[npsimons]

> I feel like what happened to the author epitomizes the experience of a generation that graduated in the year or two right before the crash of 2008.

Same could be said for many who were laid off in the crash of 2000/2001. I was one, and in many respects I'm still recovering from it. I'm not entirely happy with how my career has gone since then, but I like where I live enough that I'm not willing to change that, and I realize the tradeoffs.

Passion for your job is not necessarily bad; passion for your career is better, and passion for the work itself is even better, but there are things beyond work, and perspective is a powerful thing.