When the economy crashed and many companies downsized, many professionals lost their jobs. Mary Anne lost her prestigious professional position and had to accept a contract employment which turned out to be the equivalent of a sweatshop position in Washington DC. Looking from the outside walls of the fancy Pennsylvania Avenue office building gave the impression that most high level professionals inside the building held enviable positions. What the world did not know was that hundreds of them, including Mary Anne, were cramped in rooms, reduced to the level of the underground mole people, performing mind numbing tasks and supervised by heartless managers. They worked outrageous and inhuman long hours for low sweatshop wage. From foreclosure to inability to pay back student loans and debt collectors' calls, many regretted their career choices. Going from food stamp to prostitution rendered the profession a twisted career. Some called it the 19th century sweatshop for professional in the 21st century. The experience of these professionals had been referred to as a tale of modern day indentured servitude. Their prestigious career had become so twisted that they wondered if their post graduate degrees were worth it.
Mercedez C is an international law attorney in Washington DC. She is the author of The Nigerian Visitors & Foreign Investors' Guide and Making Marriage Work Before You Say I do. She is working on several other books that she intends to publish soon, and has written several motivational blogs on her website (www.mercedezc.com), over twenty five poems and songs. Ms. C is a public speaker and the founder of Ogazi Peace Foundation (www.ogazi.org), a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt international humanitarian organization for victims of domestic violence. She lives in Maryland, USA.