Econo-what? Not me. No, it's definately not for me..

When asked to blog on issues pertaining to the economy an immediate and overbearing thought comes to mind: it sucks. Being the haggard and bare college students that we are, wallowing around with our empty bank accounts and our sullen dreams of finer things, it’s hard not to be bitter about the lack of jobs around Columbus, let alone Ohio. Needless to say, when an opportunity to make six to ten grand this summer presented itself last week in the form of the Student Development Company (the guy who came to talk at the beginning of class about running your own company, yeah I know it’s early, but really, he was there), I signed up.

I don’t know about you, but for me, when I get the opportunity to be in control of something, I get fired up. I want to buy suits and sharpen my heels to a needle-point. I pull out my black rimmed glasses and practice my “get productive” glare in the mirror. Sure it’s kind of creepy, or at least that’s what my roommates tell me, but hey, it’s as comfy as a warm winter coat to me. After meeting with Nick (or was it Mike?), the man who interviewed students for the company, I had a better idea of what was being asked of me. The student manager was to run their own company for the summer, a painting business, where they would be in control of everything from hiring and firing, to marketing and accounting. Student Development Company would “sponsor” the student, a.k.a. give them all the funds they need except the price of the ladders and power washers which they could later sell for three-quarters of what they were worth.

After this interview, all kinds of “economy” things were swimming about in my head. While I didn’t expect the market supply to be large at all, in considering all the inputs I would have to spend money on, with the hiring, the marketing, and the cost of materials, I just didn’t see how much of a real difference having a low number of sellers was going to help my situation. The reality of the fact is, painting houses, well, that’s what Kyle would call a “luxury good,” and people aren’t buying those right now. No matter how much I was willing to put into my own business, the turn-around would not be worthwhile when my instincts were pointing towards an expectation of a market decrease in the paint business. Since exterior painting has a very narrowly defined market, the chances of someone substituting a good painting for a couple of nice potted plants since money is tight are quite likely. Unfortunate for both me and my wallet, having a finely painted home has a large income elasticity and the slowness of the economy has determined that no one is interested in spending their dwindling pennies on a fresh coat of sunshine yellow for their shutters.

Being the newly economic-minded student that I am, I asked Nick/Mike what he thought of my chances at running a profitable small business in the economy this summer, knowing full well that it wouldn’t really be successful. Of course he thought it would be, but that’s a whole different ball game.. Needless to say, I turned the job down.

We have all faced new issues with the downturn in the economy. While I continue my search for ANY job at all, I feel less and less excited about graduation and the next step of actually finding a career occupation. How is one to find a career when they can’t even get a part-time job?? I may as well throw in the towel and continue to add on minors that have no marketable purpose what-so-ever.

I did interview for a job at a gym recently, and hope that that goes well. I practically raced to the door to ensure that I was interviewed and then, in hearing that it only paid $8.00 an hour, I complained to myself on the way home. I know that if they raised minimum wage to $10.00 an hour jobs would hire less people and I would have even less of a chance of getting a job than I do now, but still; in my income equilibrium, the amount of dollars I have coming in is far below the amount that is being demanded, making things a bit tight around the edges… and in the middle… and the top and bottom as well. Is there any hope for us poor, defenseless, and jobless college students out there? How long will it take for job opportunities to bounce back up to an amount that is at least acceptable? Until then, I suppose I’ll turn to the minor track. Maybe an econ minor would be useful after all…