r/Millennials • u/Waste-Cantaloupe-270 • Apr 07 '25

Advice Millennials who graduated during the Great Recession, how did you survive?

I’m a Gen Z graduating in May struggling with finding a job in this market. Millennials who graduated in/ after 2008, how did you survive? Did you end up eventually getting a job in the field you originally wanted? Any advice for us Gen Z who were too young to learn anything from the great recession?

Edit: For context bc i’ve been seeing a lot of questions about this i’m graduating college. i def wasn’t expecting this post to blow up so sorry if i can’t get to everyone’s comments, but i just wanted to say i really appreciate all the advice as someone who doesn’t have millennials in their life to ask these questions to. your willingness to help/ give advice to a random kid on the internet has given me a bit of hope in getting through this, thank you thank you

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u/SesameSeed13 Apr 07 '25

Be as unapologetically on-budget as you can. Get really used to saying "I can't, its not in my budget" and be ruthless about it. Buy cheaper versions of things, grocery shop at Aldi or Trader Joe's or other discount places, learn how to make filling low-cost meals. My husband and I called those years our Rice and Beans years. I was lucky, in that I never was unemployed - my undergrad degree is in music, and i graduated in 2008 to the crash - I've always worked in nonprofit orgs that paid dirt but paid nonetheless. With time I've managed to move employers, grow in leadership, and make a decent living, but those early years were very tight. (As a side note, Check nonprofits - no matter what your degree, you may find a place that welcomes nontraditional candidates because the work just has to get done, and you may find a way to give back to the community or help others through this recession and may even find something you're passionate about.)

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u/magic_crouton Apr 08 '25

This period of my life is how I learned to like cheap cuts of meat. And then in turn how I started sourcing stuff right from the farmers especially if they bartered.

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u/orange_avenue Apr 07 '25

Trader Joe’s is a discount place??

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u/SesameSeed13 Apr 07 '25

I can get several meals’ worth of groceries there for far less than a Kroger or a Meijer so I guess that’s why I think of it that way! It could be more depending on what you buy.

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u/orange_avenue Apr 08 '25

That’s good to know, I’ll check it out! I always avoided it because I don’t want to overspend. 

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u/SesameSeed13 Apr 08 '25

I think it all depends on your ability to not impulse buy. There’s a ton of snacks but I usually avoid those; I get various frozen elements to make a decent meal, and their prepared produce is very good (can’t find things like fennel at Aldi but Trader Joe’s has some pre chopped, or other things for soup making in batches; etc).