The days of a single bread winner raising a family from his job that a trained monkey could do are almost over. My old man was a meat cutter and we were a middle class nuclear family. Used to be that you could graduate form high school and work your way up to a decent job in a couple years - even if you weren't bright or talented or skilled. Joe Sixpack could have a wife, two kids and new cars just by sweeping floors at the college, or putting tires on cars, or paving streets or most any other job. But that's not possible today. There are too many people trying to get these sorts of jobs and there are not enough people with brains and talent. A big part of that problem is from how we've lowered educational standards and frowned upon intelligence. When I was in school, all schools had a big ol' board in the gym that showed various athletic records. Everybody knew the starters on the football team. All the jocks earned their letters and wore cool jackets. Athletic ability was glorified and public. But Iowa Basics scores? Secret. IQ tests? Not sharing those. Grades? Not for public use. Could you imagine if they posted record setting IQ scores or exam grades or anything like that? Intellectual achievement was hidden, secret, something to be ashamed of. Guess what happens when you do that? You end up with a whole lot of people who are capable of the easy, menial jobs but not the intellectually challenging ones.
There is no job that allows a person to survive. Let alone maintaining any middle-class status. Even grocery stores want workers with retail experience - if they are hiring at all. I know several who had great jobs before, now a part-time temporary US 2010 Census that some managed to find. Some said that they couldn't even get a Census job - car has broken down and they cannot afford to repair it. People are stealing vehicle registration tags where I am. Many cannot afford to insure or register their cars any more. The police are fining those whose tags are stolen! Welcome to sunny California!
After 99 weeks I would be considering: 1) moving furniture 2) working at loading docks 3) highway work 4) home depot 5) lowes etc etc and I don't even have a family to support. If I had hungry people depending on me I would do *anything* legal and honorable to feed and shelter them.
What make you think that these places would hire you unless you have prior experience and special contacts? The Census seem to be the only job not requiring prior experience that doesn't exclude the over 50 folks! P/S By the way, this hippie didn't get unemployment benefits - was working on 1099 contracts before the recession hit. In a way, I am envious of those getting all these extensions. I am working now, but it is part-time and very temporary - but good enough for a hippie living a very simple life.
Dude, you are so out of touch. Even accountants can't find jobs. If there's ever been an industry that has always been in demand it's been accounting. Do a little research and find out how many accountants - even CPA's - are out of work and can't find new work. I know people in the health care industry who have gotten laid off. How could you possibly be so unaware of the dire employment situation?
What would you do, get a nursing degree? Nurses are in such high demand they get $5,000 signing bonuses. News flash! That was pre-2007. Even nurses are unemployed because there are so many people who can't pay their medical bills and the hospitals have to eat the cost. Nurses are taking on more patients at a time and nursing students are filling in the gaps and learning fast. Unfortunately, they probably won't have a job to come to when they graduate.
LOL! My neighbor used to work at a high paying job in the trades and not surprisingly he's unemployed. He has applied to moving companies, shipping companies, HD, LOW, got retrained to do flag work on road construction. Guess what? Yeah, he's still unemployed. Perhaps you could come up with 5 more things he could try and I'll let him know I'm amazed at how ignorant the employed are. If you have a job you have no idea what it is like to find work because you are experiencing the heartache.