Solo Analysis Document 29.4 Alice, Recession Grads Interview, April 21, 2011

SOLO ANALYSIS

Alice | Recession Grads Interview, April 21, 2011

For generations of Americans, education has provided an opportunity for upward mobility. During the Great Recession, many people with college degrees found themselves deep in debt with few job opportunities. Alice, who was born in Korea and has a bachelor’s degree in architecture, was interviewed by Melissa K. McDonough, who transcribed and edited the conversation for the blog Recession Grads.

Document 29.4

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: Recession Grads, accessed October 16, 2015, http://recessiongrads.blogspot.com/2011_04_01_archive.html.

Interpret the Evidence

  1. How does Alice pursue economic advancement?

  2. What challenges does she face in overcoming her economic problems?

Put It in Context

What effect has the Great Recession had on the middle class?