The "American Dream" is an old age ideology created during the Industrial Revolution, back when one full-time job could greatly support a large family. It is a "dream" of creating the perfect life out of a previously not-so-perfect life, this idea ceased to exist as the years went by. Today the American Dream is far more challenging to accomplish; because of advanced schooling, economic recession, and lack of motivation. Reasons like these helped to turn a once common goal into an uncommon dream over the course of 100 years. Firstly, the advancement of schooling, paper degrees, and certificates are something our grandparents never had but they still managed to handle their jobs fine. Back then, in our grandparent's lifetime they followed career paths and learned over time how to master a practice. For example, neither of my grandparents had college educations, they only graduated high school, yet that didn't stop my grandfather from owning his own auto shop, and my grandmother didn't give up her dream on becoming a housewife with her own family. This style of working is outdated and gone like the past. Today, degrees are what we have to show for all the years of hard work we put into school. To achieve the American Dream in today's society one must graduate high school, and obtain a degree in college for a given major. After all this schooling the odds of finding a perfect job are a long shot because of overpopulation, job layoffs, and a dwindling economy. Secondly, economic downfall causes harm to the American Dream. Since the era of the American dream, there has been a stock market crash, and some economic recessions; both of which took jobs, ruined people's lives, and made it harder to live as people's life savings turned into nothing overnight. In the 1920's, more and more people were not making enough money to support their families to the point that even children looked for work. People could no longer always afford houses or