5 Ways We Ruined the Occupy Wall Street Generation

[Razur]

Alas, "#4. Implying That College Would Guarantee You a Good Job"
The truth finally comes out.

But hey, at least I'm not alone in my misery!

 

[SMS]

You personally, I concede may be true. But do you feel that in general, society has moved to create this sentiment among younger people, or so you deny that as well?

Honest question.

Only in that we have worked hard and created a level of wealth and prosperity that has in turn raised our standard of living beyond that normally seen in the world. That high standard of living has allowed people to become weak, complacent, and seriously lacking in expectation management.

But, as is my usual fall back, inidividual responsibility rules the day. Those who blame others usually fall very short when the expectation/standards they apply to others are applied to themselves.

 

[vvvvvvv]

You did everything you were told, but combating unemployment by wanting to be self-sufficient working a lesser (dare I say menial) job would be shameful by society's standards. But, being unemployed is also considered shameful by society's standards.

Except the lesser job is more shameful than unemployment by today's society.

Alas, "#4. Implying That College Would Guarantee You a Good Job"
The truth finally comes out.

But hey, at least I'm not alone in my misery!

A couple weeks ago, I came across the first documentary that I have not been able to keep watching more than 10 minutes. It was about the college education system.

The reason I had to stop watching? Every 45-60 seconds, the point was made that you can't get a job without a college degree. That's not a documentary, that's false advertising.

 

[JD8]

Simply because they completed a quite less-than-rigorous BA degree program at some overpriced and over-esteemed doctoral-granting research state university.

Yep, dem edmucashins iz wurthles!! Day tuerk er jerbs!!

 

[inactive]

Yep, dem edmucashins iz wurthles!! Day tuerk er jerbs!!

I am not discounting education (I have a graduate degree myself). The point the article is trying to make (and I agree with) is that completion of a degree is not where the hard work stops. It takes more hard work simply to find a job, even harder if you want to be profitable in some exclusive industry or field (as I hinted at in my Art History example). It seems the idea of "getting a foot into the door," any door, is absent these days.

I was quite happy taking an entry level job making well under $30k per year right out of college in 2004. Once I got in the job, I ensured I stood out and have been rewarded for my hard work and competence. It seems many of my peers don't take to this philosophy.

Except the lesser job is more shameful than unemployment by today's society.

Indeed. It's a hard point to get across to this conservative audience, but the truth of it is that societal pressures and stigma have created a lot of this mess. And the articles touches on how these stigmas have been fostered for the majority of Generation Yers, a good number of whom are having a hard time adjusting in the workforce.

The easy answer is just go back to school and live off the loans. Then the stigma is removed. You're just a scholar then, in love with learning

 

[Joeh]

I'm not sure where I fall on the OWS deal. On the one hand, I feel for everyone who's caught in the middle of wanting to, or needing to find work and it being unavailable. But, by the same token, I didn't graduate all that long ago (December 2009), spent 3-4 months in another city trying to find a job (read: extended vacation), and then found one. It got to the point where I had no more expendable income left, and I needed to find work. I expanded my search for a job to anything even resembling the field I eventually wanted to work in. Got a position basically being errand boy for someone. 1.5 years later I've got a decent living and can support myself. It was hard work, and I didn't enjoy it.

I get that there is the stigma that because I went to college I should get a decent job. I also understand that everyone goes to college now, not just those that are academically capable of grasping higher levels of education. But I also understand that just because you get a degree in x field, doesn't mean you don't accept y job when it's offered to you, regardless of what field it's in.

I got a BA in Philosophy with a Minor in Comp Sci...now I work at a company doing financial analysis. Is it a good job that pays fair enough for having little to no experience and being still relatively fresh out of college, yes. Is it what I wanted to do, no.

Would I have loved a job programming at google/M$/nextbilliondollarinternetcompany making 6 figures right out of school, of course. But those position now, just like they were before, are always for the prodigies. We've all just been spoon fed since we were young that we're capable of making millions of dollars, or starting our own business or whatever, but truth is, most of us young people should just be happy having enough income to keep a roof over our heads and food on the table. It takes work to get to the level that one needs to make all that money. I get that, and I'm willing to do my time and work hard to get there.

Again, I understand that there aren't a lot of jobs to be had. That being said, I looked, and kept looking, and kept trying and eventually one came up. It wasn't my dream job, but it's given me a path to be successful in life.

Again, not sure where I stand if I had to pick a side, just the musings of someone who's been there recently.

 

[inactive]

Joeh,

Thank you for sharing.

It got to the point where I had no more expendable income left, and I needed to find work ... 1.5 years later I've got a decent living and can support myself. It was hard work, and I didn't enjoy it.

You and I had some point of self-actualization to find our humility take a humble entry-level job, which is contrary to the images that were programmed into us during our younger, impressionable years. However, the majority of the "OWS Generation" or "Generation Y" or "Millennials" seem to not have had that epiphany. It's difficult to put a finger on exactly why; but one reason is, in part, due to the fact were were programmed not to sell ourselves short of our abilities. That is one of the major points of the article I linked, and the one I most agree with.

 

[MLRyan]

I'm active duty military and have had 2 different part time jobs since I've lived in Oklahoma. I was hired at both within minutes of completing the application. Like I said earlier, anyone that says they can't find work isn't looking.

 

[Teeeroy]

I don't know if this is a repost, but someone sent this to me recently in an email. I think it's on-topic.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/OAOrT0OcHh0?version=3&rel=1&fs=1&showsearch=0&showi

 

[cjjtulsa]

Telling all these kids that everyone gets a trophy. No need to work had like the kid who one the race, we will just give you a trophy for being here.

That one’s not on the Gen-Xers, but the Baby Boomers; that is a symptom of Cultural Marxism, which was swallowed hook, line, and sinker by the BB generation in the 60s. They took it and ran with it, and indoctrinated the next couple of generations with that cancer.