KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) -- Finding and keeping a job anywhere, is getting tougher, but that's not discouraging folks from wanting to become Americans and, for some, East Tennesseans.

It's somewhat of a twist on a newcomer's response to the born and raised: “Hey,
I'm here by choice, not chance.”

Maybe they have some lessons for us.

Some 124 men and women pledging allegiance anew, and forsook 52 former countries.

Koudou Brox has left the Ivory Coast to be a computer analyst in Morristown.

Koudou says, “The most important thing is to work, and to make a living, which is wonderful, and in the United States if you're willing to work, you'll find easily a job.”

That’s the dream, anyway, but nationwide, unemployment is at its highest in five years, and Tennessee is seeing its highest unemployment levels in 21 years.

Emily Hatfield with the Tennessee Career Center says, “We've had a career center since 1998, we've been in this location for five years, and this is the busiest I've seen.”

Odele Garrett moved to Tennessee two weeks ago and figures it'll be easier getting full-service work in heating and cooling here than in his native Detroit.

Odele says, “I know it takes a little time to get what you're looking for so I just hold my head up and keep on searching.”

Sometimes, finding work means scaling back.

Weight loss counselor Lutfiya Saleh was a doctor before the Taliban forced her from Afghanistan.

Now she’s a new American citizen and says, “I would like to go back to my profession, because I miss it a lot, being almost eight years in the United States.”

Koudou says, “My wife and I we ran a gas station/slash deli, on Chapman for two or three years.”

New citizens Koudou and Lutifya say the struggle is worth it for the freedom and opportunity. For transplanted Odele, finding something part-time is all about his 9-month-old daughter.

Odele says, “As long as you got work, it's easier to find work.”

The bottom line is that you have to survive before you can thrive, and stepping stone jobs will buy you time to build or get back your chosen career.

Compared to the six to seven years of study, tests, and paperwork a foreigner needs to become a citizen, many immigrants see it as relatively easy.