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There are always jobs out there. When I was 25 I went to the local IBM office in Silicon Valley and, knowing the secretary from college, knew she was unmarried. As a result I offered the secretary flowers and bought a fine bottle of Brandy for the VP at the time. After a good conversation I was offered a senior management position on the spot. You have to show your worth and play your cards right kid.
You just proved how out of touch you are. In 1959 you could stroll right into any company and schmooze the secretary, since 9/11 try walking into any company these days and see how far you get if you don't have a scheduled appt.
Just an example as to how things have changed, I worked for a company from 1990 to 1995. A few months ago I went there for lunch to see some old coworkers who were still there. When I worked there you had a receptionist you would see first and she would contact the person you were there to see.
They're in a different building now, but you go into the lobby and have to show ID and sign in, the security guard calls up and says you're there. You than proceed to the receptionist who issues you a visitor badge and you wait until the person you're they're to see comes to get you.
Completely different, my former coworkers are also all tracked. They have to swipe their badges when they go in and out(these are salaried not hourly workers). Now that is just going back 20 years, and look how things have changed, never mind more than 50 years ago.
You're Doris Day scenario was nice in 1959. You would be walking out in handcuffs if you tried that today.
You just proved how out of touch you are. In 1959 you could stroll right into any company and schmooze the secretary, since 9/11 try walking into any company these days and see how far you get if you don't have a scheduled appt.
Just an example as to how things have changed, I worked for a company from 1990 to 1995. A few months ago I went there for lunch to see some old coworkers who were still there. When I worked there you had a receptionist you would see first and she would contact the person you were there to see.
They're in a different building now, but you go into the lobby and have to show ID and sign in, the security guard calls up and says you're there. You than proceed to the receptionist who issues you a visitor badge and you wait until the person you're they're to see comes to get you.
Completely different, my former coworkers are also all tracked. They have to swipe their badges when they go in and out(these are salaried not hourly workers). Now that is just going back 20 years, and look how things have changed, never mind more than 50 years ago.
You're Doris Day scenario was nice in 1959. You would be walking out in handcuffs if you tried that today.
The OP's scenario is also heavily predicated on white male privilege. A black person trying what he did in 1959 would have been taken out in handcuffs. A woman would have been politely told there were opportunities in the secretarial pool.
The previous poster who said that there were fewer college graduates is right - that is the major reason college graduates have trouble finding jobs - they have so much more competition.
My dad and I graduated from the same high school, exactly 40 years apart - him 1961, me 2001. The difference between our classes is that over 50% of mine attempted college of some sort. Only the top 15% or so from his even attempted, only half of those graduated.
The population of the U.S. was 180 million in the 1960 census - today 310 million, so 70% larger. The number of colleges and universities has increased by more than 300% since that time and the total enrollment even more.
My alma mater was around in 1960 - it had morphed from a teacher preparation "normal" school to a general ed college at that point and enrolled around 5500 students. Today it enrolls 36,000, a considerable increase even compared to when i started there when it was about 26,000. The population of the state (Texas) has gone up about 250% since 1960 but that university has increased its enrollment by 650%. You can see the problem here.
Last edited by redguard57; 08-17-2015 at 06:03 PM..
The unemployment rate is the amount of people looking for work and not necessarily reflects those who are on unemployment. You can be unemployed but not on unemployment. Look at recent college graduates, those who quit or were fired with just cause for example, they can't receive unemployment benefits yet if they look for work would be included in the actual unemployment rate.
In 1957 the internet didn't exist and you couldn't go to virtual forum of people across the country venting about their difficulty in finding a job. Disenfranchised youth, however, did exist, as it has for generations, and young people can/are still and successful and young VPs still exist. It's not black and white.
Last edited by truckingbronco; 08-17-2015 at 10:28 PM..
As someone who graduated in 2011, I can attest to this observation. Personally I am doing well although the post-graduate surveys published by my undergrad business school indicate I am within just 6.5% that landed a career specific to my degree. The 2008-2011 budget crises altered the hiring landscape for the years to follow, and those exiting school during this time were met with acute difficulty.
I'm not sure how relevant that 6.5% statistic is considering that most people pursue career paths that have nothing to do with their major. A more relevant stat would be how many grads are employed in a job which requires a 4-year degree.
All millennials are not the same. The "lucky" millennials graduated before the recession and have likely had solid careers. The youngest millennials are graduating now and are likely getting jobs. The screwed millennials graduated 2008-2011 and got bad jobs if at all and are now being passed over for their younger peers.
Do you honestly think this is the experience of ALL people who graduated in those years? Is it your opinion that they are ALL making coffee at Starbucks and barely scraping by? Not hardly. I know lots of them who are doing exceptionally well.
My daughter, a 2010 grad, just landed a new job in her field with a salary in the 6 figures, generous benefits and stock in the company. How is that possible since she's part of the "screwed" millennials? Did she know or is related to the CEO? No. Did her parents own the company or know someone who could pull strings? No. She actually EARNED the job all on her own. Since graduation she's worked hard, proven her worth to her current employer and gotten her masters at night while working full time.
In every age cohort, there will be those who succeed and those who do not. You can't generalize. But, hey, if some millennials are unhappy with their lot in life I'm sure whining about it will help.
Do you honestly think this is the experience of ALL people who graduated in those years?
Frustration breeds whining, and every generation knows its share of frustration. Closed doors...detours...Catch-22 barricades and obstacles that pop up at every turn. That's how it seems when you're stuck in it. What ticks me off some though, is the presumption apparent among some that this is the first time any such thing has ever happened -- that these millennials are having such a hard time of things when everyone else before them just cake-walked into some corner-office suite and a lifetime of guaranteed comfort and prosperity. That's a load of crap, and those who believe such tripe need to do a whole lot of growing up in a very big hurry.
Last edited by Major Barbara; 08-18-2015 at 07:37 AM..
Do you honestly think this is the experience of ALL people who graduated in those years? Is it your opinion that they are ALL making coffee at Starbucks and barely scraping by? Not hardly. I know lots of them who are doing exceptionally well.
My daughter, a 2010 grad, just landed a new job in her field with a salary in the 6 figures, generous benefits and stock in the company. How is that possible since she's part of the "screwed" millennials? Did she know or is related to the CEO? No. Did her parents own the company or know someone who could pull strings? No. She actually EARNED the job all on her own. Since graduation she's worked hard, proven her worth to her current employer and gotten her masters at night while working full time.
In every age cohort, there will be those who succeed and those who do not. You can't generalize. But, hey, if some millennials are unhappy with their lot in life I'm sure whining about it will help.
Congratulations to your daughter. I'm glad things are going well for her.
My only complaint is that the top 5% often wants to bring up their success and than make the argument "If I can do it, than so can you". That simply isn't true and the numbers bear that out.
A real test of how things are going for a generation is simply to look at averages. That's the problem. The average Millennial is not faring as well as the average "Generation Xer" at this point in his/her life. For that matter the average "Xer" wasn't faring as well as the average "Boomer" was at the same point in his/her career.
Wealth accumulation in life is a process of building. If someone can afford a house in their late twenties, they'll have the house paid off by their fifties with a thirty year mortgage (sooner if they can get a fifteen year mortgage). People who are forced to delay these kinds of decisions inevitably end up with less wealth over their lifetime than those who could. None of this factors into the equation that during most of the Baby Boom years, housing prices consistently rose, making a home a good investment. Now, home prices are harder to predict and lack of stability in the job market makes a home a more risky investment--even for those who can afford one.
Ninety percent of the problems the Millennials are having in life are simply due to a bad or difficult economy. The other ten percent are due to other factors. I get more than a little tired of hearing that the "Millennials would do just fine if they hadn't always been given trophies for participation". I guess that kind of thinking prevents a lot of fuzzy-headed people from having to do any real thinking about the economic problems that have pushed many Millennials into an unenviable position. The cause of these problems is much deeper and includes economic trends like "out-sourcing", NAFTA, the abundance of labor-saving high technology, and the decline of unions. Our best politicians are unable to solve these problems.
Millennials have to contend with extraordinarily high college tuition costs, a bad job market, and comparatively low wage rates when they do get a job. If your daughter "beat the averages" than bully for her. Many more did not beat the averages, despite trying their hardest.
None of us are personally responsible for an economy that is downright brutal to entry level workers. However, we can stop making excuses, we can all acknowledge the problem, and we can all talk about solutions that go beyond blaming the victims.
Frustration breeds whining, and every generation knows its share of frustration. Closed doors...detours...Catch-22 barricades and obstacles that pop up at every turn. That's how it seems when you're stuck in it. What ticks me off some though, is the presumption apparent among some that this is the first time any such thing has ever happened -- that these millennials are having such a hard time of things when everyone else before them just cake-walked into some corner-office suite and a lifetime of guaranteed comfort and prosperity. That's a load of crap, and those who believe such tripe need to do a whole lot of growing up in a very big hurry.
It might have happened before but the past economies are barely covered in the pages of history books except say the Great Depression. The depressions in the 1950's and stagnation from the 1970's aren't talked about. Also forget about Reaganomics and the Bush recessions. That and besides the W. Bush recessions, many millennial would write off recessions from before the 1980's as irrelevant.
Congratulations to your daughter. I'm glad things are going well for her.
My only complaint is that the top 5% often wants to bring up their success and than make the argument "If I can do it, than so can you". That simply isn't true and the numbers bear that out.
A real test of how things are going for a generation is simply to look at averages. That's the problem. The average Millennial is not faring as well as the average "Generation Xer" at this point in his/her life. For that matter the average "Xer" wasn't faring as well as the average "Boomer" was at the same point in his/her career.
Wealth accumulation in life is a process of building. If someone can afford a house in their late twenties, they'll have the house paid off by their fifties with a thirty year mortgage (sooner if they can get a fifteen year mortgage). People who are forced to delay these kinds of decisions inevitably end up with less wealth over their lifetime than those who could. None of this factors into the equation that during most of the Baby Boom years, housing prices consistently rose, making a home a good investment. Now, home prices are harder to predict and lack of stability in the job market makes a home a more risky investment--even for those who can afford one.
Ninety percent of the problems the Millennials are having in life are simply due to a bad or difficult economy. The other ten percent are due to other factors. I get more than a little tired of hearing that the "Millennials would do just fine if they hadn't always been given trophies for participation". I guess that kind of thinking prevents a lot of fuzzy-headed people from having to do any real thinking about the economic problems that have pushed many Millennials into an unenviable position. The cause of these problems is much deeper and includes economic trends like "out-sourcing", NAFTA, the abundance of labor-saving high technology, and the decline of unions. Our best politicians are unable to solve these problems.
Millennials have to contend with extraordinarily high college tuition costs, a bad job market, and comparatively low wage rates when they do get a job. If your daughter "beat the averages" than bully for her. Many more did not beat the averages, despite trying their hardest.
None of us are personally responsible for an economy that is downright brutal to entry level workers. However, we can stop making excuses, we can all acknowledge the problem, and we can all talk about solutions that go beyond blaming the victims.
I always seem to agree with your analysis. SPOT ON
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