And you think I'm harsh?

Annoyed Librarian has a word for new graduates hunting for those elusive shortages they heard about when they signed on for more college debt. Don't blame the boomers for not retiring.

Since I have been drawing attention to this issue for a couple of years, I feel comfortable pointing out some uncomfortable truths to complaining job seekers. The most uncomfortable truth is that nobody owes you a job. If you went to library school because you were told jobs were plentiful, then you were duped. That's too bad, but it wasn't the libraries that aren't hiring you now that duped you. Library schools benefited from your tuition. The ALA probably benefited from some dues money. Libraries seem to benefit by not having to pay much because there are plenty of suckers lined up to take sucky jobs. You're the only one that didn't benefit. Three out of four's not bad.

Actually, it's probably not a good idea to believe anything you hear about shortages--nurses, lawyers, cruise directors, computer programmers--because those come from the press releases of college recruiting offices, and they have an obligation to fill the classrooms. What I remember from the days I was on search committee duty is that there were usually one or possibly two really outstanding candidates in a pile of 25 resumes, and by the time we'd work our way through our own red tape and diversity rules, someone else had snatched them. There really are excellent jobs and excellent candidates, and somehow, they often find each other. Matthew says he knows of good jobs in Florida (I think); he's also single, a devout Roman Catholic and has been a nurse. Someone ought to snatch him up.