Search Results: play

NEET = Not in Education, Employment, or Training

I feel completely burnt out in terms of exploring careers and jobs, which speaks volumes because I was always career-oriented since I was a young child. Since age 7, I was obsessed with jobs. I used to dawn a play police vest and direct traffic in the neighborhood. Then I was the "mailman". As I grew older, starting in high school, I was a fire explorer. I had my state EMS first responder certification by age 17. I was doing many clinical ride-alongs during high school. I was optimistic about careers from a young age.

Fast forwarding today, I am 30, and I have held 25 jobs and have never been able to maintain job security. I am collecting disability checks now to survive. Imagine the cycle of climbing a ladder to be pushed off in anguish each time. This cycle becomes beyond tiresome and has left me bitter. In addition, any and all savings or money I collect during my short tenure dries up each time, and I essentially begin from scratch again. There is no progression forward.

Come to find out, even without my personal issues and struggles, my generation as a whole is struggling to gain their footing in life. We are being shoved into this predatory "own nothing, be 'happy'" movement. Homeownership is becoming less and less obtainable. Rent is more and more becoming the only option, and even that is sucking people dry. Everyday essentials like groceries and transportation has become increasingly burdensome. There is red tape and process everywhere, making everything an unnecessary chore. To put a final nail in the coffin, we are hearing automation is becoming a major existential threat to our jobs, livelihoods, and career growth. Graduates are leaving college struggling to find work. Those who have jobs are finding themselves living paycheck to paycheck and having to work multiple jobs. You are damned if you do, damned if you don't.

I can see the phenomenon of NEETs on the rise.