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Gen Z does not dream of labor

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Re: Gen Z does not dream of labor

#81

Post by paisawalla »

deathanatos wrote: post #58
closeparen wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Asheville is an increasingly trendy and prestigious resort town for very rich people from all over. It is not a place I would expect anyone to buy their first home.

> ______ is an increasingly trendy and prestigious ____ town for very rich people […] It is not a place I would expect anyone to buy their first home. I've heard this about pretty much every place, at this point. ("Move somewhere cheaper!" … and get "geographic multiplier"'d into a lower salary, and you're right back where you started.)

Historical median inflation-adjusted incomes have increased around 14-16% in Asheville since 2005 [0]. So there is something to the idea that this person's father probably went and found a home in a then-unknown location, rather than starting out with the expectation that he'd be able to live in a trendy, high-cost locale as an entry level laborer.

0: https://www.deptofnumbers.com/income/north-carolina/ashevill...

Re: Gen Z does not dream of labor

#82

Post by civilized »

xmprt wrote: post #63
civilized wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A great trick to make an old pattern sound like news is to present an age-related phenomenon as a generation-related phenomenon. "Teenagers are acting like teenagers" can't be spun as news, but "Gen Z is acting like teenagers" can be.

That's mostly true however there's a lot of data that shows worrying trends. For example, millennials don't have anywhere near as much share of wealth as Gen X had at the same age. Wealth is being pretty heavily concentrated at the top of the age brackets.

I totally agree there are real concerning trends. Just earlier today we got some great examples from Rob Henderson https://robkhenderson.substack.com/p/no-one-expects-young-me...

Re: Gen Z does not dream of labor

#83

Post by skulk »

bufferoverflow wrote: post #56
burlesona wrote: post #14

> “My dad got a job straight out of high school, saved up, and bought a house in his 20s,” said Anne Dakota, a 21-year-old receptionist from Asheville, North Carolina, who earns minimum wage. “I don’t even think that’s possible for me, at least with the current money I make.” I think this is pretty much the whole story. It’s very hard to be motivated to work when you could save your entire adult life and still strugg…

The problem with this narrative is that the job of the father isn't specified. He could've been a plumber/electrician/welder who would do really well in the current market. These jobs pay well above the minimum wage. The world has changed - simple labor that requires a few days of training doesn't pay much. Most jobs, with few exceptions, that require a decade of training, do pay well. That's why there's such a huge…

> He could've been a plumber/electrician/welder who would do really well in the current market.

False.

A plumber making $80k (US median seems to be around $60k) isn't going to be able to save up for a down payment if they're paying a typical mid-sized city's rent (~$1.2k a month). Not to mention housing costs going up during this period of saving up.

Re: Gen Z does not dream of labor

#84

Post by nineplay »

"Heading out to Eden, hey brother

Heading out to Eden, hey brother

Gonna live like a king off whatever I find

Gonna eat all the fruit and throw away the rind"

- Star Trek, "The Way to Eden"

Every generation thinks they invented sex and every generation thinks they invented utopias. They'll outgrow it.

Re: Gen Z does not dream of labor

#85

Post by JaimeThompson »

derevaunseraun wrote: post #15

This article just sounds like stereotyping to me It sounds like the author is just projecting their own values onto the upcoming generation, viz "Gen Z cares about X" when really the author just cherry picks stuff that reaffirms his/her values I refuse to buy into any of this "Gen Z thinks X" or "Millennials think X" BS. The armchair sociologists should go out and actually contribute something worthwhile to society a…

>actually contribute something worthwhile to society

Such as? We expect them to get buy on little money, no insurance in a lot of cases while they have to deal with the rude public, random scheduling changes, and being treated like trash by their managers.

Re: Gen Z does not dream of labor

#86

Post by droobles »

bufferoverflow wrote: post #56
burlesona wrote: post #14

> “My dad got a job straight out of high school, saved up, and bought a house in his 20s,” said Anne Dakota, a 21-year-old receptionist from Asheville, North Carolina, who earns minimum wage. “I don’t even think that’s possible for me, at least with the current money I make.” I think this is pretty much the whole story. It’s very hard to be motivated to work when you could save your entire adult life and still strugg…

The problem with this narrative is that the job of the father isn't specified. He could've been a plumber/electrician/welder who would do really well in the current market. These jobs pay well above the minimum wage. The world has changed - simple labor that requires a few days of training doesn't pay much. Most jobs, with few exceptions, that require a decade of training, do pay well. That's why there's such a huge…

All the more reason to adopt the bohemian philosophy and pursue other pleasures if one finds working these modern jobs unfulfilling, only so much time on this earth.

Re: Gen Z does not dream of labor

#87

Post by ushakov »

Jerred wrote: post #38

As a Gen Z it's not that our entire generation is lazy it's that we've seen our parents give their entire lives to a company or industry just counting down the years to retirement. That personally is my worst case scenario for my career. Sure some people my age just want to be famous and not do any hard work, but I'd say the majority just don't want to be a "good employee" for 40 years just increasing the number ever…

i think the problem is that these folks browse social media too much and reject the reality

the reality is that not everyone of them will end up rich, beautiful and famous... in fact only a tiny tiny minority will

Re: Gen Z does not dream of labor

#88

Post by finnh »

ixtli wrote: post #59
jolux wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m a gen Zer (albeit on the older side) and I don’t feel this way about work. Probably depends what field you’re in, I quite like being a programmer.

I’m a millennial and I feel the same way, but I think a lot of this is due to a privileged position we have in the labor force. It’s the whitest of white color jobs. We’re still exploited as any trade, but it’s easier to be an architect or a lawyer than it is to be a construction worker. Especially over time and with contradictions sharpening as they are.

High-skill tradespeople often make more than architects. Not at the star level, of course, but architecture is generally a poorly-paying field for the amount of schooling and intellect it requires.

Re: Gen Z does not dream of labor

#89

Post by kitsunesoba »

ixtli wrote: post #59
jolux wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m a gen Zer (albeit on the older side) and I don’t feel this way about work. Probably depends what field you’re in, I quite like being a programmer.

I’m a millennial and I feel the same way, but I think a lot of this is due to a privileged position we have in the labor force. It’s the whitest of white color jobs. We’re still exploited as any trade, but it’s easier to be an architect or a lawyer than it is to be a construction worker. Especially over time and with contradictions sharpening as they are.

Software development is very much an exception. It’s one of the precious few fields with compensation that’s somewhat tracked with inflation and has a somewhat reasonable barrier to entry.

As a millennial in my 30s I was fortunate to be able to break in and start earning a nice paycheck without a college degree, but even that possibility is deteriorating now due to a sudden flood of entry level applicants. Companies are now seeking mid-level-to-senior candidates almost exclusively because they don’t want to bother with training and mentoring a newbie, they want someone who can hit the ground running. There are still some possibilities for one to get one’s foot in the door with barely paid or unpaid college internships but from my perspective the gates are slowly closing.

Re: Gen Z does not dream of labor

#90

Post by eulers_secret »

burlesona wrote: post #14

> “My dad got a job straight out of high school, saved up, and bought a house in his 20s,” said Anne Dakota, a 21-year-old receptionist from Asheville, North Carolina, who earns minimum wage. “I don’t even think that’s possible for me, at least with the current money I make.” I think this is pretty much the whole story. It’s very hard to be motivated to work when you could save your entire adult life and still strugg…

This is part of why I left my job. I had the realization that my dream (homeownership/2 kids) was untenable with my income (~$135K TC) in my area. I could certainly get the credit for it, but my life would be one long hardship living under wage slavery, being house-poor, having little free time, paying exorbitantly to watch others raise my kids, and not having the opportunities I currently have...

I kinda gave up on that dream, being priced out. So I quit, either to make a TC which can afford that life (>$200K/yr) or to live the rest of my days in a hedonistic manner. Current plan is to grind leetcode/sys design and apply to high-TC companies over and over until I can afford the life I want, or die trying.

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