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The whole system is rigged by the 0.1%. Most millennials have massive debt because of the high price of a college education. The progeny of the 0.1% have no such worries and are in a position to prosper with ease after college.
Yeah they're dummies who fell hook line and sinker for college right after highschool.
I'm one that didn't
I wasn't a "good student" in highschool. I worked after school in various skilled trades both on and off the books. (Once was for getting caught mud bogging on a farm, worked on it to pay off damages, that's a long story)
Used to fix and sell cars for a profit too.
Took 2 years before going to college (community college 2200 a semester why pay 40k+ a year for school?) worked like a dog paid cash for tuition up front, bought a fixer upper house for 50k.
Got the sellers to agree to holding the mortgage (why go through a bank and pay interest on a 15 year note and blow the FHA/203k on a small lake house?)
Went to school full time, worked 2nd/3rd shift and worked on the house on weekends.
Paid the house off in full in 5 years, along with building the roof from trusses to shingles, converted it from a glass fuse panel to a circuit breaker box with upgraded service. Swapped the inefficient propane water heater for a fancy programmable electric one. Removed the heating oil boiler and tank made up my own duct work and had propane forced hot air. Propane was cheaper. Already had a couple 300 pound tanks for the stove and hot water heater... Was just a matter of flaring and routing more copper. Not rocket science.
Built a front porch which somehow drastically raised the home value and the town grossly over assessed it... Fought with the town tooth and nail and let the rest of the outside go to shambles.
Borrowed friends equipment and put in a new septic system; tank and distribution box. (Dang tree roots)
Exchanged use of a mini excavator for fixing a couple ford dump trucks.
Called a Mason friend up used his equipment. Bought a couple slabs of granite at Grossmans bargain outlet and made the kitchen and bathroom counter tops and back splashes.
Didn't have much of a social life. Put racing on hold for those 5 years.
The problems we face in the job market, and it's overlooked is most of my generation have an expectation either drilled into our heads in college or a false reality provided, that upon graduating they're going to make 6 figures or close to it... Without years of experience.
Internships pay intern rates... Instead of going to flip burgers or sell movie tickets, look for apprenticeships in a skilled trade... Network with contractors plumbers electricians masons mechanics. Put down the remote and keyboard... Don't worry about finding "the one" my generation is worried about mostly materialistic things! but don't do what it takes to get those things...
I started out for summer work at 15 hauling shingles up a ladder. Paid attention, asked questions, moved up from being a clean up crew and shingle hauler to cutting and laying plywood and building trusses for new construction homes in the area. At those sites, I would talk with plumbers/HVAC guys, masons and electricians that were there, got their number and worked with them as well...there are opportunities out there aside from flipping burgers and selling movie tickets. And it's all about how well you can market yourself.
If you have skills you brag and follow through, have the right people on your side who will vouch for you, even offer to show those skills off for free to take a chance on you. Don't worry about a relationship and kids and the little house and white picket fence. Worry about where you want to be in 20-30 years...
Most jobs want at least an associates, and 3-5 years relative experience but if you have skills you brag and show them off you will go places.
Only privileges I had was my parents owning a camp ground, rental houses, and had a restaurant in that town as well. As long as I hustled for them with grounds maintenance plumbing electrical and equipment repairs I was good. Didn't have rent to pay or cars paid for by mommy and daddy. Had a 40x70 garage with a Mohawk lift where I built race cars and hot rods.
I'm not exactly a people person that is customer service orientated I refused that opportunity. Ran the campground while they were away wasn't my cup of tea.
Its a system out there my theory is older generations placing stricter requirements and higher emphasis on a college degree over dexterity. Couple that with amount of relative experience which is understandable... Who would want a wet behind the ears pimple faced kid constructing a house, or representing your case before a judge, or filing your taxes, or performing surgery on you...starts making older generations more desirable in the work place and less competitive for them, as an employer would you hire someone who is at an intern level or a seasoned veteran of the field? My guess is the seasoned person who knows the trade and has the skills 9 times out of 10. I'm a diesel mechanic and I see UTI grads all the time with very little hands on experience get in over their head big time. They lack the experience and come with a know it all attitude but can't fix a sand which... But the ones who tinkered with cars years prior to getting into college who asked questions and paid attention to the seasoned guys then got into school for that trade, with a little refinement they go places.
What you did really isn't very possible to do anymore, especially for someone graduating recently. Employers more and more require a college degree even for basic trades, which I find to be appalling. For a company where I worked before moving to China, I wanted to hire someone straight out of high school, a very gifted young computer programmer who had no college degree. H.R. told us no way, they wouldn't even look at him without a B.S. degree and all the college debt he'd have to take on for it.
It's stupid, in countries like Germany, kids are encouraged to get into the trades and finish without any debt at all, and they get hired immediately. This is true even for Americans who move to countries like Germany, Argentina or China, if you're good at what you do and have training the skilled trades, they give you a lot more respect and you can often be hired right away. In the USA now, Human Resources Departments throw out your application without a college degree. It sucks but it's the reality, and it forces young Americans to go to college and take on debt even if they want to do something you did. The US employment system has changed radically since you did your thing, and generally for the worse. I don't think Millennials want this college debt, but the demands of H.R. departments anywhere make it all but unavoidable.
No it's not modest. It is a measurement that cannot mathematically rise incrementally. It is used against other groups that tops out at 100 percent total. The highest it's been since WW2. There is a reason for that.
" [/b]After which all unpaid debt is forgiven"- that's great for you-- but I do not think that applies for the rest that owe. My three sons moved out about 18- and moved back -and moved out- and moved back- then they have not been back - but to just visit -took a bit to get that kind of income to make it work- the car insurance I think was the worst!
Yeah saw that with my brother, car insurance was nasty but the health insurance was killer. He was making 6 figures, skilled engineer but the health insurance sharks basically took all of his spare earnings because he was a "contractor" unable to bargain his rates low. Between the self-employment tax (what is that BS? brilliant way for America to discourage people from becoming entrepreneurs) and the health care and housing costs he can barely save up anything from his high earnings. He'll be moving to China himself early next year as he builds up his language skills for a company here that hired him, and has no plans to come back. Way to go America, make basic living costs unaffordable for even high skilled professional Americans, and you lose them to other places.
I actually agree with a lot of this concept, but problem is, even companies involved in manual labor nowadays want workers with a useless college degree which sets people back in debt. And to anyone who says "oh, just start your own business"-- that takes capital, a sh&t-ton of capital and even then most businesses fail. America needs good jobs and a more manageable cost of living, otherwise Americans will just go abroad.
Untrue. There are usually some entry level positions in most companies, that require only GED or high school. Prove you are a good employee and you move up. Still.
Running away to a foreign country because you cannot cut it here or don't want to take the effort, is un-American.
These young men are remaining at home largely because their parents (especially mothers) permit and or even encourage.
.
(sigh) Again this delusional moralizing stupidity, over and over again. I'll spell it out to you, real simple arithmetic:
1. Cost of basic living in USA keeps going up, and up, and up and up more and more in the US every year. Especially for housing but also for health care, you can go bankrupt if you get sick even if you have health insurance. College costs keep going up. Transportation, vehicle costs keeps going up. Taxes and fines keep going up yet you get no services for them in America, least of all health care or affordable college. Even crime is going up so it's not like those taxes keeping crime down either.
2. Yet at the same time wages for American workers stay stuck or even keep going down. US tech and STEM jobs keep getting sent overseas or cheap labor from India is brought in to replace Americans at the best jobs. The "new jobs" are low wage and part-time, no health insurance which keeps getting more expensive and covers less and less.
So to summarize it,
Fast rising costs of living for even simple necessities, not luxuries + lower or stagnant wages and US jobs sent overseas = Americans, even very high skilled professionals, more and more can't afford basics like housing and are stuck at home. Real simple. Another result? More and more Americans leaving the country for good and going overseas.
I have been on my own since age 17. I had room mates and lived in a very untrendy area. Many, many nights, I had canned corn or green beans for dinner.
No cable.
Internet and mobilel phones had not been invented.
No vacations.
No fancy coffee drinks.
No tats.
No smokes.
No lotto.
Very few clothes/shoes.
No car.
Dining out was rare.
No hanging out at bars.
And I was thrilled to be on my own.
Again, knew many people myself up in the SF/Silicon Valley area who did what you did. Many were crime victims and badly hurt. Many got sick and went broke from healthcare costs. It's a nice idea in theory but you often have to be very, very lucky. It's not the cure all you seem to believe it is or should be.
They live with their parents because they have their own room and a full fridge without paying for it.
They get free laundry facilities, free cable and internet.
They get all the sex they want without being married because their boyfriend/girlfriend is mooching of the parents too.
They are on their parents health insurance without paying a dime.
They may have a part time job and spend all their money on vacations and the latest phone.
I know this because I had one just like that at home up until last year.
I told her she had to move out or pay me for everything: room, board, cable, internet, laundry and health insurance. She was gone in 30 days. She can fly on her own-I did my job.
If you put a boot up their rear end, they move.
Maybe try going out into the real world and you'll see how totally wrong you are. Wages are down in the US even for high skilled STEM professionals, STEM jobs are shipped overseas, while housing, health care, college and every other cost keeps going up, including taxes while Americans get no services for them. In much of California, basic rent with roommates and health insurance often take out 80% of the incomes of even skilled professionals, who in turn have no job security with their job at constant threat of being shipped to India.
Once again, the finger pointers here seem to be in their own delusional dream worlds. Do you think money grows on trees? Do you think there's some fantastical magic wand to pay all these rising costs of living when the jobs aren't there? You are the ones who need to grow up and face reality. Americans are more and more living at home because the ****ty economic realities are leaving no alternative, even for those with skills. The only alternative, the one more and more of us are taking advantage of, is moving out of the USA for good and working and settling overseas where cost of living is actually affordable, you don't go belly up from medical bills and jobs are actually decent. This is a massive brain drain in progress from the US, and the irony is, those Americans living at home to cut costs and build up savings is probably one of the few factors keeping the brain drain out of the USA from becoming a flood.
What you did really isn't very possible to do anymore, especially for someone graduating recently. Employers more and more require a college degree even for basic trades, which I find to be appalling. For a company where I worked before moving to China, I wanted to hire someone straight out of high school, a very gifted young computer programmer who had no college degree. H.R. told us no way, they wouldn't even look at him without a B.S. degree and all the college debt he'd have to take on for it.
It's stupid, in countries like Germany, kids are encouraged to get into the trades and finish without any debt at all, and they get hired immediately. This is true even for Americans who move to countries like Germany, Argentina or China, if you're good at what you do and have training the skilled trades, they give you a lot more respect and you can often be hired right away. In the USA now, Human Resources Departments throw out your application without a college degree. It sucks but it's the reality, and it forces young Americans to go to college and take on debt even if they want to do something you did. The US employment system has changed radically since you did your thing, and generally for the worse. I don't think Millennials want this college debt, but the demands of H.R. departments anywhere make it all but unavoidable.
Great post !
I'm currently running into this problem in my own career. I've been a designer in the automotive industry for close to 30 years. Started out in the blueprint room, worked my way out on to a board and transitioned to CAD when we had to. I've worked on many commodities and have actually worked a couple of years as an engineer. So my resume encompasses quite a bit. I'm currently working contract at a major automotive OEM and am well liked by my managers and they all want me to be a direct employee, yet the road block is upper management and it's directive to HR. Young, inexperienced and right out of college is what they are looking for. As an engineer, I can understand that, as a designer I don't. Having a degree would not help me do my job any better.
Roommates is and has been the norm when starting out since the sixties, when young people started living away from home. It a good learning and growth experience and teaches you how to compromise and get along with different people. It is the opposite of being catered to by mommy and daddy and a good life lesson. It also provides you with a lifetime of interesting stories.
I do have issue that people with good paying stable jobs cannot afford to live alone in some areas but just starting out, roommates situation is fine.
Yes , but it can be a crapshoot. A college classmate of mine lived with two roommates while starting out as an engineer, and one of them wound up being near crazy and pulled a gun on the two of them. It's something you often just have to do and put up with, but it can be risky, and it's very hard to "evaluate character" so well that you know what you're getting.
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