Archives for September 2016

20 Ways That Arrested Development Perfectly Sums Up The Lives Of The Underemployed

September 29, 2016 by Kay Smythe Leave a Comment

When you’re underemployed it impacts every element of you life. Whether it be family, food, love, trying to gain employment, or being employed in something that makes you hate yourself.

Writing for the Underemployed Life, I realized there was one family that knew more about being up the shitter than any other… I’d like you to meet the Bluths, and how their wonderful words of wisdom resonate with the realities of our readers.

These are the 20 Ways That Arrested Development Perfectly Sums Up The Lives Of The Underemployed

1. Your parents don’t understand how you’re so miserable and poor, so they give you the advice you think you want to hear

20th Century Fox Television

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Student Loan Debt and Benjamin Franklin

September 28, 2016 by Staff TUL Leave a Comment

We leave September with one more video about student loan debt. Last week we featured a four minute clip of student debtors being interviewed. Each person had a different college major and loan amount. We wanted to show the variety of people who are affected by this serious problem. Today’s clip is also an interview, but with just one person. It’s brief, but it gets at what makes the student loan problem a major issue.

No matter what you decide to study, be it english, math, science or any other subject, you’re likely to face the type of monthly loan payment only homeowners usually face. It’s financially crippling millions, and solutions need to be found before an entire generation is condemned to a lifetime of debt.

The person being interviewed in the clip you’re about to see is studying to be a veterinarian. When you hear her story, and her story is not unique, we think you’ll be appalled, and a little infuriated at what’s happening to our college students across the country. The rising cost of tuition far outpaces the rate of inflation in this country, and most of that extra money goes to administrative costs, not to investing in a better learning experience. We think that is, in the words of Benjamin Franklin,“total bullshit.”

What is Our Value?

September 27, 2016 by Laura MacDonald Leave a Comment

Do something you love, and you’ll never work again.

That was the dream: ‘Work hard at school and you can be whatever you want to be.’

So that is exactly what I did, or tried to do.

I was brought up as part of the pampered generation. We were told we could do a job we love when we grew up. Whatever made us happy. We were told being happy wasn’t just possible, but to be pursued as a necessity. My mam’s generation never worried about this. They took whatever work was going and lived for the weekend. Not us Millenials though. We’re better than that.

I got a good degree in a subject I loved, and for a couple of years I worked as a full time museum educator. I was a square peg in a square hole. I was sharing a love of history, poetry, art, and drama with big groups of kids. Now that might not be everyone’s idea of fun, but to me it was a thrilling and wonderful privilege. The salary wasn’t great, but the bills got paid. The opportunity for training or advancement was rare, but nevermind. Dream come true. Done.

Well, nearly.

“I’m starting to wonder if I need to consider a career change. Perhaps we can’t all earn a crust doing something we love.”

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Student Debt and the Death of The American Dream

September 26, 2016 by Tess F. Stevens 2 Comments

Image by Lloyd Morgan (license CC BY-SA 2.0)

For the past month, I’ve been waking up in the middle of the night with a single number on my mind- 42,320. When I close my eyes and brace for the sweet release of dream land, that number continues to haunt the happiest places of my mind.

I’m standing on a stage next to my rock and roll heroes, Green Day. We’re launching into a cheerful, but foreboding rendition of their new single, “Bang Bang;” a song that darkly enters the world of mass shootings, pop culture, and social media.

I had assumed the role of rhythm guitarist to back up lead singer, Billie Joe Armstrong-A man who I consider to be the coolest guy on the planet. Suddenly, a sign starts flashing in the back of the arena. The crowd and the music cease to exist. The sign is a neon marquee with the number 42,320 flashing in red. A guard gets on the stage, rips my cherry red Stratocaster out of my hands, and throws me to the floor. I’m handcuffed and escorted off the arena stage, Billie Joe and the band screaming, “Hey! Bring her back!” It was the police coming to arrest me for not paying back my student loans.

“We encourage kids to go to college, but is that the correct decision, financially speaking?”

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Getting Worked

September 23, 2016 by M. Asher Leave a Comment

I often tell my clients the worst part of being a personal trainer is having to lie about your social life. You can’t spend half an hour in the weight room with someone, talk about the beer you’ve been brewing, and the pizza you’re going to make, and still expect them to listen to your dieting advice.

The worst part isn’t the chit-chat. It isn’t the unmotivated clients. It isn’t even the uncomfortable smells, noises, and attention from people twice your age. It’s the money. For an industry that relies on trained and certified experts, starting at the bottom means earning less than minimum wage.

“As aesthetically pleasing as the fitness industry is, it has one major problem: unbilled time. It’s common practice at small studios to hire trainers as 1099 contractors, and only pay them for class time.”

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Conquering Underemployment: An Interview with Youtube stars Noah & Ross of Just Another Production Productions

September 22, 2016 by Kay Smythe Leave a Comment

I first met Noah Baron a year ago at the Anthony Gilardi Acting Studio. I wasn’t there for acting lessons, but to talent spot. I was working as a freelance journalist, writing about up-and-coming talent in Hollywood for the Huffington Post (who were not paying me). Noah stood out to me as a potential interviewee. He made YouTube videos with his best friend, made no money doing it, and dedicated a hell of a lot of his time to it. Back then, I had no idea why he would do this.

After a short meet and greet, Noah introduced me to his partner in crime, Ross Willett. Together, these two funny men run the Just Another Production Productions YouTube channel. With over 20,000 subscribers, I thought these guys had it made. That was a year ago, when the realities of working in one’s dream job seemed so much easier. Since then, I’ve moved from the United Kingdom to Los Angeles, and found myself drowning in adulthood. I chose a career in writing, and that leads to underemployment for most of us who do it.

“The balance of working in a shitty waiter job, and working on achieving your dreams should always favor your dreams.”

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Learning The Hard Way

September 21, 2016 by Staff TUL Leave a Comment

Last week in this section we highlighted the facts and consequences faced by college students who carry significant loan debt. The clip we chose pointed out how large student loan debts are causing millions to delay major life events. Today’s student debtors often lack the financial resources to live on their own, get married, or start a family. These are important cultural landmarks that for most people denote moving into a stable adulthood.

Now it’s one thing to read or hear about the strain onerous debt places on students. It’s another to hear it straight from those affected. The following four minute clip is a brief series of interviews with students who are burdened by the amounts they owe on their loans. We chose this clip because it shows people with differing degrees, majors, and debt amounts. The one thing they all have in common though is the frustration and pain of being underwater without a clear way out.

As you watch the video, it may be tempting to laugh or mock some of the students because of what they chose to study. I’ll gently remind you, those people wanted to improve themselves, and their lives, and were told loudly by us as a society that going to college was the “right” way to do it.

We plan on discussing this issue a lot at The Underemployed Life. We also know what you want to think, so tell us on our Community Board.

Underemployment in the Philippines and Working Abroad

September 19, 2016 by Stacey Gonzalez 1 Comment

An email arrived today. It was from one of the companies I applied to write for several weeks back. As the final step of the application, I had to send a picture of me carrying my college degree. I quickly checked the company’s website again. Nowhere did it say they needed a college graduate to write essays. Nevertheless, I sent a reply, politely asking them if I could send other documents to prove my writing skills-something other than a picture of a non-existent college degree. I’d already submitted a sample article on a topic of their choice. Wasn’t that enough to show them I could write?

What were the rates they were offering, you might ask? Depending on the level of difficulty and time constraints, I would get somewhere between $5 and $15 per page. Needless to say, there are far worse rates. Try scanning sites such as Upwork or Craigslist, and you’ll find employers offering a mere $1-$1.50 for a 500-word article. It’s a quick way to earn feedback, and once you get feedback, you can get better-paying clients. At least that’s how the logic goes.

“Competitive rates in the industry” equates to around $3.50-$5.00 a page. I used to work part time for a news aggregate site, churning out a minimum of three 450-word articles a day. Working part-time meant I got paid the lower end of that range. Each report had to include links to credible sources, videos, images, Tweets, and other media that would make it more ‘interesting’ for readers. That company went belly up this year. They still owe me $300 in wages and bonuses.

“The system had taken note of my IP address, and said that I was applying from a country that did not have English as a first language. I was no longer allowed to proceed with the application process. That was a new low. I had just been dumped by a computer.”

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How Do You Network When You Don’t Know Anyone?

September 16, 2016 by Candace Nicholson Leave a Comment

Photo by Townsville Chamber (license CC BY-SA 3.0)

Networking is the most underappreciated and effective way to find work in today’s job market. According to sociologist Nancy DiTomaso’s article in The New York Times, 70% of the jobs held by Americans in the current workforce were obtained through personal connections. That’s an important statistic. Suggestions for filling an open position at a company are generally passed along to those who are of the same economic, professional, and social circle as the person making the recommendation.

So what is a job seeker to do if they’re searching for a position in a field where their family, friends, and acquaintances don’t have the connections to pass along a lead? How do you network when you don’t know anyone?

Here are a few resources and tips on where to find job leads. These will assist in expanding your circle so you’re not left out in the cold.

“Don’t be afraid to be “that guy” who asks, “What advice would you give to someone who wants to get into your field today?””

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Love And Other Work

September 15, 2016 by Kay Smythe 1 Comment

Photo by Numero007 (license CC BY-SA 4.0)

Work. Life revolves around it. Growing up, I was led to believe work wasn’t to be enjoyed. It was something done as a means to an end. I was raised with a good work ethic. My father earned his degree in his late thirties, and went on to a great career, retiring around the age of sixty. My mother started working for her company as soon as she left college. For me, work was normal. People should work. Luckily, finding the right way to work is part of what youth is designed for.

I’ve done every job under the sun. I’ve been a model, a dispensing optician, bartender, door girl at a nightclub, copywriter, project manager, call center worker, etc. Right now I’m ghost writing other people’s PhDs, and writing about politics in a country where I can’t even vote. All of this, and I haven’t yet turned 23. Yeah, life is crazy.

All these jobs have taught me something of value. Some of them lasted a few weeks, others lasted my entire adolescence. Some I’m still doing today. It is a bizarre conglomeration of knowledge I’ve only found one real application for: writing.

“As I fought back the breakdown, this is what my dad would say that made absolutely no difference to my mental state, whatsoever…”

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