Holding on tight

The economy is in the crapper and we all know that.

Except now it's hitting a little bit too-close-for-comfort to home.

It's not every year that one graduates college and enters the job market during a recession. Oh, the joys of being tens-upon-tens-of-thousands-of-dollars in debt amidst the near impossibility of finding a full-time job. Then the mind starts to dabble: is there credibility in a bachelor's degree any more? Was there really even a point? That very well may be my thoughts after settling into apathy and my potentially-developing depression: direct side effects of a recent graduate thrown into the oblivion known as our current economy.

I was reading a couple of articles on designobserver.com which spearhead this subject and the worries (I know I have) in regard to working in the design industry. This, I'm sure, can apply to most industries, so those of you who are suffering (or will suffer soon enough) from this same stress, take heed:

Murray Moss, the guest write on Design Observer, wrote "Design Hates a Depression" in response to "Design Loves a Depression" and here are a few excerpts from his entry:

I can assure you that design, along with painting, sculpture, photography, music, dance, fashion, the culinary arts, architecture, and theatre, loves a depression no more than it loves a war, a flood, or a plague.

[Design] tends to suffer, like any of the other humanistic disciplines. New ideas do not get championed or realized. Leadership turns to market-driven accommodation.

It does tend to suffer. And so do I. Thus, I've started this spiral into apathy because I am feeling more and more discouraged. Thankfully, in all of Michael Beirut's (graphic designer, design critic, educator, former VP of Vignelli Associates, current partner at Pentagram, graduate of the University of Cincinnati's DAAP program, and all-around bad mamma jamma) 28 years in the industry, he's gained knowledge and valuable experience and decided to grace us with some light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel-encouragement:

Be frugal
Be careful
Be creative
Be sociable
and most importantly BE PATIENT.

My friend the ex-hedge fund guy (he did get out in time) told me recently, "In the middle of every boom, people say, 'This one is different, it's never going to come down.' But it always does." This was true with dot-coms, and it was true with real estate. "In recessions, they fear the same thing: this one is different. But it will eventually turn around after all the crap gets worked out." And it will, eventually. Just hold on tight.

You may have noticed something interesting: all of these tips for what to do in a recession will work just as well in good times. Or even better. So the final lesson is to use this downturn as a learning experience. If you've got this discipline to survive, or even thrive, in the next year or so, you'll be mastering skills that will serve you well forever. Good luck.

I'll surely need luck indeed. And I'm holding on tight.