I apologize for the long gap between posts; my excuse is that...well...there's not really much going on right now. My new classes are just getting underway and the weather (cold and snowy, kinda like most of the U.S., apparently) makes me eager to stay home where it's warm. I'm pretty excited, however, about the new research project I'll be starting on Denmark's efforts to adapt their power grid to increased wind energy and electric car usage.
While on the phone with Mom the other day, I remarked how I am one of the younger students in my Masters program. Most of the Danish and international students are in their mid-to-late twenties, and some are much older. In talking with Danes about this, I found out that in addition to graduating high school later (usually at 19), many Danes take some time off after that to travel or work before heading to college. As a result, it seems (and may be completely wrong) that Danes often have a better sense of their career (and life) goals by the time they start at university. I think that this is rarely the case for the average U.S. college freshman, and would also venture to guess that their are a fair amount of graduating seniors who still have no idea what they want to do for the long term. As a result, one's twenties become somewhat of a "find yourself" period where people bounce between jobs (or lack thereof) and often cities looking for something that fits.
You're probably thinking that this entry is a way for me to vent some angst about going through the situation I just described (and you're partly right), but I have a larger point, too. While this soul-searching period may sound like a trying but ultimately beneficial step in growing up, there is reason to believe that if done in a certain fashion, and particularly during certain times, it can actually do more harm than good. Unfortunately, this happens to be one of those times.
I read a pretty sobering article in The Atlantic today about the consequences of prolonged high-unemployment rates on society, particularly young people and men. While the economy is apparently growing again, unemployment remains at around 10 percent, and some projections have it staying their for another four years. The unemployment rate for young people is even worse. According to Pew survey cited in the article, the percentage of people ages 16 to 26 participating in the workforce fell ten percent over the last decade, to 56%. Unfortunately, this isn't entirely explained by increased enrollment in college. Job offers to graduating college seniors fell by 20% last year, and I can tell you that, anecdotally, I staggering amount of my friends have left school with no job prospects and no success after months of searching. The Atlantic article points out that their are real consequences to long periods of unemployment when your young. Kids who graduate during a recession are still making less money than their peers who didn't decades later. One stat says that the average gap in total earnings over a lifetime is $100,000. A hundred grand.
So, now that my generation knows we're screwed, we should probably get started on blaming somebody. Obviously there are tons of good candidates: Banks, politicians, terrorists, the Chinese. Unfortunately, at least according to several sociologists, some of the responsibility lies in the way that people my age think and behave. Translation: as my parents have told me for years, we're spoiled. Didn't get your dream job out of college? Just move in with your parents and chill out for awhile. No need to think long-term, being a twenty-something is about enjoying yourself. We have a sense that we're all exceptional and that things will not only work out, they will work out without us having to undergo any of the pain or suffering related to, you know, hard work. As much as I hate for my generation to be generalized, I have to say that there might be some truth to this. I can even see some of that mindset in myself.
It'd be nice if there was an easy solution, but looking for easy solutions is what got us in trouble in the first place. And by "us" I don't just mean young people. Rather than bemoan the turns of fate that thrust us into the job market during the worst economy in 30 years, the twenty-somethings need to take the best job that we can find, however undesirable, live independently, but within our means, and save for the future. If we're lucky, our learned resiliency and resourcefulness will benefit us down the road. And if worse comes to worse, we can always blame our parents for how we turned out.
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