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I'm just outside the millennial range by a year or two but tell me how many generations had it so much better then you?
Your call of America done by 2050 says more about you than anything else
his post was ridiculous but did have some truth to it. millennials have to make a bunch of choices. a college degree is almost necessary. you can pursue a trade or a vocational degree, but either of those expose you to risk, and having a degree in your back pocket to be able to adapt later in life is still a good idea.
i don't think it's as difficult as he's describing though. i am 32. so graduated in 2004, when jobs were still available. folks who graduated in 2008, 2009, and even 2010 had it rougher, but really what you need to do is ensure you're picking a good area of study. his post was way too doom and gloom for me. it's not that bad.
Age 24 is, IMHO, a bit young to be aspiring to solid middle class status. Later in life, sure. So it takes time to acquire the work experience to command higher pay. Newsflash, that's life. So someone went to college. Big deal. They can work their way up the ladder of life just like anyone else. Middle class status, at age 24? Are you kidding? Today's youth want it all now. My parents and older relatives worked long and hard to attain that middle class status, if they went to college or not. They certainly DID NOT have that until later, much later, in life.
My generation typically reached the middle class sometime around age 40, after 15 years experience in their field and a lot of saving. Up to then it was a 10 year old car (only one, not one for every driver), beanbag chairs and a black and white TV that got three channels. My wife used to drive me to work in the mornings and pick me up in the evenings so she could have something to drive during the day. It sort of went with the brown bag lunches and the thermos of coffee. I didn't even own a TV until I got married.
That's how you live in your 20s. You don't have any new, shiny stuff, you have old, half worn-out stuff, and not much of that.
don't get your panties in a bunch. I was being sarcastic. all these boomers love to generalize gen y and then turn around and accuse me of doing the same thing. I am 25 btw...
all these geezers want to say we're entitled, lazy and wanna play xbox and screw around on our iphones all day. frankly, I am sick of it. what is it with the generation warfare on this site? boomers, just because your kids turned out to be lazy, booze addled, entitled delinquents doesn't mean every millennial is that way. wtf??
I was responding to the poster that stated new graduates with jobs decent enough to attack the student loans should be more aggressive. most that have that option don't pursue that option. they clearly stated those with employment issues do not have that option, which I agree with.
good lawd the reading comprehension fail is strong in this thread....
ffs, before y'all jump down my throat, you might wanna actually read what I am saying first.
That's because we are irritated by all the whiners who think they should be an instant success just because they went to college. If you picked an actual productive major and managed to graduate in the top 25% of your class, that should buy you an entry level job at the bottom of the pay scale, somewhat below the US median income. If you just managed a C average, good luck finding a job. Everybody knows just how mediocre that is. Mediocre in school means mediocre at work, which means more trouble than you are worth.
As they used to say when we really milked cows before heading to work, the cream rises. There are millennials who are doing great. They excel. The top 10% will always do well. The vast mass of spear carriers will never make a mark, and when it's time to downsize they will be discarded. That's the way it has always been. You may not be able to make a living in your chosen field. Your chosen field may not even exist ten years from now. If you are not doing well, it's not society's fault, it's your fault. Do something different.
A degree in engineering isn't worth much until you get your LPE. A degree in accounting isn't worth much until you get your CPA. A degree in law isn't worth much until you pass the bar. A college degree is just a milestone, not a goal, and it certainly isn't the end of your education.
A degree in engineering isn't worth much until you get your LPE. A degree in accounting isn't worth much until you get your CPA. A degree in law isn't worth much until you pass the bar. A college degree is just a milestone, not a goal, and it certainly isn't the end of your education.
You can just think of the exam as an extension of the education, so whatever we say about the degree implicitly includes the examination.
My generation typically reached the middle class sometime around age 40, after 15 years experience in their field and a lot of saving. Up to then it was a 10 year old car (only one, not one for every driver), beanbag chairs and a black and white TV that got three channels. My wife used to drive me to work in the mornings and pick me up in the evenings so she could have something to drive during the day. It sort of went with the brown bag lunches and the thermos of coffee. I didn't even own a TV until I got married.
That's how you live in your 20s. You don't have any new, shiny stuff, you have old, half worn-out stuff, and not much of that.
Yes, this is normal. I don't know when it became a crime or something to deplore for young people just starting out after college to be broke. Especially when a generation hits the labor market during one of the US economy's cyclical downturns, it's not reasonable to expect everyone to have a job at all, let alone one in their field, and one that pays well or has a big future.
That's because we are irritated by all the whiners who think they should be an instant success just because they went to college.
The problem is, their parents often set them up with that expectation. Some parents have irrational beliefs about the power of a BA. And it doesn't occur to them to even suggest grad school, even if they can afford to pay for it. Strange. Parents sometimes are just as shocked as newly-graduated kids to find out a BA doesn't mean much in some fields. Some of those parents have posted on C-D in the past.
The problem is, their parents often set them up with that expectation. Some parents have irrational beliefs about the power of a BA. And it doesn't occur to them to even suggest grad school, even if they can afford to pay for it. Strange. Parents sometimes are just as shocked as newly-graduated kids to find out a BA doesn't mean much in some fields. Some of those parents have posted on C-D in the past.
^^^This.
Getting a college degree without regard to employment and earnings prospects is something you could get away with as recently as the 1990s. Not so much anymore.
My generation typically reached the middle class sometime around age 40, after 15 years experience in their field and a lot of saving. Up to then it was a 10 year old car (only one, not one for every driver), beanbag chairs and a black and white TV that got three channels. My wife used to drive me to work in the mornings and pick me up in the evenings so she could have something to drive during the day. It sort of went with the brown bag lunches and the thermos of coffee. I didn't even own a TV until I got married.
That's how you live in your 20s. You don't have any new, shiny stuff, you have old, half worn-out stuff, and not much of that.
It was my parents dream to own a home and they made it happen... to this day their furniture is mostly hand me downs... the living room sofa is the one they bought new in 1959... no second cars and an old hand-me-down black and white that needed the rabbit ears moved if you changed the channels... when they save enough to buy a color set they had it 20 years.
Growing up I remember the bookshelves were made of cinderblocks with stained pine shelves and my brother and I shared a bed... but, hey, they were rich because they owned a home with a 30 year mortgage.
One year for Christmas, mom and dad decided to buy a refrigerator... the old one needed almost constant defrosting... and yes... they still have the old one in the garage!
For their 10th wedding anniversary, they bought a Sears clothes dryer and they still it...
Remember their very good friends going on vacations every year and eating out... they rented and never saved anything... both husband and wife worked and they had health care through the union... new cars every 2 to 3 years and my brothers and I would just look in amazement...
Mom and Dad would say owning a home is where the vacations, eating out, a new car etc. went...
Every 7 years we took a trip to visit the Mom's side of the family and spend a month on the farm...
You can just think of the exam as an extension of the education, so whatever we say about the degree implicitly includes the examination.
You can't become an LPE without 4 years of progressively responsible work experience. The work experience is evaluated and approved by the PE board. When I was in my 20s they wouldn't let you into an engineering grad school at the same university where you took your baccalaureate. In Oregon, you can't get a CPA license without at least a year of work experience supervised by a licensed CPA. In both of those fields, just going to school won't get you there.
Law is different, but it pretty much requires a JD to sit for the bar exam, and many candidates never pass it.
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