Recent college grads in Dallas adjust plans during rough economy

by Lena Dirbashi

DALLAS — Amy Phelps worked hard in high school. Straight A’s and a great portfolio landed her a scholarship at a prestigious private college, Southern Methodist University in Dallas.

An over-achiever passionately interested in many subjects, Amy triple-majored in political science, history, and medieval studies. She worked at the residence hall at her dorm while working part-time at Culwell & Son, an upscale men’s retail store. Amy juggled all these activities as she prepped for law school. With a high GPA and a great portfolio, Amy looked forward to graduation, assured she had what it took to be a competitive young professional in the real world. She was so confident, in fact, she decided it wouldn’t hurt to take a break for a year – and soon accepted a marriage proposal right after graduation.

Amy and her fiance planned their wedding in less than a month, with arrangements to move to Boston after taking a few months off to “enjoy life.” After a vacation and a honeymoon, they would get great jobs that matched their skill sets and live the desirable post-graduate life.

But a few months down the road, the country was struck with the worst recession since the Great Depression. It was June 2008. In a matter of weeks, Amy and her fiance realized they might have to change their plans before the economy worsened.

Boston became a short-lived dream. “It never happened,” Amy said. “It was the closest thing we had to a honeymoon.”

Amy kept her part-time job at Culwell & Son temporarily, hoping to find something more suitable for a college graduate. Many of her friends refused to take a job that didn’t bring in a certain amount of money, she said. “But in the end, they all took whatever they could get.” Even for Amy, her “temporary” job soon shifted to permanent, though retail wasn’t spared from the economic downturn and work was tortuously slow.

“A lot of people were let go because it’s so slow,” she said. “But they tried hard to rearrange hours; they were trying to cut corners so that they don’t have to fire people … but this might not last.”

Amy started to sell Mary Kay products on the side for some extra cash. As the recession worsened, Amy took the beauty product business more seriously.

Her husband, Travis, didn’t find much luck himself after graduating with a degree in advertising and marketing from Southeastern Oklahoma State University.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t find any jobs that fit his degree, because he did – initially.

“First they tell you they are looking for an advertising or public relation person when they are posted online,” he explained. “Then when they respond to your resume and request for an interview, they will say it’s marketing.”

That sounded close enough. But when Travis went in for the interview, “marketing” became “direct marketing” and on the first day at the job, he found himself doing door-to-door sales. “I wasn’t any different from a Mary Kay consultant,” he joked bitterly.

After driving to Arlington everyday for two weeks, Travis made only $30.

So he quit.

By October 2008, Travis finally got a job at a mortgage company that was bought out by a major bank at the peak of the economic crisis. (Because of the sensitivity of the subject, Travis was not at liberty to discuss the company names involved.)

He couldn’t help but feel the irony of his situation. “I was working for the company responsible for the recession that didn't let me have the job I wanted in the first place,“ he said.

Nevertheless, Travis was ecstatic just to be employed. The job was full-time and came with health insurance.

But even though the job was paying bills, Travis gets a dose of reality check from time to time when coworkers find out he has a college education.

“It always sucks to have to answer to that, especially since I graduated with honors and cum laude and with all my achievements. Here I am working at customer service in the call center,” he said.

Then Amy found out she was pregnant. All of a sudden, the great job Travis was grateful for wasn’t enough.

When baby Elizabeth arrived, Amy and Travis had to make some changes, and the first on the list was to cut spending.

Amy stopped buying brand names at the grocery store. Travis no longer orders Pay-Per-View. When they go out to eat, which has been reduced to once a week, they only order water with their meals. Cable and Internet are next on the list, Travis said.

New habits were formed too. Amy clips coupons and Travis shops for cheaper car insurance. They are even looking for a more affordable apartment, as paying $1,200 for 1,250 sq. ft. is increasingly becoming unreasonable. “We can give up some extra room here,” Travis said as he looked at his small living room. They could also move to Sherman, a city 45 miles away, because with the same rate, the Phelps could rent a house, he added.

Travis doesn’t have time to actively look for a job with his 9-hour workday, and until then, these decisions will have to be made soon.

The upcoming months continue to look bleak. But despite their financial woes, the Phelps' are not depressed, nor are they unhappy. Amy is glad she can spend time with Elizabeth, and Travis is excited to look at new options. He is seriously looking into joining the Air Force, and Amy supports him.

“Things aren’t so bad and we have no regrets,” Travis said. “We went to high school and college, got married, and we have a family. … We have no career that’s holding us [back], but the question is: Is this just a recession or a shift to a new permanent thinking?”