Real Jobs and Redshirting

This chapter explores the employment experiences of the young people interviewed for a study in 2010. Though conditions were tough for everyone, the study of 20-somethings shows that not everyone experienced the same degree of economic pain. Specifically, those who were from what could be called “elite” backgrounds had an easier time getting jobs even during the recession and were additionally insulated from the worst effects of the downturn by having little or no educational debt. The working- and middle-class young people had a much more difficult time both in securing employment and in dealing with debt. The chapter then looks at the strategies respondents utilized to secure employment after graduation and what has helped and hindered them in their efforts.