market blues

Anybody remotely connected to an English graduate program knows how horribly shitty the job market was last year. Today, there was a headline in the New York Times that went "recession anxiety seeps into everyday lives," accompanied by the picture above.



You might not think it, but the hiding under the covers is pretty accurate, though we have yet to stoop to cowering together in groups. Then again, what goes on in those shared graduate residences is beyond my knowledge. You also have to love how this picture illustrates economic woes with a picture of people attending a what is probably a pretty pricey relaxation seminar.

Seriously though, I have noticed that a general malaise has fallen over our department. Conversations periodically turn towards the subject of the market, since it's what we're all thinking about anyway. Knowing that two of, say, ten students who applied for jobs last year actually received them makes things look pretty dour. When the subject arises, there are varied levels of dispirited talk with fun facts like "1/3 of the jobs I applied for were cancelled mid-search." These discussions are often followed by a chorus of sighs or a prolonged moment of silence. Luckily, since we're for the most part used to being penniless, we mostly just resign ourselves to waiting things out till the situation improves.