Down and Out in White-Collar America

XorNand writes "Fortune has a pretty sobering article on the employment situation for white-collar workers. By many accounts, we've never had it harder--the slump in the 80's primarily hit blue-collar workers. While bleak, things might be inching towards the light; as my econ professor says, jobs are the last thing to recover after a recession."

Comments

White collars

[CptChipJew]

It's a good thing my shirts have green collars.

"But in the past two or three years companies have turned to India and the Philippines for much more sophisticated tasks: financial analysis, software design, tax preparation, even the creation of PowerPoint presentations."

Apparently Fortune isn't hiring software people either.

Re:White collars

[stinky wizzleteats]

Overseas outsourcing of the creation of power point presentations.

You know, I've always been disgusted that modern business people are incapable of conceptualizing thought without resorting to power point slides, but this piece of knowledge just places me on a whole new plateau of disdain and revulsion toward basically every human being in this country who wears a suit.

I guess it must be the combination of absurd dependence on power point to think and communicate combined with the sheer soul-whithering miserliness to actually outsource the development of slideshows to overseas labor.

It fills me with an urge to defile a golf course.

Re:White collars

[Cloud 9]

It fills me with an urge to defile a golf course.

Don't fight it, it's fun.

Re:White collars

[blibbleblobble]

"I guess it must be the combination of absurd dependence on power point to think and communicate combined with the sheer soul-whithering miserliness to actually outsource the development of slideshows to overseas labor."

It's probably quite encouraging for those people who had to listen to the "we're making huge cuts and outsourcing to india for big profits" managerial speeches to learn that people have finally grasped the obvious conclusion:

Senior managers are the dumbest of all jobs -- why not outsource them to India?

Re:White collars

[stinky wizzleteats]

It's files are based on XML and doesn't really get annoying like PPT. With PowerPoint, you don't get much satisfaction. It's like fucking for the sole reason of concieving. With Keynote it's more like fucking for pleasure and getting results at the same time.

Goddammit - see what I mean?! That is what I call marketing. I want keynote now after reading that, and he didn't use one power point slide. All he used was one well placed simile. (That's right, kids, a figure of SPEECH).

Although it would have made a pretty funny slide--
"Ok, as you can see, this rabbit is fucking for pleasure."

Re:Ties into an earlier Posting...

[Anonymous Coward]

Divorce the bitch. Get a younger one. That will change her tune.

I remember way back when I had a job.

[sakusha]

Back when I was a young'n, we had these things called JOBS. We had to walk 5 miles through 6 foot snowdrifts just to get to work, then labored until we were exhausted. And we LIKED it!

Bartending

[ari_j]

Not to give up my secret or anything, but I've figured out how to get through this, for me at least...

When you were laid off/graduated college to discover no jobs available/etc., where did you go first? Same place I did, I bet. The bar. And you probably spend most of the money you do come up with right there, tipping those bartenders that best help you drink away the economy...

So I just completed bartending school, and I'm already fighting off job offers. A perfect complement to my CS degree for sure, based on my new economic theory.

good times

[dtfinch]

The company I work for is doing great, mainly because I'm underpaid.

I actually typed about 1000 words describing what I do there, but decided to scrap it. Now I feel bad for spending an hour on this post.

Re:Welcome to the Global Economy.

[flacco]

No, you know what happens? Goods become cheaper and better. I don't have to pay through the nose because some guy thinks he should get $40/hour just to enter numbers into some data base or make a powerpoint presentation. Things become more affordable, more people can afford them, and everyone's quality of life goes up. THAT is what happens.

Yeah, I've noticed how affordable those Athlete-endorsed sneakers are now that they pay foreign labor sub-subsistence wages to make their product. They're down to - what - $175 now?

High time to go back to school...

[lunpa]

Looks like I'll have to go back school again but major in Arts.

At least then I won't be bitter about being overqualified to operate the microphone at the Drive-Thru window...

Re:solution to national debt

[chimpo13]

Fuck the boomers... Jacking the tax rates on younger workers is not the way to fix things.

You're right. We should institute Death Race 2000 with more points if you off someone older than 55. If we start offin' the old folks, we won't have to raise taxes on us kids.

As the cars roar into Pennsylvania, the cradle of liberty, it seems apparent that our citizens are staying off the streets, which may make scoring particularly difficult, even with this year's rule changes. To recap those revisions: women are still worth 10 points more than men in all age brackets, but teenagers now rack up 40 points, and toddlers under 12 now rate a big 70 points. The big score: anyone, any sex, over 75 years old has been upped to 100 points.

Re:Ties into an earlier Posting...

[giblfiz]

I don't know if she will learn faster, but she's bound to be more flexsable.

Now the geeky kids are going to have no hope...

[Gandhian_Rage]

"Be nice to geeks one day, for you may be competing for the same job.