David Burns | Contributing Writer
I look at my CV like we’re at dinner after having broken up. The truth is my bosses burned down all the bridges that once ran between us. My non-renewable contract at La Sorbonne Nouvelle is drawing to a close, and the university along with it. Paris III, the name by which it is more commonly known, will shut down in 2016. Programmes are in place for a new college, an amalgamation of four pre-existing faculties, set to open around the same time. However, as with everything in the third level education system, the organization is a dog’s dinner. The only thing clear to me is that in the autumn of 2014 I will be out of a job, and my CV is looking a lot like Lewis Carroll’s Cheshire Cat.
I feel like the employee version of a Black Widow. I’m hardworking, I’ve had a job since I was 16, but everywhere that has taken me on has since shut. This is perhaps something to keep quiet, but there’s not much left to lose. Just ask the Wexford Art’s Centre café, D’Lush, where I started.
Every Christmas Eve after I got to college, I spent running food in Chatham Brasserie. The owner took me on, but only after I got a haircut, and with the recommendation of my old boss in Wexford. They both had a history in catering. They both treated me well. The summer before I left for France with my degree and a job in Paris, Gerry found me a place in his brother’s restaurant Frankie’s Steakhouse. I worked the days in one and the nights in the other. When I left for Paris, with an envelope full of cash, Gerry gave me two grand in holiday pay and a letter of recommendation.
I feel like the employee version of a Black Widow
My arrival in the City of Lights scared the hell out of me. Rent is sky high here. Everywhere is so expensive. A pint is €7. I got work in an Irish bar called The Coolín. The letter of recommendation and the restaurants on my CV convinced the owner, and he hired me. I continued the routine started over the summer as long as I could and then, after finding and furnishing a studio, I gave my notice. The boss took it well and allowed me go home for Christmas. The Coolín will close December 2014.
The contract I’m currently on at Paris III is what the French call a CDD. Roughly translated, ‘a contract of pre-determined duration’. The next place I’ll go looks to be South Korea. They pay well for English teachers there, and that’s the only thing still on my CV. I’ll need to stay there for a while to accumulate experience. Otherwise, when next I move, there won’t be much to put to paper. I’ve been lucky all my working life, but right now the cracks are widening under me and given the breadth of places closing, I can’t be the only one slipping through.
The Irish Government believes young people to be resilient. We are. The Irish Government believes young people should be in work or education. I don’t think anyone would disagree. However, what the Irish Government and other governments lack is experience. They didn’t grow up in the current crisis, although their generation caused it. Consequently, they don’t understand the nuanced nature of the challenges posed. They fail to appreciate that you can have tried your hardest only to find the ground you’re standing on disappearing from under you.
