Awaiting better times, white-collar workers look to blue-collar jobs
Some laid-off educated workers are turning to lower-skilled jobs to get by.
Robb Linn will walk your dog or cut your grass. He doesn’t have any professional experience in either canine care or landscaping, but he does have a master’s degree in city and regional planning.
“I had this bright idea that I would just start throwing out ads on Craigslist for landscaping, gardening, and dog walking” after being laid off from a Sonoma County, Calif., environmental planning firm earlier this year, says Mr. Linn.
As many educated and formerly well-paid workers become restless living on unemployment benefits and frustrated over fruitless job searches, some are opting for lower skilled jobs that pay less but will help cover monthly bills or simply keep them busy.
They’ll baby sit or tutor your kids, fix up a house or tune a car, help staff trade shows that come to town, or cater parties.
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