MSD

I worked in the tech department through college as a student worker. I graduated in May and now work there as a temporary worker until someone to fill my former supervisor's position is hired. I have essentially been doing a $43,000/yr job for the past two years in the free time between classes and expect that I will be hired in my former supervisor's position next week when the main campus gives our campus permission to hire someone because my current boss has all but dropped the facade of pretending he can't tell me who they want to hire and refers to my future there in the long run.

I am fortunate in that I am more capable of doing an essential job than anyone else interested in doing it, and have proven this over the past two years. I am also fortunate that my job is an indispensable piece of a team that generates a large amount of revenue for the campus. It's much more gratifying and profitable than my previous job (which I left voluntarily) of doing routine maintenance on 40+ cars per day for $8/hr with no benefits.
When the demand side of the equation collapses due to artificially inflated prices, you're going to get hit hard for a bit, but your industry provides a commodity with long-term inelastic demand.
I'd say that's more like a nonrenewable contract expiring. It's not quite as simple as the "use the skills you learn in the armed forces to get you a great job" line the commercials try to feed us, is it? At least you can be proud of your last job.