I thought I would get a job, right after college. I graduated college, I have a degree, I should get a job. But that wasn’t the case. And my parents thought I would get a job, be independent and those kind of things. But I moved in with my parents and my parents were very . . . upset, in a way, and very disappointed. They didn’t say it, but, because I was the oldest kid, they were expecting a lot more. . . .

And [my job search] lasted more than six months. And, then your parents start to say, you know, you shouldn’t just look for planning and architecture, why are you just doing that? You should just work somewhere else. And they just kind of keep telling you. And it’s kind of annoying. She laughs. Because I do have a goal to get some experience in planning and eventually get a full time job. It was very, very stressful. And, you know, you have your younger siblings with you too. It’s kind of like . . . they’re looking at me like I’m a bad example, you know? . . .

I thought, you go to elementary, middle school, high school, college and get a job. I thought that was the whole thing and you don’t really have to try to do it. I thought if you get good grades in college then you automatically get a job, but that wasn’t the case. I’m a pretty positive, optimistic person, so I was like, 2 to 3 months, I’ll get a job. You know? I’ll get a job. I was pretty optimistic. And then that kind of diminishes every month. She laughs.

There weren’t many full time positions opening. Most of the positions were either internship or part time or temporary positions. So it was really difficult, but even if it was just internship, part time, temporary positions, competition was amazing. Like, I apply for [assistant planner] and they call me for an interview and I went there, there were like, 20, 30 people waiting for the interview. If you think about how many people already applied and they selected those people to interview, I was awed. I was awed.

Source: http://recessiongrads.blogspot.com/2011_04_01_archive.html.

I am 36 years old. I have a husband and two children, ages 13 and 11, and live in an apartment on a university campus.

I have an extruded disc in my back that presses on my sciatic nerve and leaves me in constant pain, making me unable to stand for more than 20 minutes at a time. My husband and I are both veterans of the US Navy, having served our country honorably and proudly. We are unable to afford medical insurance so we use the VA [Veterans Administration]. We don’t qualify for dental insurance through them and both have several missing and broken teeth, as well as numerous abscesses.

Our children have healthcare through the state’s medical insurance for needy families. We rely on housing assistance to be able to afford our apartment. We only qualify for food stamps because of our children as adults cannot qualify without steady 32+ hours per week jobs.

We were raised to believe that a college education would make you more successful and able to achieve the American Dream. I have a bachelor’s degree and am certified to teach elementary education and middle school science and social studies. I will graduate in a month with a master’s degree in educational technology and over $70,000 in debt. My husband has two bachelor’s degrees and is working toward a master’s and his debt is equivalent to mine.

He works as an adjunct professor at a university because he cannot find regular, steady employment. I am a substitute teacher in the local school district because I am “overqualified” for other work and cannot find a full time teaching position.

We both work at the whim of our employers on an as needed basis. We are literally living paycheck to paycheck, unable to have savings of any sort. My family and I are the 99%.

Source: “We Are the 99 Percent,” http://wearethe99percent.tumblr.com/page/30.