Twentysomethings struggle to deal with the real world

Meet Jacey Case, age 24.

The recent graduate of the University of Central Arkansas earning both undergraduate and master's degrees in speech pathology was an all-around exceller. Earning a 3.9 grade point average, the overachiever garnered more than her 375 required volunteer hours tapping in at 480 and had experience at both Sallie Cone Elementary and rehabilitation hospitals in Little Rock.

That first job, she thought, would be easy to find. Just in case, she started looking at possible employers in January, while simultaneously planning her May wedding to her fiance, Jason.

Eight months later, she is still looking.

"I have done everything I can to put myself out there," she said. "I've applied to 20 different places, and I've posted my resume on Monster (www.monster.com) and several speech pathology-specific job sites. I've gotten a lot of dead ends."

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Sadly, Jacey's situation is not unique.

This phenomenon has been chronicled in several books, including Alexandra Robbins' recent publication, "Conquering Your Quarterlife Crisis: Advice From Twentysomethings Who Have Been There and Survived."

The New York Times bestselling author said young Americans are increasingly facing the dilemma of to get that first job, manage their finances and deal with the real world.

"I think the Quarterlife Crisis is important and not necessarily a negative phenomenon because it signals that this generation is facing down its inner demons and confronting its identity issues before embarking on the path to adulthood," said Robbins, now 32. "Look at it this way: The generation before ours leaped into marriage and careers soon after school ended, and then twenty years later, many found that they were not living the life they wanted, or that they didn't really know who they were behind the facade of the life they were leading. So they had/have a mid-life crisis."

An Actual Crisis?

People debate he actual crisis part of the situation, maintaining that these recent graduates want everything immediately and aren't willing to work their way up.

However, this is not the case, argued Josh Markham, 24.

"To say we're complaining makes it seem as if it's not a real problem," said Josh, a recent graduate of UCA's master's program in English. "Given the situation today economically, it is hard out there. If you don't have an ultra-marketable degree you're going to have problems."

Josh said one way to solve the problem facing youth is to make sure people know what they're getting into in college.

"When you're in high school, they say people with college degrees make millions more than people without. We get these ideas of this success, this image of success that things are going to be easy and people are going to roll out the red carpet for us. That's just not the way it is.

"Today you have to get a degree that's marketable," he advised. "A bachelor's in computer science will get you mid-30s, or mechanical engineering is $70,000 a year. I have a master's degree in English and that's less marketable. You have to think about this kind of stuff because that's the reality of the situation."

Jacey said the assumption that her generation doesn't appreciate hard work is unfair. "I know that for people in their 40s and 50s, the job experience wasn't like it is now," she said. "It seems like the qualifications are different. There's very much more required out of us.

"We always assume that we'll get a great job, like in the movies, where it always seems awesome and happy. We don't want to deal with the reality," she said.

Now frustrated, she said she chose speech pathology because of others' advice. "Everyone said the medical field was good because they'd need doctors, nurses and therapists to take care of them," she said. "The problem with my job is that I have to go somewhere small because they can't get anyone to work there. The big towns are oversaturated."

However, Jacey's husband works for the Conway Police Department, "so we don't have the luxury to move."

She has had interviews. The problem, however, is getting past the interview process.

"A lot of nursing homes, public schools are kind of incestuous in their hiring. They first place jobs within people within the group," she said.

Another Conway resident had similar problems. Amanda Potter, 26, now has a job with the Little Rock-based Women's Foundation of Arkansas. But after her graduation from Hendrix College in 2004, she floundered, not knowing what step to take.

"I went into City Year (Ministries) because it was a nonprofit," Amanda said.

But after working at the Americorps-based program for two years, she decided to find something more permanent. "It took me four months to find a job. I worked at McAlister's," she joked.

follow dreams, or money?

While Amanda's thankful for a full-time job in the nonprofit sector, she's still holding out for her dream job.

"It's more like a fantasy dream job," she said, smiling. "I want to get different faiths to learn about others. I want to take away the fear of the unknown, which causes racism."

She agreed that her generation needs to focus more on employment than following their dreams, at least with the current economy.

"A lot of people in their mid-20s, instead of realizing that they have a lot that they like in their real job, have other ideas and quit," she said.

She plans to stay at her job for another five years.

Getting her financial footing took awhile, although she and her boyfriend, Bob, now own their own house.

"When I was in City Year, my parents helped out. My dad paid my car payments and insurance; my mom helped out sporadically. Bob supported me too," she said.

Did she feel like a burden?

"Like a giant leech," she confirmed.

Jacey agreed. "I'm still being partially supported by my parents, who pay for my car insurance and cell phone. I'm kind of in a big rush to get a job," she said, adding that her mom is cutting her off financially in one month.

"My mom randomly sends me ... job postings," she said. "She doesn't understand why I don't just move and come back. I guess I just have different priorities."

Fortunately, Amanda and Jacey remain happy in other areas, including their personal lives.

"We're so blessed we found our true loves at such a young age," Potter said.

Jacey said she does enjoy the extra time she gets to spend with her new husband. "It's nice that I'm free whenever he's off," she said, putting a positive spin on her situation. "Cops work pretty crappy hours, so it's nice as newlyweds. We'd rather have time together. I'd rather work at Wal-Mart and get to see him everything than work a different job and not see him."

Josh also seems to be headed in a positive direction, having just accepted an adjunct teaching position at the University of Arkansas Community College at Morrilton. "I think it's a good thing to give the necessary tools to get experience of teaching at a college level. There's not a lot of options to do that," he said.

Josh plans now to continue his education, hoping to eventually get a Ph.D. in English.

Robbins said this generation will benefit from going through an early crisis. "My generation is taking the time to search for their innermost wants and to learn about their true selves before they get married or settle into a long-term career," she said. "This is healthy. I believe that members of my generation won't have a mid-life crisis because they will have already resolved their identity issues in their 20s or early 30s."

(Staff writer Jerrica Ryan can be reached by e-mail at jerrica.ryan@thecabin.net or by phone at 505-1266. Submit us your news at www.thecabin.net/submit)