The Case for Collapse

Yes, I know I am grossly oversimplifying the economy, but I've noticed that here in the relatively safe field of engineering, we're actually doing pretty well thanks to the economic downturn. We still have plenty of work in the US and abroad, many engineering firms are aggressively hiring, and layoffs really haven't hit us yet. I'm not saying this will last forever, but for now, we seem relatively safe, compared to some.
And we are still bringing home the same paycheck but thanks to the economy our buying power has gone way up. 18 months ago 125,000 dollars in Kansas City would have gotten you a 50's era, single story, slab-type, 2 bedroom, 1 bath home with a single car garage. Basically you were paying $88-100/square foot, minimum. New homes were much higher. Now homes are selling at $60/sq ft and it much nicer neighborhoods. That same 50's era home is probably half the price. And every bit of bad news about the economy pushes oil down farther and farther. In a way, its the worst thing that could happen; a cycle of bad news causing bad economic activity which in turn gets reported later as more bad news, and so on. But if you are shielded, like many, then now is a great time to be alive. People who took low-risk, low-pay jobs, people who were neck deep in the Dave Ramsey debt reduction plan and weren't beholden to a lot of banks, these people are climbing back into their Ford F-250 because they can afford to drive it again.

However, the economy as a whole is in shambles and many lives have been broken. I guess what I am trying to get at is if there is a single high school student who reads this, hear me: go to college, but don't get your business degree. Those high-risk, high reward jobs come and go faster than you can say "Sprint Layoffs", while jobs with lower starting salaries that are probably a lot more work, like engineering, education, and the health industry...those people just aren't getting laid off yet, and many are doing quite well.


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