Forced from the Job Force

The financial crisis has forced younger workers to give up both the dream and the fear of choosing a job just for the benefits.

I keep reading surveys about how upbeat Generation Y still is despite the job market. Many bloggers, myself included, have said that the financial crisis is an opportunity for the youngest generation in the workforce to be entrepreneurs and do what we really want. Well, OK, but "doing what you want" doesn't exactly always pay the bills or provide health insurance. The national consciousness hasn't entirely caught up with helping entrepreneurs.

My boyfriend, Matt, a photographer, was laid-off recently from his day job as a digital imaging specialist. Now he has more time to actually take pictures, and has been able to take freelance jobs. Basically, he is doing more of what he likes.

But he doesn't currently have health insurance. (I should point out that COBRA benefits have been extended to help unemployed workers, but it's not as cheap as having a job.) A lot of people -- especially young people -- are left uninsured or underinsured. You know that temporary health insurance? Well it doesn't cover large medical events -- not even pregnancy in many cases.

Matthew Padgett, the unemployed photographer, photographs a fellow unemployed person on the street.
More photos at www.matthewpadgett.com.

I sometimes scoff at our parents for worrying so much about such a mundane thing like health insurance, but they do have a point. It seems to me that older generations are chained to their mediocre jobs in order to receive health insurance and a pension. Like many people my age, I fear being the same way.

However, the financial crisis is keeping us from being the same way even if we wanted to be.

First of all, we feel less tied to the same job because of retirement savings like some of our parents. Very few members of Generation Y will have a pension. We are products of a generation that will save for retirement entirely through 401(k)s and individual retirement accounts. Essentially, there is more responsibility on our individual savings rather than employers. Whether this will work for us is a conversation for another day (and one I'm currently researching).

Meanwhile, the national consciousness seems to be moving toward making health insurance more accessible and not tied to employment. While there are many politicized arguments about both the good and bad ways to do this, the general idea of unbinding health insurance from employment seems in keeping with the consciousness of Generation Y.

Generation Y was on the road to fulfilling American culture just like our parents -- getting a decent job with decent benefits. Eventually, we would have settled, and many of us still will if we can. However, the financial crisis has somehow taken away the immediate opportunity to settle for many of us.

So what does my boyfriend and many of my other friends who can't find stable employment do? Take pictures.