"I Fear My Hard Work May Never Pay Off"

It's common to think of recent graduates as slouches mooching off their parents. My post-college life though has been one of anxiety as my loans and bills add up.

With the release of new employment numbers on Friday March 4th, we at FrumForum decided that it was time to listen to the voices of the young as they face the challenges of this economic crisis. Over the next days, in an exclusive series, we will be featuring a number of their first-person stories in this space. If their experience is yours, we welcome you to join the conversation at Editor@FrumForum.com.

Click here for David Frum’s introduction to this series.

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During my time at university I never considered that my work might not pay off in the future.  I was a double major at a large and respected state school.  I was involved in a wide variety of academic and extra-curricular endeavors, and I traveled abroad to further my education.  The benefits afforded to good and curious students came easily to me.

I could not have known then that one month after my August 2008 graduation the American banking system would face a near collapse.  The next three years proved to be a harsh and surreal lesson in what it means to be a young adult in America at the beginning of the 21st Century.

After working two internships at the state capitol, I landed a promising job with a software company in suburban Atlanta.  Less than a year later the entire sales force and marketing team, including me, were laid-off.  Since then I have spent countless hours sending hundreds of resumes and applying for jobs that range in variety from positions with Washington think-tanks to local coffee shops and grocery stores.

It is commonplace to think of recent college graduates as educated slouches mooching off their parents and snickering and snorting at Daily Show reruns all day.  I have yet to meet one of these characters.

My own experience post-graduation has been racked with anxiety and a feeling of impeding annihilation as student loans and bills accumulate—debts that are hardly satisfied by the wages from my latest internship or temporary job.  Living in Atlanta is expensive, and it occurs to me that area universities are pumping out thousands of graduates like me every semester.

I have avoided living with my parents only because I am willing to sacrifice much to avoid it.  This has proven difficult, but I am better today for the effort.

Through all of this I have discovered what my grandparents did during the Great Depression—what an incredible blessing employment is, the importance of personal virtue and frugality, and what it is like to worry about having enough money to buy basic necessities—albeit on a smaller scale.

Bradley Alexander can be contacted at bradalexander0@gmail.com.

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