It is a tough economy to find a job and lot of youngsters like Chad are out there in similar situation. The fact that he is from Stanford makes this case little more strange but not completely surprising. as they say "it is the economy,stupid". Last year was the toughest year to get a job in the last 20+ years, in my opinion. I wish Chad and people like him, lot of good wishes for better days.

Chad, I would encourage you to further your education. Go for that PhD if you are seeing demand for such degrees!

Life is tough for a lot of us. I was laid off because of the economy and have been looking for over a year. After sending over 500 resumes/applications I have been invited to 2 interviews. With over 27 years experience I found myself inteviewing with people younger and less experience than myself. I am amazed at the lack of intelligence some of these companies show when they pass on experience. I hear 'over qualified' a lot. I claim there is no such thing. As a former hiring manager I used to love interviewing people with as much or more experience than myself. Experience equals success.

At 23, it is hardly time to panic. Wait until you've worked 20+ years, have a home, and multiple other financial obligations and find yourself out of work. Unemployment is barely enough to help make ends meet, not to mention your payments are also taxable which in itsel fis laughable. When you start using the money you saved for retirement, max out a credit card or two. . .then you can start to panic.

Not to mention it appears a lot of full time jobs have gone away. The company that let me go now operates with students or retired folks working 16-24 hours a week. No medical expenses, no vacations, etc. It's an employers dream. What I forgot to say is their level of service went down to a pathetic level.

Good luck to all of us out there scrambling to find employment. I retired from coaching the youth in Mountain View in Little League, Babe Ruth, and Pop Warner football, but now I may go back considering the job search is all but over for me until the economy gets back to a level where jobs are opened up.

Why are we writing this story and wasting paper. Congrats you went to Stanford and have a degree with no job welcome to the world. Anyone interview this guy, who knows maybe there is something lacking that even a Stanford degree can't make up for. Tough economy with thousands of young people jobless, sad part is the education system is charging more, and banks are raking in big bucks with student loans, and that big job that was suppose to make it all worth it, no longer exists.

Why is this story in the front page of the Voice?

There are too many assumptions here: He thought that being from Stanford gave him more chances to get a "good" job(that normally is), he took for granted that the plan he outlined for the next 10+ years will become real.

Welcome to real life, I must say.


Good luck, Chad.

I don't see anything here that reflects a bad economy or the lack of jobs. If this young fellow are willing to work for some chemical company in a small town in the Midwest or South, he will have plenty of offers. The underlying, real motive is that he wants to stay in Bay Area.

Please. Just because he went to Stanford doesn't qualify him to hold any job. The arrogance of this piece is astonishing.

James makes an important point: if you are willing to relocate, your chances are much better at landing work.

Economists have said part of the problem with unemployment in this recession is decreased mobility of the available workforce. You have a lot of people who are tied down to where they currently live (often due to a home they cannot sell or won't sell at the market price) and so cannot/will not move to where there are more jobs.

In the ChemE field you have to work about 2 years as an intern while you are taking your classes(thats why most people take about 6 or 7 years to graduate because they spend 1 or 2 working in the field). If you failed to do that no plant will give a second thought as you have no real world experience. Making your degree almost worthless. Being good at CAMS or being able to do cost/risk/benefit reports gives you a great and looked for edge down here in the Beaumont, Tx and Lousiana area(largest chemical plants in the world are in this area. Those types of ChemE's are wanted.

And should have worked those 1 or 2 years while earning your bachelor's

I was vetting possible renters who had upcoming jobs at google. EVERY single one had done the semester abroad thing or volunteered overseas in Peace Corp etc.

Employers love that... he is young. He can defer loans for certain things (Peace Corps) Don't waste time in the office when your under 25