Practically speaking, this means entry level jobs for a “middle” class career track are now only available to those whose parents can cover rent/commute/work supplies costs. If you can’t lean on intergenerational wealth, you’re screwed.
My partner and I live with her mom, and we are all so much less stressed than before. Now we have the energy to clean, cook at home even when wanting nice food, etc. It's really great.
been there for years now. as I was reading articles about how "young people are moving back in with their parents!!1!" it was actually my parents moving back in with me. As I was reading articles about "young people are financially irresponsible!!!11!!" I was covering my parents' bills. As I was reading articles about how "young people splurge on treats!!!!1!" I was budgeting for a household with 3 generations. It makes me sick the way the media talks about working class people, especially young people. I'm not even "young" any more so I see the vitriol leveled against millenials now getting leveled against zoomers.
10% of the sample reported turning down a job due to these costs -- that's not nothing, but it's not like this affects even close to most of that group.
median house costs starting at $350k single family. Or $2000+ per month in rent - single room, shared bathroom, loud ass neighbors and paper thin walls. Also you're stuck with Comcast as your ISP. 45 minute communte - both ways.
Happy to be working in my dead end job knowing that nothing will ever get better. Reporting to happy duty, sir.
The amount of jobs which include 0 customer facing I had to turn down due to uniform requirements making it so I'd have to buy an entire new wardrobe is sickening.
Article didn't really mention the kinds of jobs, although it definitely gave me office job vibes. I'm assuming it might mean the dress codes of the workplaces require a wardrobe they can't afford.
yeah, i recently got one of these bullshit email jobs and theres no dress code at all. there used to be, but since they've started exclusively hiring people my age (ie, cheap people, people without dependants) thats gone out the window. we don't have nice clothes, they don't pay us enough to buy nice clothes, and on the odd occasion that a manager tells us to 'smarten up' we all just nod and continue wearing hoodies, because fuck, what other option do we have. i think the managers know exactly what the situation is and that they literally can't press the issue without losing like half the team.
I know that in comparison to business professional attire it's sorta simple, but I really do think it's fucked that for my first hospital job I had to go get a set of scrubs that had the company embroidered onto it and pay for that embroidering while having strict requirements of what tops were acceptable. Like you had to get a relatively recent release of a Cherokee scrub top of specific cut. Going to a nursing home position then required me to then buy a whole new set because I can't use embroidered shit, but also they had their own colors that were part of the uniform. At least I can reuse them I suppose, but like 70 dollars for a single outfit starting from unemployment is rough not accounting for the like 200+ I spend on shoes in a year so my feet aren't destroyed. I recently upgraded from a set of 3 scrubs rotating to a set of 4 and it's almost like I can go a bit without doing laundry.
This is why I'm going to China or something, my country also has awful house prices and my industry's main corporations have the worst hiring process and don't pay enough to survive.
This is why Balzac is one of Marx's favs, in one of the Lost Illusion series Lucien can't afford a fashionable suit and doesn't make a good impression with high society he seeks a career in. Suits are expensive yo, like 200 at a discount store then throw on shoes, even at Shein you're looking at 60 dollars. If you've been unemployed for a while, its difficult for people to understand you may have a 0 in your back account and no one to depend on, for me this is the default.
A year ago or so I had to go to an interview for a 16/hr position (ngl would be the highest earning position I've ever had, lab work is straight min wage and high competition) requiring a suit, and it's been a long minute since I've worn one (grandma's funeral) so I went, didn't realize how much weight I've lost, so the suit was 2 sizes too large, missing buttons etc. Then I didn't realize the location was farther than anticipated with low gas and my antique but reliable vehicle. When I got there I was a larger ball of nerves and rando interns about half my age loled at my poor presentation and made comments, interview ended in all about 3 seconds and I know my poor presentation didn't help along with this being a rather rural and therefore bigoted by default sort area.
I don't have relatives etc I can hit up for this sort of thing, never did, never will, petite bourgeois can't understand poverty, reminds me of one of my grad school rejection letters suggesting I backpack EU or similar when my ass drove 1k mi to that interview. A lot of the people there didn't understand not having family, friends etc you can just ask for things, my family's worse off than me, sib.
It reminds me how the ignorant and cruel able-bodied treat those who are different as burdens upon them who willed this on others out of inborn level personality flaw, just totally and unwilling unable to comprehend people have different challenges in life that we alone can't face, yet that capitalist alienation and toxic individualism.
Thanks, never got in. Took all my college savings for that app round, the whole idea people can apply multiple rounds is beyond me. I could never earn enough to apply again, and now I'm aged out, while I was interviewing I overheard them boot a guy who was merely 30 for being too old, though he was quite qualified I thought. I hoped lab work would strengthen a future application but now I realize, that's now how it works, and they don't want people like me in the sciences anyhow, and I mean that in multiple ways.