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Incorrect - you're simply ignoring what I'm saying.
My parent's generation at the SAME AGE that my generation is currently at had: far greater job security, far more affordable housing, more affordable medical care, more affordable education options, and so on. On the flip side, my generation worked as hard they have AND achieved higher levels of education... but we're expected to have far less in life, despite working at least as hard and following the rules - and then we have to put up with aged know-it-alls who think we're "entitled" for wanting a job that actually has a future to it and a house / medical care / etc that doesn't cost us everything.
You can try to ignore the facts all you want and just claim "young people are so entitled!" but that changes nothing.
This is very true. You can say the baby boomers are tied up in the financial mess, but they created it and we all pay for it. Gen Y wasn't in charge that lead to the housing bubble, shipping jobs overseas, creating drug epidemics, destroy US manufacturing, creating government dysfunction (most of Congress are boomers and Gen X), cut training, ruling workplaces by fear as everyone is replaceable mentality, or establishing this idea of perfection and worrying about one's image in the workplace over worrying about the company as a whole. This current culture started when the baby boomers came into the workplace in the 80s and has gotten worse and worse as time went on.
The whole thing about job security, good wages, etc has been destroyed recently by the boomers. Yeah, I hear about how the late 70s was rough and etc, but when you look at America's economic picture, it has been very good as a whole from 1950s until 2007. You had a small recession here and there that lasted a few months to a year, but nothing like what the financial crisis created which coincides when the first waves of Gen Y graduated college. Look at the recovery and the fact that 7% of unemployment is considered good compared to being over 5% in the 90s was considered bad. That doesn't even factor the underemployment rate, the inflation with groceries which are skyrocketing as we speak, housing prices going up, and yet wage growth is stagnant outside of the 1%. Even energy costs are outrageous despite all this oil and natural gas explosion, the price of crude oil is still a $100 a barrel. Then add in government taxes making it worse. In the Chicago suburbs of IL about half of the price of gas is from taxes. This nickel and dime mentality has gotten 10 times worse on all fronts from our utilities bill to trying to take a family flight across the country. Look at the airline ticket and you have a 9/11 fee, airport fees, baggage fees, an agricultural tax if you flying from overseas, and so forth. The list is endless. No wonder we have an income gap as most people are being pushed into poverty with countless fees for everything.
Have you considered that the reason they want that "management" job is that the entry level job doesn't pay a living wage?
You're hiring young people who have no choice to work for so little money that they can't even afford their own apartments, and you wonder why they're impatient and lack respect or willingness to "put in their dues". You older folks could put in your dues because you weren't amassing additional debt or living in squalor just by working an entry level job. WE are.
Thank you.
It needed to be said, and I feel that the posters on this thread over the age of say, 55, perhaps have forgotten that time. Or, perhaps, that time has been so long ago and when they WERE debt free, kid free, etc, they now think of it as "the good old days". Not so stinkin' good when you walk out of campus with 50k in student debt for what basically amounts to be a LICENSE to work. No real skills or abilities, which would be learned on the job. 4 years earlier, the student could have learned the job probably just the same, but no one would consider hiring her or him because of the lack of a "degree".
2014 is not that unlike 1954 in many aspects. But cost of living is not one of them. Cost of EARNING should be calculated by someone...
I don't disagree with you - I've saved up a huge chunk of cash over the years and keep my living expenses low - but while people do need to spend less, the bigger problem is the lack of jobs. One can live on $1,000 a month, sure, but you can't run a consumer driven economy on such a salary, and yet that's where we're headed - the land of part-time, poverty wage jobs for all... if you're lucky.
You want me (or consumers in general) to spend more money? Then go out and make some products we'd be interested in buying, not the same junk being sold in our malls, Walmart, in our spam folders, etc! (Easier said than done, I'll admit.) When there's not much out there worth buying, I'd rather save and invest my money to better secure my future in this harsh economy than plop down $20,000 for a new car just because I feel it'll improve the economy.
Every time I spend money, the decision boils down to this fundamental driver: to improve my standard of living. Good food improves my standard of living. Having a roof over my head as well. So does having insurance. If it doesn't improve my standard of living at a reasonable price (or bring about more money in the future, as in the case of investments), then I don't open my wallets and spend that money.
I'll list a few "issues" that, if solved, will dramatically improve my standard of living:
- Reducing my commute time with substantially better public transportation.
- Improving my professional network.
- Allowing me to sleep better at night.
- Improving my ability to concentrate.
- Improving the air quality in my neighborhood.
- Enabling me to work at my job remotely, whether from home or on a beach in Hawaii
This is no exhaustive list and not everything on the list can be solved with a reasonable effort and investment.. but if you can solve anything on my list at a reasonable price, I, as a consumer, will pay money for your product (and in turn, stimulate the economy.) It's a much better use of my money than mindlessly heading to the mall or car dealer for a shopping spree that will not solve any problems and put me a step closer to being broke (and desperate as I talked about in an earlier post.)
(End Monologue)
My main takeaway here is that, if you want others to spend more money on you, whether a boss to spend more on your salary or a customer to spend more on your products, you need to really understand what they want and deliver it.
I think you can probably boil it down to communication skills, once you get past the debate over who's better.
I'd strongly suggest looking into Toastmasters nearby or seeing if you can pick up an elective class in speech/debate.
About 2 months prior to getting ready to hit the workforce, job fairs, etc. Have someone (Parent/Relative/Friend) that is in a hiring position take a look at your resume and do some mock interviews with you and provide feedback.
I don't mean to be disrespectful of this entire post or it's author, but the Toastmaster suggestion is not very good.
What I mean is, I agree that public speaking skills are important. But most of the real gap in what our jobs need and what our new grads have is not due to their lack of public speaking skills. It's their lack of technical understanding and EXPERIENCE, which cannot be obtained without working. I have an extensive array of experience in public speaking, bordering on public official level, but I have not gone to an interview since 2009 where that was stressed as needed. Those jobs largely disappeared after the great recession. It simply wasn't deemed necessary. In 2014, you are either SELLING, or you are building.
Ragnarkar: Note that I was commenting on the nature of our economy - consumer spending drives it - not on what individuals should be doing (spending lots of money or not.) I also don't spend much except on stuff that is useful or I need. The irony is that the economy would collapse if everyone did that... although we're getting to a point where people can't afford much more than that, hence the downward economic decline we're in.
Ragnarkar: Note that I was commenting on the nature of our economy - consumer spending drives it - not on what individuals should be doing (spending lots of money or not.) I also don't spend much except on stuff that is useful or I need. The irony is that the economy would collapse if everyone did that... although we're getting to a point where people can't afford much more than that, hence the downward economic decline we're in.
My point is I'm not spending much as a consumer simply because there aren't that many products worth buying out there.. and I think most consumers feel that way too.
My point is I'm not spending much as a consumer simply because there aren't that many products worth buying out there.. and I think most consumers feel that way too.
Agreed. I've talked with folks about this, and it is a valid question - how do you run an economy that needs consumer spending (to build products, keep jobs, etc.) if people: don't want, don't need, or can't afford what is being offered?
Saturation of the economy in developed nations is a relatively new concern, and though we're perhaps not there yet - depending upon how one defines it - it is a valid point. If everyone has what they need - or can't afford whatever they don't have - what do you build? To whom do you sell it? And how do you keep people employed?
If you want to put a smile on your face and ... with "that's the way it is - life isn't fair," fine. But don't be surprised as things get worse with that attitude.
Actually, I would think things would get better with mine and worse with yours.
But that's just experience talking.
When I was young my family could not afford inoculations for the kids. I ended getting measles in high school.
When I was young there were no food stamps. When we had eggs for breakfast Mom would grind up the eggshells for the calcium benefit.
I worked my way through college and graduated with student loans because I wasn't skilled or smart enough for a scholarship.
My wife lived in a one bedroom place with 4 kids. She slept on the sofa, which she shared with her older sister. Baths were once a week and clothing was worn many times before being washed.
Yeah, life's unfair. I grew up seeing how unfair it is.
My wife's a doctor now. I'm doing fine also.
So yeah, I have a smile on my face when I talk about how unfair life is.
Because being a whiney biatch about it never got me a job.
So since the title of the thread is "What job skills do millennials generally seem to be lacking?"
I think you demonstrated my point just fine
Actually, I would think things would get better with mine and worse with yours.
But that's just experience talking.
When I was young my family could not afford inoculations for the kids. I ended getting measles in high school.
When I was young there were no food stamps. When we had eggs for breakfast Mom would grind up the eggshells for the calcium benefit.
I worked my way through college and graduated with student loans because I wasn't skilled or smart enough for a scholarship.
My wife lived in a one bedroom place with 4 kids. She slept on the sofa, which she shared with her older sister. Baths were once a week and clothing was worn many times before being washed.
Yeah, life's unfair. I grew up seeing how unfair it is.
My wife's a doctor now. I'm doing fine also.
So yeah, I have a smile on my face when I talk about how unfair life is.
Because being a whiney biatch about it never got me a job.
So since the title of the thread is "What job skills do millennials generally seem to be lacking?"
I think you demonstrated my point just fine
Actually, I would think things would get better with mine and worse with yours.
But that's just experience talking.
When I was young my family could not afford inoculations for the kids. I ended getting measles in high school.
When I was young there were no food stamps. When we had eggs for breakfast Mom would grind up the eggshells for the calcium benefit.
I worked my way through college and graduated with student loans because I wasn't skilled or smart enough for a scholarship.
My wife lived in a one bedroom place with 4 kids. She slept on the sofa, which she shared with her older sister. Baths were once a week and clothing was worn many times before being washed.
Yeah, life's unfair. I grew up seeing how unfair it is.
My wife's a doctor now. I'm doing fine also.
So yeah, I have a smile on my face when I talk about how unfair life is.
Because being a whiney biatch about it never got me a job.
So since the title of the thread is "What job skills do millennials generally seem to be lacking?"
I think you demonstrated my point just fine
Thanks
I'm glad things got better for you. I glad your hard work, sacrifice, and LUCK allowed you the opportunity to rise above poverty.
Never forget that many people are not as fortunate as you were in the long run, despite having no doubt put in similar effort that you did to raise themselves up out of poverty. And should those people rightfully raise objection to the situation, don't assume they are "whining" or that they aren't actually doing anything else to try to fix the situation. The same holds true of anyone who followed the rules, got a good education, solid work experience, etc. They have a right to be angry and point out the problems in an effort to have them addressed or at least recognized.
Denying the economic problems that exist does not fix them, nor does denying them based on grounds that "things worked out for me, so clearly it's not a serious problem."
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