked, “What do you do?”

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McJob

Written By: Allison Whalen

What came first, the job or the crisis? With the exception of the very rich, the particularly lucky, or those Bobby Fisher brainiac anomalies, most of us quarter-lifers don’t have much to brag about in the way of job experience. We’ve all done our fair share of empty-headed labour, whether selling over-priced, ill-fitting, cotton garments, dunking frozen potatoes into a grease-spattering tub, or answering a front-desk phone in a peppy, little voice that secretly wants to stab every caller with a sharp pencil. These types of work (and so many more) can be neatly categorized as “McJobs”, a term coined by the godfather of the quarter-life crisis, author Douglas Coupland. In Generation X, his sizzlin’, pink novel that swept multiple nations in the early nineties, Coupland describes the “McJob” as a “…low-pay, low-prestige, low-dignity, low-benefit, no-future job in the service sector. Frequently considered a satisfying career choice by people who have never held one.” Sound familiar?

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Where’s My Coin?

Christ, I hate internships.

Well, maybe I’m being a bit dramatic. I hate UNPAID, POST-GRADUATE internships. The very idea of them reeks of exploitation: companies feed off this reliable workforce because it’s full of desperate, eager, smart, hard-working people who’s only incentive is to move on to bigger and better things.

But before they can move on to the next life, these poor souls must deal with the purgatory that is the internship, the ever present go-between created for people who don’t have nepotism as an option to go up the ladder.

It’s not that I believe internships aren’t essential. For someone who needs to become familiar with the working world, internships allow young upstarts the opportunity to prove their worth to the powers-that-be, the gatekeepers, the bastards who can hire and fire your ass by whim. This holds doubly true for the film industry, a universe which thrives on time and money like no other; commodities which, of course, are always in very short supply. Assuming you were a businessman/manager who (presumably) worked hard to achieve their current level of status, would you want to bestow responsibility to some naïve, wet-behind-the-ears schmuck coming in from the street with little to no experience? Hell, no. [Read more]

The Enjoyment of Unemployment

Slacker, underachiever, no-good, detriment to society, straight up loser; how could someone with any sense of value take pride in unemployment?…well I’ll tell you how.

I’m a twenty-five year old college graduate with a degree in Film and Television. Two years ago I walked across the Graduation stage and took a hold of that prestigious piece of paper. It was my greatest achievement to date (step aside ’93 Little League all-star appearance), and filled me with a sense of satisfaction and success. To be honest it made me a little giddy. I was light on my feet as I walked across the stage. It felt like a pair of hands lifted me across, guided me, and reassured me with their guidance that everything was going to be ok. It was an incredible feeling and one that I’ll never forget.

In six months time those same hands were back but with a little different feeling this time. Instead of lifting me across the stage they were slamming me…in the gut…over…and over…and over…and over. Yes, my bright and shining future had a $100,000 black cloud of debt looming overhead and there was/is nothing to do but take the punches and deal with it. [Read more]

Office Romance Mantra

I can see why office romances are so common.

I understand their allure. It’s a social situation that isn’t diluted by booze, muted lighting, or ear-splitting music. The very nature of the office allows you plenty of reasonable excuses to chat and socialize. And then there’s the lunch break, which gives you an opportunity to get the know that special someone without the heightened stress and expectations normally associated with a regular date.

Face it: work is another venue for meeting new people. So much of our day is spent at work, and so it’s natural that someone at your job will eventually catch your eye. And for a person like myself, who doesn’t do the bar and club scene, work provides a rather convenient outlet, which is what makes the very idea of an office romance all the more seductive. Tempted as I am, I don’t bite the fruit. Never have. Never will. Why? [Read more]

Get Rich or Start Cryin?

Ever feel like if you could just get rich, everything would be ok? Ever feel like becoming wealthy is the most important thing? You’re not alone.

According to a Pew Research Center poll, 81 percent of 18 to 25-year-olds site getting rich as one of their generation’s most important goals and 51 percent feel the same about being famous.

In an annual survey of college freshmen by the Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California-Los Angeles, data from 2005 clearly show that money is on their minds much more than in the past. The percentage who say it is “essential” or “very important” to be “very well off financially” grew from 41.9% in 1967 to 74.5% in 2005; “developing a meaningful philosophy of life” dropped in importance from 85.8% in 1967 to 45% in 2005. [Read more]