News on Relevant Science: 8 Great Pep Talks for Generation Jobless

Let's be frank: life sucks a little bit for today's recent graduates. So many of them, despite having expensive college degrees, haven't been able to find the jobs they set out to get hired for. Often, they end up working in low-paying, low-skill jobs with dubious futures, or worse, can't find any jobs at all. This, of course, results in record numbers of college graduates who are now living with their parents, putting pressure on families that are likely to be struggling with both the current economic situation and impending retirement. And as both graduates and parents struggle to stay afloat, student loan bills often begin to roll in. Things just aren't great, and while plenty of people are quick to point out the problems of Generation Jobless, there are a few bright spots in all of the chatter. So if you're over the whole Generation Jobless pity party, take a moment to check out these inspiring pep talks, offering inspiration, ideas, and hope to those who may have run out.

Mike Rowe celebrates dirty jobs

Many students will immediately recognize Mike Rowe as the host of Dirty Jobs, a show in which Rowe embeds himself as a worker in the most disgusting, back-breaking conditions he can find. In the show, and in this talk, there's a lesson for Generation Jobless about the nature of hard work. As today's students look to careers in boardrooms that may or may not exist anymore, some smart students can get ahead and create a career in positions that may not be traditionally attractive, but nonetheless present a dependable, profitable niche that might actually be fun. Watch Rowe's talk to consider how dirty jobs can be an inspiration for someone who doesn't have a job at all.
All Financial Matters: Generation Jobless

JLP at All Financial Matters doesn't have a whole lot of advice for Generation Jobless, but what he has to say is meaningful. In this short and simple, but helpful post, JLP reminds young people caught up in the problems of Generation Jobless that although this situation may last a while, ultimately, it is temporary and students will be able to find a job. But while you're waiting for things to get better, you've got to have a plan for making things work in the short- or even long-term. He recommends sucking it up and finding a low-paying job, going back to school, or starting a business. No matter what, though, he recommends that Generation Jobless "accept anything but the feeling of helplessness."
Generation Jobless: How and Why You Should Start a Blog if You're Unemployed

When you're unemployed, it's easy to get bored and cut off from the world. After all, instead of heading out the door to spend time in an office each morning, you're more likely to plop down on your couch or log on to Facebook than get dressed and pound the pavement day after day. But the blog behyped recommends ditching your daily unemployed ritual for a new one that involves a blog. Blogs, behyped says, are a great way to open up new worlds to anyone who has been "temporarily cut off from society" whether it's from joblessness or disability. Sharing your interests and talents through a blog means that you're developing social proof, reputation, and a networking tool that might actually help you land a job. Beyond that is the possibility that your blog can become a money-making business. At the very least, a blog gives recent grads without a job a purpose, which without any other benefits is certainly enough, giving you the opportunity to say you're at least doing something.
Generation Jobless: Five Years On

The Wall Street Journal doesn't have any advice for Generation Jobless in this entry, but instead of advice, you'll find inspiration. This hopeful photo journal focuses not on the frustrations that Generation Jobless is dealing with today, but rather, what they hope to accomplish tomorrow. By looking at Generation Jobless five years out, The Wall Street Journal's photo journal shares inspiration, hope, and encouragement for pushing through and working toward a better future.
Generation Jobless: How I Found My First Big Job

It's easy to write off Generation Jobless as an entire mass of unemployed 20-somethings, and for so many, that's a true assessment, but the fact is that there are still many college graduates out there successfully snapping up jobs right out of school. In this article, The Wall Street Journal explores how and why some students are actually getting jobs, conveniently sharing their tips for success here. The big takeaway from this pep talk is that technology, math, science, and engineering seem to produce the most employed graduates. Others who have been successful in their job hunt share that aggressively pursuing and completing internships have been the key to their success, especially in fields that are typically difficult for finding jobs.
Generation Jobless: Students Speed Through College to Save Money

When college is expensive, and there's no guarantee of a job at the end of it all, students have to save money however they can. In fact, some have gotten quite smart, pushing through and working hard to complete their college degrees in three years instead of four or five. The thinking is that they are able to spend less on fees at school, and then get a jump start on their fellow classmates in the job market. This discussion from The Wall Street Journal takes an inspiring look at students who have used high school AP credits and old-fashioned hard work. One student in particular, Neha Gupta at UCLA, saved about $40,000, got a job, and went on the fast track to grad school. Her secret to success was taking summer school classes at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Although Gupta does admit wishing she'd "taken more of the random classes you get to take in college," money talks, and for her, those random classes just weren't worth the money and time she saved by getting ahead.
Need a Career Pep Talk? Lessons from Teddy Roosevelt On Going "All In"

Generation Jobless has it rough, without a doubt. Opportunities are scarce, and what is available is typically snapped up in an instant, often before you even knew it existed. But opportunities do still exist, and with the right attitude and hard work, it is possible to be the one who takes advantage of those opportunities. In this pep talk from Fast Company, you'll learn about dismissing ideas like, "Let's see what happens," or "I'll give it a shot," things that allow you to keep one toe still on the diving board. Instead of holding back, Fast Company says, you've got to go "all in," putting all of your energy into each opportunity so that you can give it everything you have, avoiding halfhearted approaches that may or may not lead to success. Citing Theodore Roosevelt, Fast Company reminds Generation Jobless, "It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."
Monday Morning Pep Talk: Create Your Own Opportunities

Although going "all in" for an opportunity is a great idea if an opportunity exists, often, there just aren't any open doors for Generation Jobless. This talk from Launch While Working encourages anyone who needs an opportunity to simply create their own, giving readers a simple affirmation: "When one door closes, I push another open." Read this talk to find out how to capture opportunities that are placed in your path, and find ways to create them out of thin air. Through self-reflection questions shared here, you can consider how closed doors might become an opportunity, how you can use your strengths, and who you know that might be able to help you along the way.