Thread by @keds_economist

I agree with the general sentiment: the #FindSomethingNew campaign is ill-timed and tone deaf. 17,750,000 people are unemployed, the federal add-on is about to expire, and the pandemic is spiking.

But, if I (trying my hardest hardest hardest) ignore that:

(long thread)

A user friendly website that compiles job, career, education, and financial resources for workers in a single location is long overdue.

This website is a meh start. It has some strengths.

The federal government has: careeronestop (incl. myskillsmyfuture), O*NET (incl. my next move), and the Occupational Outlook Handbook.

^All of these websites are in desperate need of updating and their competing/complementary roles haven't always been clear on the user side.

FSN also has a similar compiler of community colleges and trade schools, as well as sources of tuition aid. I know less about this so I can't comment.

And I was legitimately surprised and impressed that FSN had a page of how to apply for assistance, including child care, food stamps, unemployment, and internet access.

A websites that has that brings together job, school, and assistance resources is great.

There are a lot of not great things about it:

Not great:
1. The name. I get wanting to make the career exploration something positive. So "Find Something" is a bit of a letdown. But "Something new" is the wrong message during a recession and the wrong message for new/young workers.

^Obviously I have no suggestions.

Not great:
2. The exploratory pathways include, alongside apprenticeships or community college, "intensive programs." These are mainly coding bootcamps such as the Flatiron school and App Academy. These programs are expensive and have unproven financing schemes.

Not great:
3. The apprenticeship page include redirects straight to private companies (Apple is at the top of every list on every page) without flagging whether they are federally registered apprenticeships. This is a VERY IMPORTANT distinction.

4.-n. ^is the same problem. Blending public and private resources means that the website conflates:

Federal resources designed for the benefit of the public and Federally approved and regulated schools/programs

with

Private company ads (?) links (?) recruiting pages (?).

Finally, the inclusion of geography filters is limited. But a website that is supposed to navigate career/education/training at the sub-baccalaureate level needs geographic filters. At the sub-bacc level is where many of the "good jobs" have high geographic concentration.

A better website would have you enter the zipcode where you want a job/to learn and then pull up resources as appropriate and applicable.

^This is how to make it *truly* about the worker and not about the private partner.