Commentary by Liora Herman
Marketing and Outreach Manager

OK, don’t freak out and start running for the hills. This is not an economics class and I won’t make you calculate anything scary. In fact, the scary thing IS the change.

More and more myself and my peer group, those aged 23-28 with college degrees, are finding ourselves out of luck and facing the real world with little hope. All our lives education and the American dream were drilled into our minds. Graduate high school, get a college degree, and then you can get a job, earn money, and enjoy the finer things in life. That was supposed to be the formula for happiness and success. But the reality has changed, and not for the better.

Facing financial strain and the inability to save money, I decided to return to my parent’s home to live. This is a huge change for me. I have always regarded myself as fiercely independent and haven’t spent more than a few weeks at a time at home in over six years. And now I am expected to live again under someone else’s roof and abide by their rules. Yikes! Granted I am paying rent, so this allows me a certain level of autonomy, but there is still respect to be considered. And I am not the only one finding myself back in too familiar spaces.

A friend of mine from high school got a degree in Biology from a top-ranked liberal arts college. For the last two years she has bounced around between mall jobs and assistantships that don’t further her career goals. All the while she has been living at home with her parents.

We all know either someone who had to return to the safety of their parent’s home or empty nesters who are once again hosting their unemployed or underemployed grown children. But where is the light at the end of the tunnel? I need to know that this move is temporary!

Each year thousands graduate universities and colleges across the country, completing what has been 17 years of rigorous education only to find that our stamina, enthusiasm, and clearly defined skill set won’t get us a job. Where have all the opportunities gone? Why did I spend upwards of $140,000 on an education when there is no hope for a return on my investment?

Making Cents of it All

Obama promised change―and not just with this beast of health care reform. I want change. I want my education and hard work to mean something. I want opportunities to grow and be a productive member of society. I want to live on my own and be able to afford it. Even with penny pinching, many young professionals are finding themselves on shorter and shorter leashes.

And what do I hear on the news?  Tuition hikes, education funding cuts, unemployment rates hovering at above 10%. What’s a girl to do?

The economic reality of today is that change―pennies, nickels, even dollars―may add weight to your pocket, but they aren’t adding up to the same level of security they used to. It might even come down to competing with our parents and high school students for the same remedial wage positions we had hoped to avoid with a college degree. Where’s the worth? The payoff?

Where the heck is our change?

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