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I'm 32. I graduated college in 2010 at 24 in Tennessee. About $9,000 of student debt. At the time, almost no one was hiring locally, and I was too far away from major job centers to get any interest. It took four years to get my first "career track" job, and my first "staff level" job didn't come until I was 30. I made $15/hr or less most of those first four years. I don't care who you are or where you are - surviving on $12/hr-$15/hr isn't easy.
I had to move from Tennessee to two Midwestern states to even get that first viable job. That was expensive. With all that moving around, it's difficult to get involved in a serious romantic relationship, or heaven forbid, have a kid and jerk them around between different schools. I've had numerous relationships, but have never had a live-in romantic partner or been married.
They also had the "luxury" of not having to relocate to find employment. Homes were more affordable relative to income. At the time, property in our local area appreciated better - today, you're lucky to appreciate above inflation in this part of Tennessee.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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The comparison starts at 1977. I was not 30 until 1982, but at that age I was married with one kid, we had been in our first purchased home for 4 years, no debt from college or graduate school for either of us. I was in the 7th year of my career and after 4 promotions was a supervisor, making about $36,000 ($18.75/hour).
I see some examples of the current issues such as college debt and living with parents at 30. I also see people now that age doing far better than I did, some right out of college starting a job at 6 figures. I know several in the 28-32 age group that have bought homes here in the expensive Seattle area. One of my employees, for example was married with one kid and bought a 3 unit apartment (lives in one) at age 31. There are others that are living comfortably and have bought homes without a college degree, and no debt. One for example did live with his parents until about age 27, but now 29 has a good tech job at Microsoft and bought a house.
I'm sure 30 year old's are thrilled at the prospect of having children in a world where 58% of the wildlife on the planet was exterminated in the past 40 years and we have entered the sixth extinction with absolutely no sign of slowing down.
Worse, this behavior is encouraged by the system.
Additionally, human labor capital will continue to be replaced with technology. It's a massive threat that will one day encompass, perhaps every single human labor category.
Then we get these clearly biased and complacent comments from baby boomers who cannot wrap their head around how the world is changing and instead are shaking their fists at immigrants on television and trying to deny people health care.
It's ok, America is only a small part of the world. There's no one size fits all for everyone. What is successful for one is not for another. I'd rather do what I want rather than what a government metric determines to be successful. In 4 years I'll be 30 in a world that will likely be in recession or recovering from one. I just hope I have enough money saved so I can continue looking out from my fire escape and watch the sun rise over the One World Trade Center.
doent matter, because our future isnt looking brighter.. Seems the only generation that getting it right is folks born in 1975-1985.. rest are screwing themeselfs. Movie idiocracy seems to be on track. http://www.mandatory.com/culture/104...-sadly-already
I had to move from Tennessee to two Midwestern states to even get that first viable job.
You knew that when you got your degree.
Reminds me of the idiot who got a degree in petro-chemical engineering, then complained he couldn't find a job locally. There aren't any oil fields in Cincinnati. Never were. The four very small oil refineries built at the turn of the 20th Century had shut down by the 1980s because of the cost of EPA compliance and the fact that it was far cheaper to ship gasoline, diesel and aviation fuel by barge up-river from Gulf Coast refineries than it was to operate them.
I'm sure 30 year old's are thrilled at the prospect of having children in a world where 58% of the wildlife on the planet was exterminated in the past 40 years and we have entered the sixth extinction with absolutely no sign of slowing down.
Worse, this behavior is encouraged by the system.
Additionally, human labor capital will continue to be replaced with technology. It's a massive threat that will one day encompass, perhaps every single human labor category.
Then we get these clearly biased and complacent comments from baby boomers who cannot wrap their head around how the world is changing and instead are shaking their fists at immigrants on television and trying to deny people health care.
I'm 32. I graduated college in 2010 at 24 in Tennessee. About $9,000 of student debt. At the time, almost no one was hiring locally, and I was too far away from major job centers to get any interest. It took four years to get my first "career track" job, and my first "staff level" job didn't come until I was 30. I made $15/hr or less most of those first four years. I don't care who you are or where you are - surviving on $12/hr-$15/hr isn't easy.
I had to move from Tennessee to two Midwestern states to even get that first viable job. That was expensive. With all that moving around, it's difficult to get involved in a serious romantic relationship, or heaven forbid, have a kid and jerk them around between different schools. I've had numerous relationships, but have never had a live-in romantic partner or been married.
They also had the "luxury" of not having to relocate to find employment. Homes were more affordable relative to income. At the time, property in our local area appreciated better - today, you're lucky to appreciate above inflation in this part of Tennessee.
I graduated from high school and college in the early '80's in northeast Missouri - RURAL! My whole county had only 8,000 people and my town was the biggest in the county at 2,000. Because of the recession the government was actually incenting businesses to hire college grads because unemployment was so high.
Soooooo....I didn't have any college debt...and I got the hell out of there! Sorry, when you live in a rural area with lots of farming and you go to college, you don't stay there. There is no better time to move than when you are just out of college. Why even try to work in your hometown? You're not married yet, you have the ultimate freedom. If that is not the time to move on, then what is?
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