Upon graduating from George Mason University with a M.S. in Conflict Analysis & Resolution at age 25, I received an I’m sorry, good luck in your future endeavors email from a medium-sized nonprofit in Washington, D.C.; I didn’t meet their internship requirements! I didn’t return home after college the first or second time around, but I know what it is like to work three part-time jobs, take classes in the evening, and fall asleep on an air mattress wrapped up in a sleeping bag. If it was not for my wonderful wife and her more stable career, I would be sleeping on it tonight.
I may not fit the Boomerang Generation label squarely, which has been applied to youth born between 1977 and 1989 who have returned home after a brief period of time living on their own, but I struggle, feel lost from time to time, and find reasons to leave my low-paying job on a daily basis. Auto and health insurance along with utilities and rent keep my wallet thin, but it is uncertainty about what to do next that I struggle with the most.
Globalization and other social changes have fostered the outsourcing and elimination of many jobs; real wages have fallen over the last twenty years, credit card debt is climbing, a college degree or even two no longer ensures job stability. Blame can be thrown left and right, but change is constant and adapting to the emerging economic environment is necessary.
