If you were in your late teens or early twenties during the Carter recession, what was it like for you?

I remember people standing in line for a job at McDonald’s. Then I moved to California (looking for work) and there were job applications on the place-mats in McDonald’s. I guess California recovered a lot faster than Oregon.

I graduated in 1980 with a degree in finance, and several years experience under my belt of working for a bank in various capacities. After school, I was offered the same job that I had my freshman year in college, because there was no hiring. So I took a job in bookkeeping in an advertising agency, and worked my way up from there. Understanding the money side of a business is invaluable. In an agency, great creative is only as good as how well it fits a client’s budget.

I still lived at home with my folks, had no luck finding work, so I did what any lazy person in their late teens and early twenties did, sold drugs to make money and then used said money to partay like a drunken fool. What a fucking waste that decade was, thanks for reminding me. :-)

I graduated in 1976 and didn’t have any trouble finding a job. Back then, all the plants had openings (Carbide, Monsanto, etc) and all the guys worked there so most other positions were open where I live.

I should add that I also supported my husband through the last 1–1/2 years of law school on that bookkeeping salary. He worked 15 hours a week, clerking. I worked full-time+ to pay all the bills. And I earned more than him for the first two years afterwards.

I was a single mother (no shared custody in those days) receiving $75/mo child support +med ins for child. My daughter turned 9 in Jan 1978 and the childcare providers did not take children after they reached that age. Due to my daughter’s disability she was not ready to stay alone.

I was working as an accounting clerk at about 150% minimum wage (think $9 today w/o benefits). My employer was purchased by a national corp and nobody knew what that meant for our jobs. I decided to take the leap and get a college education. I intended to get a head start by going to summer school. I thought about being either an accountant or teacher but that year Prop 13 passed here in California which led to the shut down of state schools over the summer and big teacher layoffs so the decision was made for me.

I qualified for enough educational grant money to pay for school expenses, ed loan, a 20/hr job, a growind cc debt and SSI for my daughter (not available when I worked full time) allowed us to live in a 2 rm apt w/i walking distance of school. I saved more money by taking 20–22 units/term and graduating in 3 years. From Sept 78-Nov 81 I didn’t buy anything new for myself and made most of my daughter’s necessities and gifts. We celebrated the financial aid check twice a year with lunch in the mall food court and a matinee at the multiplex.

I spent little on child care by taking classes before 3 and taking her with me to evening on-campus jobs. It was a very hard 3 years with lots of rice and ramen but it was worth it. This is the 3rd recession since then and I have never been ‘unemployed’.

It cost the taxpayer about $10,000 in grants to put me through college. Before I went to college, I was paying less than $200/yr in FIT. I paid $10,000 in FIT in less than 3 years after graduation. I have been a 20–25% FIT since then. We used to invest in human capital in this country and during a time when people are un- or under-employed we need to do that again. Even if it means short-term personal sacrifice.

I was too young to remember, but I wanted to thank you for asking this, Daloon, because my son is currently in the position you were in then. He graduates High School in June and has no idea what he wants to do, let alone what industries will have work 2–4 years from now. Thankfully, he has a job already, but it is not something he could make a career out of.