If you are 27/28

sawfish

ixoy wrote: »

although contrary to what some parts of the media say, not all IT flourishes, merely some of it.

Which part of IT flourishes?

Truley

I'm 24 and consider myself lucky because I grew up in the 90s/early 00's reaping all the benefits of a wealthy country. I graduated from college in 2009 when things had taken a nose dive but after about six months of unemployment I got two part time jobs that are badly paid and well below what my qualifications would have promised but I absolutely love what I'm doing. I am still working in the same place for an even lower wage nearly three years later but for now I'm quite happy in the place I work.

I think the greatest gift the Celtic Tiger gave me (apart from a financial leg up) was confidence. When we were doing my leaving cert we felt like we had endless possibilities, that the world was our oyster. Employment prospects weren't even a consideration when we picked our courses or trades, we just did what we wanted, and we felt like we had the freedom to chop and change our paths as we wished.

If I was starting college now I would probably wouldn't have picked the artsy course I did in favour of something supposedly more 'solid' like nursing or teaching. So even if I am working a pretty shítty job with no promotion prospects at least it's something I enjoy doing and I had the freedom to take the path I did. I don't feel as trapped as many others must feel.

woodchuck

I’m 27. I don’t think I’m in the worst age bracket when it comes to the recession, but certainly not the best either. The main advantage to me was affordable college registration fees.

BUT I feel I was never old enough to directly benefit from the free flow of money during boom times. I certainly wasn’t born with a silver spoon in my mouth like the celtic tiger babies. We weren’t really poor, but we didn’t have money to burn. Hand-me-downs and no holidays was the norm, as I’m sure it was for most people born in the 80s. By the time the celtic tiger was roaring, I was in secondary school/college. I was lucky that I was able to live with my parents who didn’t demand any money off me for rent/bills/food and I was able to find work over the summer so that I didn’t have to ask my parents for money directly during the academic years. I never took out a loan or spent frivolously or beyond my means.

I graduated in 2007, but it was clear at that stage that a recession was looming. I decided to go for a postgrad to build up my qualifications (paid a stipend equivalent to minimum wage and contributed financially to the household before anybody lays into me for living off mammy and daddy). I thought it would help me get a job when I was done and naively thought the worst of the recession would be over after a few years… this was before any talk of a bailout.

Now I’m fully qualified and luckily found work after just a few month of searching. But the nature of my work these days is temporary contracts with little chance of renewal, so in the new year I’ll likely be unemployed again. During my school years the government was really pushing people to study in the area I’m in, making out that people were crying out for qualified people in this sector. That’s not the case anymore. The competition is just getting worse and worse in recent years and won’t be getting better any time soon. Emigration isn’t really an option for me, except as a very last resort. While I’m not tied down by a mortgage myself, unfortunately my OH is. So unless I want to abandon the OH I won’t be going down that road any time soon…

Sorry for the essay :P But I think everyone has it bad in different ways. Some obviously have it a lot worse than others. None of us have it easy though. The grass is always greener and all that…
- Older generations: got on the property market during the worst times, but at least had the benefit of plenty of work opportunities that should help them find employment these days.
- Younger generations: Celtic tiger babies who had an easy/spoilt childhood, but likely having to emigrate for work these days or struggle to find a job here with little/no work experience under their belt. And postgrads are getting more and more competitive these days too.
- Babies being born right now or over the coming years: Probably have it the worst. Never benefited from the celtic tiger directly or indirectly, will have a tough childhood and will have to pay the price in taxes etc for the rest of their lives if they choose to stay in Ireland.

grindle

Nothingbetter2d wrote: »

people in the 35 age bracket got screwed over not blew it... most have insane morgages for houses that are worth a fraction of what the morgage is worth

If Tesco sells milk for €0.80, and Centra sells it for €1.10, a choice gets made, nobody gets screwed over (bar the taxpayers who have to pay for other people's stupid choices).

Kintarō Hattori

Battered Mars Bar wrote: »

Disagree, these people were 22 when the boom ended. Just barely finished college and broke as a result. :rolleyes: I think people in the 35ish bracket got the best but they blew it....they blew it!

Not all of us. I started work in 2002 (did various courses after school as I was unsure what I wanted to do). I worked retail for 10 years... so not exactly earning megabucks. Wanted to buy a house in 2008 but we realized prices were unrealistic so we bought an apartment in the other halfs country as a long long term investment. By 2011 prices were much more realistic and so we bought a modest home.

All the while we were both very fortunate to keep our jobs.... so there has been some element of luck I suppose.