Unemployment diary: I'm a 25-year-old civil engineer in Wyoming who's been looking for a job in my field since last December

• The Unemployed States of America takes readers deep inside the decimated American workforce.
• Jordan Crane is a 25-year-old civil engineer based in Laramie, Wyoming.
• After graduating from college in December 2019, Crane has struggled to find a solid engineering job. Two companies were close to hiring him, but rescinded their offers due to the pandemic.
• He recently started working at a landscaping job, but the hours are inconsistent, so he's trying to pick up extra work as a school bus driver or substitute teacher.
• This is Jordan Crane's story, as told to Natalie Christensen.

In college, I studied civil engineering because there's always a need for civil engineers — it's a stable job. Anytime you build anything, there are civil engineers involved. I graduated in December, and started applying for jobs after Christmas. Back in February, I interviewed for a civil engineering entry-level job.

I was told I had the job, and then the virus hit.

I was really excited to start my first engineering job, but I never actually got it. It was disappointing because they strung me along for a long time. They kept saying, "Wait until April; wait until May; wait until June," and then finally they said, "Yeah, we can't hire you."

And then this summer, I got a contract engineering job, and then after two weeks of getting trained, the same thing happened. It was really frustrating.

I don't know if I should try to move away from Laramie. My brother and sister live here, and I have an apartment here. As far as Wyoming goes, you can meet the most people here, so I want to stay in this city if I can. That's my tentative plan.

I don't know yet what my long-term plans are.

It's kind of tricky. I started last week at a landscaping job. Some days the hours are a little longer and some days they're a little shorter. I worked ten hours one day and four or five the next day, so it's not super steady or secure.

I'm not guaranteed a certain number of hours. I have a little bit of money saved, so I'm okay right now.

But if the hours don't pick up, I'm going to be nervous.

I'd like to make a little bit more, so I'm thinking about school-bus driving or substitute teaching. In Laramie, they're still planning on having school in person. As long as they're in person, those jobs will be available, but they're not a long-term solution by any means.

I would like to get a full-time civil engineering job with benefits and be able to make enough so that I don't have to live paycheck to paycheck.

I don't think I've ever felt quite as much stress as I do now.

When you graduate, you expect to have a job, you expect to be financially secure.

I bought a car earlier this year because I thought, okay, I have a little bit saved up, plus I'm going to have a job soon so I can make payments, and now I'm like, oh goodness — what am I going to do to make my $800 rent and car payment?

Mostly, I just really want stability in my life, and it's hard to feel stable without a good job.