Interesting topic..."there are no jobs" or "bullsh%t"

[Knightdramon]

Had a very interesting point of discussion with my future flatmate, applies to the UK but can be considered for every place...

Are there really no jobs or are people too spoiled/picky?

I'm sure there's a middle ground, a realistic middle ground, but let's look at facts on both sides.

On one end, you've got jobs like "kitchen assistant" "pot cleaner" and the likes, which won't support you, but it's a neat/easy/flexible way of earning anything north of 50 pounds per week.

On the other end, you've got people who are "just waiting for the right thing, the right break"...and sit home on their laptop/desktop/tv and have time fly by.

Whilst house-hunting I came across a fellow in his 50ies and we had a chat. Likeable fellow, had a hard time lately, he said that there's no jobs in the UK. To which I could only reply with "really? 'Cause until half a month ago I had a job at the university AND a second job at a pub in the evenings".

And I can only close the thread with this nifty video. Sort of focuses on immigration, but there's a big focus/switchover to jobs as well

[Sades]

Don't get me started on people being picky, I won't shut up.

I hate it when special snowflakes hem and haw about that sort of bullshit. There are jobs (here, at least).

I think it also depends though. You're not going to find a 50 year old man working in fashion retail... depending, fast food might not even take him. There's also a person's work history... if they have a habit of quitting a new job every three months, all they're going to be considered for is shit work.

[Clay]

As someone who is currently vacuuming carpets and scrubbing showers at my alma mater strictly because they give something like 18 hours worth of tuition waivers a year for employees, I'm inclined to say people are too spoiled and picky. That's not to say that a given job doesn't pay less than it did a few years ago, or that professional, salaried positions aren't getting scarce, but... there will always be shitty, low-paying jobs with no benefits available. It's just the nature of the beast.

Oh, and I started on my graduate classes yesterday. If everything goes according to plan, I'll have a Masters in a couple of years and be pursuing a doctoral degree after that, whoo!

[Skyquake87]

Yup, people are too spoiled and picky. There are plenty of jobs in the UK, granted the majority are minimum wage. I have no qualms about doing jobs that some folk would consider beneath them. I've worked in a nightclub, a carwash, an accountants, a shop, in the voluntary sector...and um, something something.People just aren't in the habit of doing anything.

A lot of menial jobs in the UK are now filled by European immigrants - from hotels to factories. People might bitch and moan about foreigners coming over here and all that rubbish about 'taking our jobs' , but I don't see people falling over themselves to fill these sorts of positions.

That said, there is a worrying shift towards unpaid internships and zero hours contracts which offer either no pay or major uncertainty.


I dunno, I've just done whatever to keep myself going. Bills don't pay themselves, after all. And you've gotta eat.

[angloconvoy]

It depends on individual situations, and isn't as simple as people being picky. Easy to talk about your couple of jobs plus uni as a single person who only has responsibility to yourself, but if you have dependants there aren't many jobs which are open in non-specific fields that would support them should you suddenly find yourself out of work. Some people do just have overinflated opinions of themselves, but you shouldn't assume that's everyone. I myself have been trying to find a decent job for ages. I enjoy my work, and it puts food in my mouth and a roof over my head, but I wouldn't be able to support a family with it. But once you get contracted into a dead-end job, it's not always easy to break out. So do you live hand to mouth, or take a risk?
A lot of factors. I myself took this job because I lost my "good" job when the company very suddenly went bankrupt (three days before payday) and I'd rather support myself even if it means living paycheck to paycheck. But sometimes I regret that decision. If I'd gone on welfare (bear in mind I'd been paying into the system for over 5 year at that point, so I'd be taking out what I put in, not leeching) I would have been able to focus harder on finding something more substantial. It's not like most jobs will give you a lot of time to go to interviews for other jobs.
Also, the point about Europeans coming to England isn't all that valid, since the meagre amount of money they can save would actually in many cases build a decent life when they take it home (which I believe is their right, they did work for it, after all). Cost of living is a major factor in the "no jobs" point of view.
There are jobs, but if we need to work three jobs just to survive in this day and age then something has gone horribly wrong. Especially if you consider the information in this link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0ehzfQ4hAQj

[Knightdramon]

It depends, for sure. But if you have people to support/children, then in *some [not all, sure] cases, your partner can and will contribute as well.

There are single parents, sure, but there's also families in the more "traditional" sense.

I can't speak with great certainty about this because of benefits and whatnot; at least in York the number of 20year olds with 1-2 children is staggering. I don't think miss pretty bra makes enough as a barmaid to support 1-2 children, right?

I know what you mean about Europeans and England in general. My paycheck in the UK, by UK standards, is not all that great [enough, but nothing to write home about], but by Greek standards, I am more than well off.

[ganon578]

Some of this, from my perspective, could also be due to educational level hindering hiring - on the high end. When I was finishing my doctorate and looking for positions - and seeing several colleagues struggling to find desired positions - I was applying for anything and everything that even remotely suited my skills. Though by degree I was severely overqualified for the position. I would have taken anything at the time to support my soon-to-be family. I never received one call for any of those positions, though I am completely capable of performing the job. Some of those open hires won't hire an overqualified person for whatever reason, maybe simply because that person isn't likely to stay if a more appropriate position opens elsewhere, or even pay level.

For sure, though, there are many people out there that are too stingy to take whatever is available. I have a close friend of mine from college that is exactly like that and coincidentally, he is still struggling to find work.

[Warcry]

The job market can be problematic, I think. Our generation, quite frankly, sent far too many people off to university. When those people graduate, they believe that they should be able to get a good job right off the bat with their degree. And rightly so, IMO. They went to university in the first place because of parents and school officials telling them "this is the only way to get a good job". And so they sunk four or five years and countless thousands of dollars into that piece of paper, only to find out at the end of the day that it does no good because almost everyone has a degree now and they're all competing for the same relatively small pool of "good" jobs.

That creates a bit of a dilemma for employers, because these kids are now over-qualified for low-level menial jobs, and if you hire them that's not going to stop them from looking for something better. As an employer why would you hire a kid fresh out of university who is only working for you to pay the bills until he can get a job as a biochemist/computer programmer/engineer? And the same goes for older, experienced workers -- why would I hire a fifty year old with thirty years of management or professional experience to sweep floors when I know he's going to be sending off resumes every night and leaving as soon as he possibly can? No, screw that, I'm hiring an immigrant because the odds are better that they'll still be employed by me this time next year (we deal with issues like this at work a fair bit, though thankfully it's not my problem directly).

So yeah, there are no jobs...because a lot of people have priced themselves out of the market for low-level jobs and created a glut of people qualified for the limited mid-level jobs at the same time. It's kind of a mess, really, but the only thing that will sort it out is time.