For the tens of thousands of unemployed in Brooklyn, losing their jobs was beyond their control. Rick on the other hand chose to leave his job to look for a better one. Little did he know, he had walked away from a steady income just as the worst economic crisis in decades was about to hit.
Rick is 53 years old. He did not want his last name to be published. With his graying hair, round rimmed glasses and full beard Rick might remind you of a professor you had in college. In conversation, his depth of thought adds to his scholarly image.
Rick grew up in the Midwest and had a series of good jobs in information technology, the last one in St. Louis, Missouri. He has been unemployed for 37 months, six of them since moving to Brooklyn last June with his fiancé, who is a teacher, and her two teenage sons.
Most of his fond memories are still attached to the Midwest. But one experience he would like to forget is the job he left behind.
He had been working in IT at a brokerage firm for seven years, earning the highest salary he had ever been paid, about $80,000. But the company was changing in ways he disliked, so he left. It took him 10 months to find a new IT position, and it paid only half the money.
“I’ve never been lucky enough to have more than one offer at a time,” he said, so he took the job.
He started the job, as the IT director for a non-profit media organization, on Martin Luther King Day in 2008, he remembers. But he soon realized it was not the right move.
“My boss was and is a bully and…I sort of knew that going into it,” he said.
Before applying for the job, Rick had come across a cover story in the St. Louis Times about his future boss and how difficult she was to work with. He thought he could get along, as most of his coworkers did, but found it impossible and resigned. It was September 2008.
“I quit…right at the onset of this economic event, when things kind of went to hell in a hand basket,” he said.
“In hindsight…it would be easy to say I could’ve tried something else,” he said, “even though [the job] was terrible in many respects, you wonder what you could’ve done differently.”
Now, his life revolves around the search for work. Rick did search for another IT job in Missouri, but he feels his career opportunities are more promising in New York City. He checks employment websites and RSS feeds frequently and usually applies to half a dozen IT job postings each week.
“I’d say the rate of interviews [here] has been better so far,” he said. He has had three interviews since he moved to Brooklyn. No job offers yet, but he is optimistic.
“I realize that networking is supposed to be the best way, but hardly knowing anyone here makes that difficult.” He has attended networking events in the City for people with information technology backgrounds, but notes wryly that “geeks [and] IT people are pretty introspective.”
Rick has a bachelor’s degree in Physics and Philosophy. A self proclaimed generalist, Rick has spent years building his IT skills through real world experience, but he feels that he is being overlooked as he competes alongside people with computer science and other technology-intensive degrees. “I think I bring an amazing amount of breadth to whoever would hire me…but people can’t see that.”
Now in his early 50s he is concerned that many employers seem to be looking for younger people to hire. “It’s kind of a young person’s game at times,” he said.
In the three years Rick has been unemployed, he has had virtually no income. He did not apply for unemployment insurance because he voluntarily left his last job. He’s grateful for the savings he’s been stretching for so long, but that nest egg is slowly running out.
He describes his current lifestyle as “humble” and is not sure if he can keep even that level of comfort. “We’re living at the edge of our capabilities,” he said.
He has had to give up the small indulgences he once enjoyed. Rick gave up his motorcycle and no longer goes diving every year. He is trying to sell his house in Missouri, but doing so has been frustrating. “It’s been on the market for over a year” he said, “I’ve changed the price a number of times.”
He did find an affordable apartment in Brooklyn but it is not as spacious as his suburban house in Missouri. “We have about one-quarter of the floor space that we had before we moved,” he said, “and we’re paying [$1800 an month in] rent.”
As Rick continues to search for employment, he spends the rest of his time reading at the library, riding his bicycle and spending quality time with his fiancé and her youngest son. They enjoy visiting museums and hanging out at Coney Island. “At times it gets a little depressing” he said, but it’s not all so grim. “I’ve got a fiancé and a son so we have some fun, [and they’re] good company.”
His current situation may seem discouraging, but Rick did provide one piece of optimism. “Technology bubbles and busts are historically followed by golden periods…of prosperity, growth, and plenty,” he said.
Rick hopes that more fortunate times are on the way.
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