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Think about this. Our grandparents worked as plumbers, milkmen, assembly line workers, etc., at the same job for decades.
They didn't feel that they were owed a "cool" job. They didn't feel that they needed to live in a "trendy" city. They didn't expect promotions or raises every year (Was there even such a thing as an annual review back then?).
As for external factors, they didn't have to contend with skyrocketing housing, healthcare and education costs. 100 years ago, Americans were seeing their cost of living go down each year. You could make the same amount of money each year and that was the equivalent of a raise because your money went further. And jobs weren't being automated away and outsourced/insourced at the rate they are today.
Nowadays, the working world is absolutely insane. It's a like a bunch of rats in a cage fighting for a piece of cheese. It must be an entertaining spectacle for the people at the top.
I've thought about this a lot when trying to decide on a career.
Looking at job postings really discourages me... Even seeing part-time jobs/temporary ones that require X amount of experience.
I really wish I could just have a "normal" job like before. I don't care about having a cool job, I just want a simple life, as a secretary or administrative assistant, if I can.
I really hate how everyone has to go to school to make a moderately okay income to survive. I can't imagine everyone in the US getting into thousands in debt just because of education costs-- Then it's still not enough sometimes to get a job.
I know what the trendy cities are, but I have no idea what the cool jobs are now. I slightly feel the pressure to live in/near a trendy city because... well, I don't think I can find friends or a significant other living in small towns forever. I live in a small town now and almost my entire graduating class is gone after 3 years, mostly in other states.
I've thought about this a lot when trying to decide on a career.
Looking at job postings really discourages me... Even seeing part-time jobs/temporary ones that require X amount of experience.
I really wish I could just have a "normal" job like before. I don't care about having a cool job, I just want a simple life, as a secretary or administrative assistant, if I can.
I really hate how everyone has to go to school to make a moderately okay income to survive. I can't imagine everyone in the US getting into thousands in debt just because of education costs-- Then it's still not enough sometimes to get a job.
I know what the trendy cities are, but I have no idea what the cool jobs are now. I slightly feel the pressure to live in/near a trendy city because... well, I don't think I can find friends or a significant other living in small towns forever. I live in a small town now and almost my entire graduating class is gone after 3 years, mostly in other states.
Well if you want a "simple life" you're better off in the small town. Major metros are very competitive, and the high cost of living will eat up most of your income.
Well if you want a "simple life" you're better off in the small town. Major metros are very competitive, and the high cost of living will eat up most of your income.
And unfortunately, most decent jobs are consolidating in these rat race places.
Career world is heading for chaos. Brexit happened because Britons are fed up with a stagnant local economy due to exploiting globalized trade and influx of immigrant refugees in the EU.
I'm afraid the same will happen here, the angry mob with pitchforks will show up and take down the establishment this Fall. If the establishment isn't taken down, the upcoming recession will. We are at a point where majority of kids born today won't realize the American dream. In 10-20 yrs from now, jobs will be sponsored by the government just like healthcare. Millions will be without jobs displaced by corporations outsourcing and through automation.
I don't believe majority of people can be trained to become engineers and scientists to keep pace with technology.
The govt will have to find ways to keep people employed or they have to declare martial law to prevent uprisings and revolutions.
We need a referendum of the current government and their sponsors.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,563 posts, read 81,131,933 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KonaldDuth
Think about this. Our grandparents worked as plumbers, milkmen, assembly line workers, etc., at the same job for decades.
They didn't feel that they were owed a "cool" job. They didn't feel that they needed to live in a "trendy" city. They didn't expect promotions or raises every year (Was there even such a thing as an annual review back then?).
As for external factors, they didn't have to contend with skyrocketing housing, healthcare and education costs. 100 years ago, Americans were seeing their cost of living go down each year. You could make the same amount of money each year and that was the equivalent of a raise because your money went further. And jobs weren't being automated away and outsourced/insourced at the rate they are today.
Nowadays, the working world is absolutely insane. It's a like a bunch of rats in a cage fighting for a piece of cheese. It must be an entertaining spectacle for the people at the top.
[/rant]
100 years ago was 1916, so you would be talking about my parents, not grandparents. My father was an electronics engineer, went to college, was in the navy in WWII, and yes, he stayed 30 years at his job and got a raise every year, several promotions, and a pension when he retired at age 59, when the place he worked shut down. After two attempts to find a new job, one lasting 2 weeks, the other 4 months, he gave up and just managed on his pension until SS kicked in at 65. This was in the San Francisco Bay Area, where the home we moved to in 1962 cost $32,000, the smaller one he sold went for $14,000 so he had a big jump in mortgage. The biggest difference back then was his medical insurance, fully paid by his employer, with very small co-pays and no deductibles, so even with all the kids there was very little cost.
It all depends on your perspective. If you went back in time to 1916 and talked to an American working in France, some idyllic location like the Somme, he might laugh at you saying your desk job is too hectic. You might also google labor history for the 1910s; the gap between rich and poor was huge; business owners did what they could to keep it that way.
It all depends on your perspective. If you went back in time to 1916 and talked to an American working in France, some idyllic location like the Somme, he might laugh at you saying your desk job is too hectic. You might also google labor history for the 1910s; the gap between rich and poor was huge; business owners did what they could to keep it that way.
This is so true. Back in 1916 many worker protections did not exist. FLSA and overtime rules started in 1938. Social security in 1935. OSHA in 1971.
You may have had a job in 1916, but you had no protections, no health insurance, poor safety environment, and no social security.
Americans aren't the healthiest of people today. I don't think everyone is cut out for those jobs of past. Aside from that, those jobs weren't a picnic. They were hard work, and there was a reason people retired at in their 50's (if they could). Their bodies were often all used up.
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