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Trade schools are always a way in between the corporate world and the beach bum world. Plumbers make pretty good money, work independently and get to travel around a bit. Electricians. Someone on a previous thread mentioned their wife was a home inspector. That would be fun and rewarding IMO.
Actually, I don't blame them for not wanting to join the corporate rat race. There's loads of ways of making a living that don't involve going to a 9 to 5 job or doing a service job somewhere. Considering how many jobs are disappearing to robot labor, I think this may be a transitional phase. What happens when we have robots to do most of the labor? What do the people do? IMHO, tax the robot labor and give everyone a basic living stipend. Free healthcare and free education so folks can become creative and follow their passions. What would you do if you were able to have all the basics without exchanging your life for them? Write a book? Paint? Garden? Create something? Learn to do woodworking? Make jewelry? Discover how gravity works?
Boy is that a way out idea. Reminds me of the hippies in the 60s. That was exactly what they were suggesting.
Heroic? by what standards? I could raise horses and be proud of it... I could be a farmer or anything else. Even people in the trades, they take pride in their work. They build solid houses, repair cars without cutting corners.
So what if someone sits in front of computer? I know statisticians who take pride in the quality of their work.
But you're right, I have no idea what working in call centers is like, hell I don't even know where to apply for one >.> But I do know if I am going to give 8 hours each day to it, I will take pride in that I do my best at it. Why? Because I take pride in myself and thus the quality of my work. If it isn't up to snuff, I will do what I can to correct and learn from it so it won't happen again.
Taking pride in your work does is a personal trait. It does not and should not reflect on how other people treat you. It's part of learning manners and holding doors growing up. You do it because you choose to, not because someone has to reward you for it each time you do it.
I have pride in my work as a union electrician, but I agree with Bell, work to live. I knew many old timers that worked many years of overtime, long days, long weeks, even months straight. Now that their children are grown, I hear stories how they moved far away, don't want to spend time with them, just want to play videogames etc, or how many failed marriages they had. I used to be right there with them old timers, but I was young and had no family.
Now that I have a family, I try to juggle how I spend my time. I only used to take the "allotted" time off for holidays. Now I'll take an extra day or two, or roll it into a long weekend.
You can take pride in your work, and advance your career without letting it take precedence over your personal time.
As long as she's self-supporting, more power to her!
Why is that your business? Why so judgmental?
I am very proud of my three millennial sons. They are interesting, creative and passionate people. The youngest one is in his last year of grad school.
None are interested in corporations. Or in STEM. I have an artist-professor and gallery owner, a grant writer for a non profit and an attorney with an interest in public policy. Two wonderful daughters-in law, who also eschew corporations and STEM.
One of my son's was in Teach for America. Another served in the Peace Corps.
My lovely wife is a social worker and public policy analyst.
I am a minister. One of my DILs is following in my footsteps. The other is a teacher.
All self supporting, but if anyone needs anything, we are here for one another. It's not every man for himself. We tried to raise kind, socially responsible individuals. I think we did well.
So many millennials are pushed into STEM majors, and business majors and find out that they are not cut out for that work. I have seen it among many of my kids friends.
News flash: the recession ended in 2009. That was 7 years ago. Because of a year-long blip in our economy, 7 years ago, an entire generation is just going to give up and never work again?
I'll answer the question of "is work optional" with: only if "eating is optional". You want to survive, you work. If you don't work, don't expect me to support you. I'm one of those "old" people that found a new job, in a new state, with zero connections, at the age of 48 with no college degree. Did I decide that the recession was just "too much for me" and give up on ever working again? No.
Unemployment has gone done a lot, but the dirty little secret is the number of long-term unemployed has not. What that "one year" did is greatly increase the number of people over 50 who never found a job again to this day. There's also lots of highly educated people at or near that age who had substantial careers until then who to this day can only do near minimum-wage jobs that do not require even a college degree. And it is much harder for someone out of college to start out in their planned career after graduation than it was 25-50 years ago, though that started somewhat before the recession.
Trade schools are always a way in between the corporate world and the beach bum world. Plumbers make pretty good money, work independently and get to travel around a bit. Electricians. Someone on a previous thread mentioned their wife was a home inspector. That would be fun and rewarding IMO.
Absolutely, but that has been totally devalued in our society, including by politicians who insist that everyone has a "right" to four years (at least) of college. Notice that everyone that age is "feelin' the Bern" for a liberal arts degree -- not trade school and a marketable skill.
Notice that everyone that age is "feelin' the Bern" for a liberal arts degree -- not trade school and a marketable skill.
No, that's not true, Sanders is a big supporter of trade unions and many of his supporters are union members. He doesn't mention them much because we're generally autonomous. We have our own apprenticeships, we negotiate our minimum wages and benefits with our employers. In fact many apprenticeships now are eligible as credit hours towards an associates degree.
Our biggest hurdle is expelling old toxic union culture, negative public opinion/anti-union tactics, and this notion that we cannot survive in a right-to-work environment.
I just read yet another social media post from a Millennial who "just isn't into the corporate world" and is just going to chill for now and might just go live on a beach instead... I had to post, "And live on what?"
I suppose I'm showing my bitter, curmudgeonly side, but what's the matter with kids today? Back in MY day, we took a job if we wanted to eat. Not our dream job, not our passion, not our ideal fit, not something that was going to save the world, but the first job we were offered because no one was going to support us until we found ourselves when we were retirement age, and we didn't "do" Welfare.
If we wanted to live on a beach, again, we worked for 20-30 years, saved our money, retired; earned it.
Is it just me?
This isn't some millennial phenomenon. This is the same thing as the kids who moved to California in the 60s and 70s in a VW bus. History repeats itself. He'll figure it out in a few years.
I think us Millennials are disheartened by the general economy and many of us want to give up. Growing up, from the people we loved and trusted told us that we could work in the field we dreamed about and it turns out it isn't a reality for most of us. Something you may know about, being older and more experienced, but since most Millennials are just graduating high school and figuring this out for themselves... being hit with reality... it's saddening.
My dad followed my grandfather's footsteps since he didn't have a passion he thought paid the bills, and he watched my grandfather be very successful at his work. He loved History and wanted to be a History teacher but he said the wages weren't enough. So he went into stocks like my grandfather. He regretted it and now he follows another passion of his, owning a gun store, that he loves. I have never seen my dad happier despite it paying much less than what he used to do since the business is still new. He thrives in this environment. Before he complained constantly about work and would crash out on the couch and watch TV whenever he got home. Now, even though he puts in more hours towards his own business than his old job, he still has energy afterwards to work out and spend time with the family outside of TV because he isn't burned out.
Many Millennials watched our parents go through the recession losing their jobs, receive pay cuts, etc. in jobs they did not even like. We grew up listening to them complain about work and telling us to "follow our dreams" so we never end up like them. Seeing my dad finally go into a field he likes made me see the importance of this. Now we are getting into college, stacking up the debt, chasing our dreams which is what we thought we were supposed to do, to find the fields aren't hiring or are only looking for experienced people. The wages are suppressed in comparison to COL because they haven't grown that much. The jobs that are hiring aren't in the aptitudes of most people (STEM, trades, etc.)... So it's extremely discouraging.
I'm not supporting the kid who just wants to live on the beach because of "corporate culture". But I get why. We grew up during the Great Recession and watched what many of these corporations did to our own parents and nothing is stopping them from doing it to our generation, so many Millennials don't blindly support companies like I think old generations did. Only the generation before Baby Boomers saw an extreme economic turndown similar to this one. Especially since I don't think we are still out of the Recession fully.
I think this is why many Millennials "feel the Bern". They want companies to face more regulations because of what they did to our parents, since most of us were not even working during the Recession. Only the very oldest Millennials were.
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Why so judgmental? 
