Becoming Unemployed

Many of us have experienced the unpleasantness of becoming unemployed. It doesn't help when you become unemployed in one of the most expensive cities in the world, New York City. I am personally going through the same crisis, as well as over 200,000 other New Yorkers. The task becomes daunting and disheartening when you are forced to look for another job in a field you were not working in already. I have met a few people who were forced to take a retail job after being terminated. They took a great cut in pay and also had inconvenient hours. The situation becomes dire when you realize that to get to where you were; you have to start over again.

I am currently a full-time college student who has experience in the workforce and currently lost my job due to lack of work. While receiving unemployment benefits, it is still difficult to get by in New York. I am doing the job search quest again and I am finding it difficult to get a job. I am forced to rely on my benefits to get me by. I will probably have to go back to the retail business and work the inconvenient hours once I am done with school. I also had the privilege of interviewing a person who was in the same predicament. They have chosen to stay anonymous and I will refer to him as John Doe. His story I feel represents most people in our age range, 20-30's. He was working security making over $300 a week as a part-time security guard and going to school full-time. He had become unemployed had many bills to pay. He needed to pay for health insurance, credit cards, child support, and rent. However, he was not able to suffice with unemployment benefits either. He states "there are not many jobs that will accommodate my school schedule like security but the jobs are scarce." He then went to work for the retailer, Pier 1, who could only allow him less than 10 hours a week. This now disqualified him for unemployment benefits and is now only bringing in around $100 a week. He went with Pier 1 for health benefits to save him costs. He is now anticipating his graduation in hopes he can find a better paying job. "I would prefer to get a job pertaining to my field, but I know that it I may have to get what I can in the meantime" says John Doe.

Mr. John Doe I feel represents many full-time students and even other recently unemployed people. The struggles not only represent students, but it also shows how recently unemployed people have to start from scratch. To take on jobs with a huge cut in salary can make surviving that much more difficult. The economy is making it difficult for even people with a degree to obtain a stable job.