Aug 01 2008
Ready to work, but where’s the work?
http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2008/08/01/new_report_is_expected_to_show_more_job_losses/
In a nation of hundreds of millions, is 51 thousand a huge amount? After all, it’s just a number. But think of your friend who’s a young father or mother, working long hours to support their family. They do all the right things and suddenly without clear warning their job is gone from beneath them. Fear, shock, anger, sadness, etc… Suddenly the despair of trying to make ends meet is forced upon these people. I’m sure that everyone knows at least one person that this has happened to. Maybe it’s even happened to you.
What are the preventative measures? People throughout the pecking order of companies are laid off during hard times. What separates the fired from the fixtures? Probably connections and skills separate the partitioned. When someone differentiates themselves as being indispensable, as opposed to being green or too old to train, they’ve got the “in.” I’ve never lived through a recession such as the one we’re seing now, but I’m guessing that the outcome is a lot of purged organizations with the lean ones becoming the most profitable at the end of the tunnel. Does that sound too pre-management of me? Forgive me, dear.
But, 51,000 individuals who are thrown out on their asses left to fend for themselves without earned income? The thought makes me shudder in fear of it happen for myself and in sympathy for them. I’m young and I have much less to lose. Nobody is relying on me for their food every day.
Where did the jobs go? How do we get them back? Is the real estate market completely to blame? Possibly many of the jobs lost were construction jobs in new developments. Where can these people be employed assuming that the housing boom is over and done with? Renewables? More sustainable development jobs and training are needed. Maybe that’s what I need to integrate into my future education plans.
I want to stay valuable. I want to stay relevant. Public jobs can suck and they don’t pay too well. Straight up MBA jobs are though because you could manage virtually any industry. I want to be specialized. Social and green business needs to be done. There are problems that need to be remedied and trained professionals will make a huge part in that. I don’t quite know the answer or direct path yet, but the path to a good job should include good training.
The entire country will need to work together on this problem. A new deal is needed. Who is dealing the cards? People who can look objectively at where we’ve intrinsically relied upon growth and examine whether those aspects of growth are sustainable. Taking what we know about climate change, energy supply issues and the myriad of other scientific advances we’ve made, there should be millions of jobs to be made. Not just graduate degree jobs; I’m talking life-time trades, bachelor degree jobs, and graduate school careers. Everyone can benefit from this. I want to get in line and help the building of the next bubble. No denying my motives, for sure.
