Day 60 - Thank You, Math Teachers

I hated math in school. Not passionately, mind you - not with a fervor that eventually includes explosives and/or a cabin in the neck scruff of the woods. More like hatred combined with annoyance. The kind that bubbles up when a mosquito bites you after you've already been bitten 20 times and you're out of bug juice.

However, kudos to my math teachers. (That's how much I hated math classes. I can't remember any of my math teachers' names. I can remember English and history teachers. Heck, even a phys ed teacher from elementary school. Math teachers - nary a one.)  My math teachers taught me the value of addition and multiplication, which came in handy while reading this article by Andy Rooney.

First off, I like Andy Rooney. Anyone who can spout out contrary points of view with a frame of reference from the Great Depression is immediately high up on my list. He has experience and I respect that.  But is it relevant now when it comes to job searching?

Says Andy:  

More college graduates ought to become plumbers or electricians, then, go home at night and read Shakespeare.
 
First of all, thanks for ruining the dreams of graduates everywhere who once hoped to rise to the lofty heights of middle management jobs dependent upon quoting the bard.

Secondly, hello hello math. I could spend a majority of my time trying to land a job waiting tables or punching a register but I'd have to stand in line behind the hundreds of other overqualified applicants waiting for the same job. (Remember, this is Austin. You pretty much need a Masters in order to wait tables here. Need I remind you of the Masters recipient that couldn't find a minimum wage job? And, should I try to become a plumber or electrician, I'd need to go back to school for training and certifications.) And then, working 60 hours a week I probably still wouldn't make as much (Ha - I say this like Unca Sam is showering me with diamonds and furs) as I do with unemployment benefits. And taking unemployment benefits allows me to focus full time on a search for a full-time job (and attend interviews without scheduling conflicts) so I can get off said benefits as soon as possible.

I'm not being a snot, Andy. And neither are a lot of other people out there looking for jobs. We're not afraid of working with our hands. We're trying to find jobs - ways to contribute to the world that makes sense and that lets us use our skills in a logical manner. We're far from dreamers. We've got reality up to our eyeballs - bills to pay, families to support and worries. Beat your drum in your mansion when there are plenty of jobs, when companies aren't shrinking left and right, when unemployment isn't 10 percent for the country. Then you can call us choosy.

Until then, I'm doing the math and pushing for interviews.