ortland is not known for having a great job market. Even during a healthy economy, its kinda rough out there. Now, with the economy still not out of the shitter, the job market seems to be unbelievably bleak. Seamus has been looking for a decent job in the food sales industry for what seems like forever. Hes well educated with a BS in Political Science and an Associates degree in Culinary Arts. He has some pretty respectable sales experience. He always gets super far into the interview/selecting process, then, invariably, he is told that there was another candidate with MORE this or that. One position he applied for had 19,000 applicants nationwide. Nineteen motherfucking thousand.

Anyway, its really trying my patience and sanity, this whole process. Just discouraging amounts of frustration and bewilderment and disbelief. Being the sole provider in the household and already an incessant worrier... its been rough.

We've had no choice but to settle on a shitty, part time, minimum wage job for him until he can finally, finally land something permanent. Because we are nearing a desperate financial situation (and because he is probably really fucking sick of not making any money), and because every unexpected expense that pops up (flat tire! pulled tooth!) seems like it could mean financial ruin at any moment, we are doing the very thing I said we would not do when his unemployment ran out and I made the decision to support us both - settling for a shit job. There just arent enough jobs out there that arent shit, and there are too many over-qualified people available to take that job that would be perfect for you. I probably took my job from some just-out-of-high school girl who was looking to get her foot in the door at a company she could possibly spend her career at. And thats because engineers were likely taking the jobs that I really wanted at the time and couldnt get, despite my incredibly relevant experience and current education. And thats because project managers were likely taking the positions the engineers were after and so on...

It seems like pretty much anyone who has found themselves out of work between 2008 and now has most likely settled for a job that is below their initial ambitions and for a lot less pay.

A friend of mine who just graduated with a BS in architecture was offered a drafting position for $9 an hour. NINE. Fucking. Dollars. Per. Hour.

Which brings me to another aspect of this shit job market. Greedy fucking hiring practices. I have NEVER heard of a draftsperson earning such a low wage. Business owners who are taking advantage of a desperate pool of candidates can fuck right off.