1. Unpaid Internships and the Death of Dreaming

Have you tried looking for a job lately?

Apparently there’s a major economic recession going on, despite the oft-too-rosy predictions and prognostications of the federal Tories. And who’s bearing the brunt of this recession, seeing precious few options for employment and far too many chances to be taken advantage of? The answer, students and immigrants, should hardly seem surprising.

And what’s perhaps most sickening about the realities of our economic decline is how similar these two groups are when it comes to their financial situation and their respective job prospects. What’s worse is that while both of these groups struggle to keep their heads above water, they are often stuck in an unenviable position, weighed down by competing against each other for precious service-sector jobs, spiraling personal debt and a host of social stigmas. Worse still, both groups are often ridiculed by the ‘job-providing-elites’ in government and industry for their apparent inability to remove themselves from dire financial situations, and the seemingly vicious circle of bad employment, bad credit and perpetual economic hardship and financial insecurity.

Perhaps you’re a recent graduate, not so different from myself, carrying a load of student debt that is driving your credit score down while eating up precious quantities of the limited funds you take home. If you’re lucky enough to be employed in a stable job you enjoy, you may be able to keep up with your payments, but it is unlikely you will experience real financial freedom and stability until these debts are paid in full. Given the scarcity of career paths these days as Baby Boomers hang on to their jobs for as long as their experience is an asset to the company, recent graduates are generally forced into unfortunate positions where they continue to compete with enrolled students for part-time, service-sector jobs. The big difference though is that they now have considerably larger bills to pay off and as such are undesirable. Believe me I know. I once tried making a part-time job a full-time one, and paid for it by losing the job outright. I was ‘too expensive’.

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