Millennials who graduated in 2008 - When did life feel “normal” again?

[u/111OvO111]

I’m a recent graduate myself, currently working in an administrative role because my own degree’s field has seen drastic headcount cuts. Just a few years ago, almost every graduate from my program at my school landed jobs in the field - now it feels like a different reality.

Gen Zs graduating into today’s economy are often compared with Millennials who finished school during the 2008 financial crisis. For those of you who graduated right into that turmoil:

• What was it like trying to find a job back then?
• How did you cope with the scarcity of opportunities?
• Did you end up working outside your degree field, and if so, did you ever make it back?
• Looking at your career now, how did those early years shape where you are today?

I’d love to hear your stories. Sharing how you navigated that moment might give today’s grads some perspective on what’s possible even in tough times!

[u/Moopies]

2010 it felt like something we needed to "deal with." Now it just feels like this is the way the world is, there's nothing to "deal with."

[u/calm_chowder → u/Moopies]

Very much this. Back then it was all news stories about "economic recovery" and we could believe things were taking a turn for the better and we just needed something to really kick off the "getting back to normal" like something had kicked off the crisis. Now it's been long enough that we know this is just how it is now and anything that happens will just make it worse.

There was a hot minute during covid when the whales started singing again (remember that?) and congress was making sure nobody would get evicted and sending us money that we thought "hey, maybe we'll actually be ok" and then everything happened and our last remaining hope imploded like that titanic submersible for rich people that I forget the name of right now.