Economy: Everyone I Know Is Just So Scared

by Robin
(Walnut Creek, CA, USA)

I'm in my early forties, and my partner just turned 55. We both have Master's degrees that we earned last June. Our classmates and colleagues are anywhere between 26 and 68 years old. We're all trained professionals -- talented, caring, smart and willing to work really hard.

Some of us have found work in our field, and some of us are still looking. Some of us are single, some of us aren’t. Some of us are making a career change, and some of us are just starting our first serious career step. But we’re all pretty much in a category where most people would assume we could find work, in our field that pays pretty well as trained, educated professionals.

The one thing we all have in common? We are all terrified. Everyone I speak with has the same echoes of fear. What if we never get good jobs, after all this training? What if we never get any jobs? What happens if my spouse loses their job? What if this downturn doesn’t ever become an up-turn? What if I never get to retire? What if my school debt crushes me? What if this goes on and on?

Every individual has their own variation on the fear, but for a group of people who have worked hard, been successful, and even two years ago would have assumed that this wouldn’t be our lives: We’re all terrified.

This pervasive, overwhelming fear is incredibly discouraging. I don’t know what has to happen to change this reality of fear, but I know it is where I’m living in this economy, and I hate it.