Working in Human Resources I’ve seen the toll a decision like this can have on families. Couples can get divorced.  A great new job can become a layoff situation in a heartbeat. The culture and norms of the new geography may be hostile to you, your children or your spouse’s mindset.

A rich relocation package?

So if you are going to relocate to another state for a job, you’ll want to work with yourself and your family to minimize the financial toll and the emotional pains this might cause.

To that end I found a great website, called Relocation.com which had some great ways to avoid scams, plan your move and transition as smoothly as possible.

One article I liked in particular was one about saving money on your move.  One of the suggestions that really struck a chord with me was the idea of eliminating 10% of your stuff.  The logic here was that 10% of your crap, you could probably do without anyway and it will actually cost you an extra $300-500.    As someone who has relocated twice, I wish this site was available about 10 years ago.

You might also want to consider reading Next Stop, Reloville: Life Inside America’s New Rootless Professional Class, by author Peter T. Kilborn.

This book may give you pause before considering the big move, or at least make you think it through before calling the moving company.  One of my favorite quotes from this book was the following: “By buying houses similar to those they leave, Relos concoct illusions of stability that allay the trauma of moving.”

Next Stop, Reloville: Life Inside America’s New Rootless Professional Class

One last thing I want to say about relocation — watch out for employment “clawback” clauses that will seek for you to return relocation money.  I am familiar with a company (won’t say who) who offered thousands of relocation dollars to someone but the person had to pay back a pro-rated share if they left the new company within the first 13 months.  The person was not sure the company would be laying her off, so she quit, got another job in a different state, and the firm that offered her the relocation went after her for the money.   They subsequently did layoff that department, so in essence she made a good decision and was punished for it.  So watch what you are signing for when the recruiter is happily sending you all the on-boarding materials.

-From May 25th Cover of Time Magazine “The Future of Work” article.

Time does a good job of capturing the sea change moment we find ourselves in their “Future of Work” cover story.  In the article the highlight ten lessons that we should walk away with which will presumably help us navigate the course ahead and be more successful.  While the article is great, informative and occasionally offers some fresh insight, I believe Daniel Pink and his book, A Whole New Mind, actually does a better job at giving us a distinctive and creative way to look at the skills we should be developing for the next ten or twenty years.

A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future

In his visionary way, Daniel lays the framework for why the workplace we know is shifting right under our feet and how it will look in the future.  He also is specific about what we should do to survive it.

Daniel’s book has made such a profound impact on me that I have published an article that offers some key takeaways from his book.  You can find it here.

Dangerous Times
The first two-to-three years in school is a dangerous time for students.  They are typically still feeling the invulnerability of their teen years.  They are largely free from family responsibilities.  And the temptation to make slightly more in the short-term, without a degree is real.    Unfortunately the temporary boost in pay by working full-time is typically short-lived.  From my experience – I know that if students don’t finish school it gets much harder for them to make the real bucks over the long haul of their careers.  Take a look at this chart:

Stay in school kids!

So it’s best to finish school.   I had one of my students recently share with me that in the hey days of the real estate boom, she made close to 400,000 in one year.   She put off plans for school (I probably would have too!) and then the real estate market crashed (ouch).  She was starting back up at community college, trying to buildup her professional skills, but now she is thirtyish and a single mother.   It’s going to be a hard road for her.  I wish her the best of luck.

Consider another story about a honest and truly great executive I know.  This woman has immense integrity and was an inspiring leader.  Despite her great people skills, she was laid off from the mortgage industry in 2008.   Now this person has been out of work for more than a year.   Part of her dilemma is that she never finished college.   Many of the filtering tools used today by recruiters in large companies pretty much automatically route non-degreed management candidates right into the garbage bin.

Student Loan Shenanigans
Of course, at the other end of the spectrum, I don’t advocate going to school by borrowing either.  Borrowing with a 1-in-2 chance of finishing is a double whammy.  But consider this as well; the entities that lend money to those students are fully aware that about 1/3 of all undergraduate loans will go into default.   That’s a pretty high default number.   By comparison, home equity lenders manage their loan portfolios with a only a 2% default rate.  Why would banks lend money to low-income producing students with such high default rates, you ask?   Is it because “someday” they know these kids will earn lots of money?  Nope.

It’s because student loan debt is not bankruptable.   The banks will eventually get their money from the borrower.   I’m all for people paying back what they borrow, but this spells disaster for too many young Americans, especially the ones who are not graduating with their degrees. Students, even ex-students, do not have the same bankruptcy protection that works for other types of consumer loans.  These products are marketed to a somewhat unsuspecting audience, and the disclosure rules are not as tough as they are for credit card lenders (which means smoke and mirrors for the borrower).

This was a heinous bit of lobbying effort which was passed into law about 10 years ago.  If this makes you angry, StudentLoanJustice.org can give you a list of people to blame.  Perhaps if enough parents, educators, students and concerned citizens will band together, we can demand that this be changed, but I’m not holding my breath.   Just to have full disclosure, I don’t have any student loans, never did, but I definitely have had family members and people I love stuggle with this.

So, remind yourself the next time you are staring at a “financial aid” package for yourself or someone you care about, that the average college graduate has $20,000 in student loan debt.   And then ask how much student loan debt do the dropouts have?  Or consider the two students in James Scurlock’s documentary Maxed Out, who committed suicide because they got in over the heads in credit card debt.

The Right Balance
So, I advocate for going to college, but having students working part-time and paying for it as they go.  If parents or relatives can help out, great.  But the family should not be taking out loans either, not unless they like horse track racing.  If you are a proud and anxious parent and you are tempted to co-sign a loan to fund junior’s college, remember those default rates for students – they are very, very high.

If students stay on task, pace themselves and develop the ability to finish what they started, that will lead to the best scenario.  If you are a parent, friend or relative of someone who you think is struggling — offer some encouragement, or perhaps pay for a textbook.  They will be educated, experience long-term success and the income will follow.  I’m sorry – I don’t know when they will move out though.

Are you making the assumption that since the economy is bad, it will be hard to find a position, or find a highly desirable position? Keep in mind that while unemployment is high, most people are working. One way of looking at employment is reversing the meaning of the statistics you hear in the news. If unemployment “soars” to 8%, then reversing that means 92% of the 140 million strong workforce in the US are employed just fine. That’s not as newsworthy, but it’s true.

And this workforce ages every year (tipping past 40 average age this year), and many (millions) of them will retire or downshift each year. That should open up some opportunity. Also keep in mind that the education you are acquiring in school is completely fresh, while those of us who have been in the workplace for 10 years plus, have a “shelf-life” to our education and degrees. Your newly minted skills and recent education is an advantage that employers will need.

I would also recommend taking the additional step of trying to identify job markets that may be traditionally overlooked (non-profits for example, or internship programs which a seasoned, laid-off person would not want). You can often find well-paid, meaningful work, and increase your probability of success because you are looking where others can’t or won’t look. Comments?