Young People Are Screwed: Here's How To Survive • Hacker News Board

Re: Young People Are Screwed: Here's How To Survive

#71

Post by rcfox » Thu, Jan 10, 2013, 3:45 AM UTC

bbthorson wrote: post #15

I may not be applying to the easiest jobs to get but I'm finding it incredibly difficult to even get an interview. After graduating from a top 25 undergraduate business program in 2 years and then going on to earn my MA in econ in another 2 all the while playing Division 1 football I thought it might be easier than normal to get a job. Ideally I'd like to be at an audacious startup and even rode my bike 215 miles to…

> ... I'm finding it incredibly difficult to even get an interview.

This is where the networking comes in to play. It's easy to get an interview after someone introduces you.

> After graduating from a top 25 undergraduate business program in 2 years and then going on to earn my MA in econ in another 2 ... I thought it might be easier than normal to get a job. Ideally I'd like to be at an audacious startup...

How do you expect that business and economics degrees will help you join a startup? Most seem to want to hire people to build stuff. Perhaps you'd be better-equipped for starting one yourself.

> ... all the while playing Division 1 football ... and even rode my bike 215 miles to a midwest tech event ...

We get it, you're athletic. It's not really relevant.

> it's my opinion that energy prices are a better indicator of economic growth than interest rates

Why?

Re: Young People Are Screwed: Here's How To Survive

#72

Post by nazgulnarsil » Thu, Jan 10, 2013, 3:47 AM UTC

Idiots who don't plan their future are screwed, everyone else is perfectly fine. This isn't a change from the past, it's just that today's idiots are visible due to the internet.

Re: Young People Are Screwed: Here's How To Survive

#73

Post by angersock » Thu, Jan 10, 2013, 3:49 AM UTC

Suncho wrote: post #68

While I think he's made some important observations and I agree with some of his advice, I don't agree with his conclusion that young people are screwed. Here's an important insight that I definitely agree with: "But won’t a college degree pay for itself? It probably won’t." It won't. You probably shouldn't get one if your goal is to make money. Here's some advice I disagree with: "My advice to young people is to fig…

It's not reasonable to tell young people (or any people) that their goal should be to find a job so they can be self-sufficient and they can support themselves financially.

Are you kidding? How am I supposed to parse this properly? It reads like you are suggesting that it is not reasonable to suggest that you should get a job to keep yourself secure.

Re: Young People Are Screwed: Here's How To Survive

#74

Post by jrwoodruff » Thu, Jan 10, 2013, 3:53 AM UTC

rayiner wrote: post #65

BenoitEssiambre wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is my conclusion too. I hope I can still code at 70.

Work keeps your brain sharp. I've met 80+ year old judges that can keep young lawyers on their toes peppering them with questions to test their arguments.

...as long as you don't run into any health issues that affect your cognitive capacity, and you are able to maintain a position that matches your -likely declining- abilities.

I would like to think that I can look forward to retirement - travel, family, personal projects, etc. - without having to also continually worry over my status at work. But I'm not terribly optimistic.

Re: Young People Are Screwed: Here's How To Survive

#75

Post by Suncho » Thu, Jan 10, 2013, 4:00 AM UTC

angersock wrote: post #73

Suncho wrote: post #68

While I think he's made some important observations and I agree with some of his advice, I don't agree with his conclusion that young people are screwed. Here's an important insight that I definitely agree with: "But won’t a college degree pay for itself? It probably won’t." It won't. You probably shouldn't get one if your goal is to make money. Here's some advice I disagree with: "My advice to young people is to fig…

It's not reasonable to tell young people (or any people) that their goal should be to find a job so they can be self-sufficient and they can support themselves financially. Are you kidding? How am I supposed to parse this properly? It reads like you are suggesting that it is not reasonable to suggest that you should get a job to keep yourself secure.

Yes. That is what I'm suggesting. And I am not kidding. Do you disagree?

Re: Young People Are Screwed: Here's How To Survive

#76

Post by angersock » Thu, Jan 10, 2013, 4:13 AM UTC

Suncho wrote: post #75

angersock wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not reasonable to tell young people (or any people) that their goal should be to find a job so they can be self-sufficient and they can support themselves financially. Are you kidding? How am I supposed to parse this properly? It reads like you are suggesting that it is not reasonable to suggest that you should get a job to keep yourself secure.

Yes. That is what I'm suggesting. And I am not kidding. Do you disagree?

I'm concerned that I'm maybe putting the wrong emphasis on some bit of what you said, because if I'm not then yes, I disagree with you.

There is no reason historically that people have not had to work to support themselves, and so to suggest that they not do this suggests either that you desire them all to become layabouts dependent on welfare or that you want them to stop working and die off. Please explain an alternate interpretation of this.

Re: Young People Are Screwed: Here's How To Survive

#77

Post by jpdoctor » Thu, Jan 10, 2013, 4:36 AM UTC

Note that the article draws on a graph from the blog Calculated Risk. I have followed CR for years, and after reading the pando article, I'm am convinced the pando author is completely out to lunch.

Just as one example: The author is cherry-picking CR's data. Here is the graph of unemployment vs education level: http://cr4re.com/charts/chart-images/EducationUnemploymentSe...

And still the author recommends avoiding higher education? Anybody who follows such clownish advice despite the data deserves what they have coming.

BTW: CR is an excellent source of economic information, but it will take you a year or so to truly digest some of what is being put in front of you. (The comment board is of mixed value. It used to be the best on the web.)

Re: Young People Are Screwed: Here's How To Survive

#78

Post by gems » Thu, Jan 10, 2013, 4:38 AM UTC

munin wrote: post #12

spydum wrote: post #8

There is a lot of focus on programmers , which is absolutely fine: they are usually the "makers". However I wonder why admins get overlooked. Just like the plumber or the electrician, sys/net admins are the handyman/tradesmen of the computing world, and as software deployments grow, so will their demand.

admins are going to be replaced by programs that software engineers write (consider devops, heroku, aws, etc).

The sys admins I've known have generally been some of the most technical people I've met. They talk to vendors, know a lot about hardware, and have a great understanding about unix/ linux. They're not just administering your infrastructure, but also troubleshooting really low level things. How exactly is 'troubleshooting' going to be replaced by programs?

Re: Young People Are Screwed: Here's How To Survive

#79

Post by mjmahone17 » Thu, Jan 10, 2013, 4:41 AM UTC

snogglethorpe wrote: post #70

brianchu wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What do you mean by "quite poor?" To my knowledge, if they're poor, they're poor. I don't know anyone who was legitimately poor that did not qualify for financial aid. EDIT (reply to below): Your point about the estranged parent is valid; a wealthy parent refusing to pay is the only case in which a "poor" student does not get much financial aid. Foreign students are not entirely excluded from financial aid, though th…

Er, "no significant savings, income, or other resources to draw upon." The "system" generally tries to support poor people, but there are an awful lot of rules in place to try and make sure people pay their "fair share" and prevent cheating. I think usually those rules have more or less the desired effect, but like any rules, they can be rather blunt instruments, and end up hurting people as well. Some examples: + Fo…

Another example: having tax-free purchasing power can count against you. Specifically, clergy may receive a tax-free payment on their home. That is counted by colleges as income, even if your home is entirely paid off, which can boost your "income" from 20k/yr to 50k/yr. I know one student who must pay about 15k/yr to a "full-need" college, despite her parent's annual income being 25k.

Re: Young People Are Screwed: Here's How To Survive

#80

Post by dredmorbius » Thu, Jan 10, 2013, 4:41 AM UTC

rubiety wrote: post #19

sswezey wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

College costs a lot more than just tuition. You have room and board, fees and 'service charges' galore, textbooks, living expenses, etc.

Room and board is double-counting. You'd ultimately have to pay for that anyways (college or not), so it's hard to attribute that entirely to the "cost of college" - it's not a net cost.

It still needs to be paid and financed. Many colleges are in higher-rent areas (though many also are not). Students will need loans, income, stipends, or grants for these expenses.

Books are another large cost.