30 years old, PhD from Princeton — and unemployed in his parents' basement

Jack Weiss, a 30-year-old with a PhD from Princeton, has submitted over 2,300 job applications in two years and remains unemployed, living in his parents' basement. Based on a Wall Street Journal report, the article describes the stagnation in the American job market for academics, citing data on declining hiring and a rise in long-term unemployment.

Jack Weiss, a 30-year-old with a PhD in chemistry from Princeton University, has submitted over 2,300 job applications over the past two years and remains unemployed, living in his parents' basement. Initially, he sought scientific positions at pharmaceutical corporations and postdoctoral fellowships, but after failures, he expanded his search to software engineering roles and even a company selling frozen crab cakes, which also did not respond. In January, he found temporary work at Mercor training artificial intelligence for $70 an hour, but the contract was canceled in mid-March. Based on a Wall Street Journal report, the article notes that the American job market for academics is in a slump, with Gallup data showing only 34% of Americans consider the current time a good time to find a quality job. Weiss is now considering law school, political activity in the Republican Party in Utah, and tech entrepreneurship.