| Topic Name: |
How bad is this job market? |
| Message Name: |
Not to be harsh either |
| Date Posted: |
08/19/2004 |
| In Reply To: |
I see a lot of postings from people complaining about not being able to find a job that pays what their last one did.
While I understand that everyone wants to "move ahead" in their careers, sometimes you have to take a step back to take a step forward. Remember that the world does not "owe" you a job of your liking. Outsourcing? That's another way of saying that other people are willing to work at the same job for less. Why do you think that you have more right to that job than they do?
The reality is that the job market is like any other market. Prices are set to clear the supply and demand. Having an attitude of wanting to prove your value will take you a lot further than the attitude of "I'm overqualified and you should be eager to hire me." If you can prove your value, you will be hired at whatever the going rate is for what you do...which may not be what it was last year. It isn't for me, but I'm still happy to have a job that I love and that pays the bills and teaches me new things every day. Nonetheless, whenever I tell someone what I do (litigation consulting) they never seem to think it is very sexy or interesting. That's fine, I could compete at getting a six-figure job as a watercolor artist, but I think I'd be unemployed for a long time...
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| Message: |
But while I respect your right to your opinion, I don't quite get people who think like this.
You see, I am fundamentally a believer in the American dream and in fairness. And as such, I believe that if you undertake the time and effort necessary to educate yourself -- not to mention the debt, if you go to a job every day and do a good job regardless of how often it may reek to have to do that, if you build up the credentials in order to earn incremental increases in your personal wealth, then yes, in fact, the employers DO SO owe it to you to pay you what you're worth. And the nation, our government, owes it to the working American person to create a climate in which Americans making it possible for other Americans to succeed is rewarded. Otherwise, we live in a nation in which there is no assurance of gain for one's efforts, and ultimately, not much point in putting in the effort at all.
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