On those "Entitled" Twenty-Somethings • Hacker News Board

Re: On those "Entitled" Twenty-Somethings

#31

Post by dlytle » Wed, Aug 19, 2009, 3:36 AM UTC

The older generation is bitter because they heavily invested according to a specific system of advancement, lived a good life because of it, and now these modern kids act like the system was always broken.

The younger generation is bitter because they heavily invested according to a specific system of advancement, discovered that the rewards provided by the system have fundamentally changed, and blame the geezers for steering them down the wrong path.

Neither generation wants to accept that the rules have changed and don't pay off the way they used to. That's why they're trying to find someone to blame. (Other than themselves, of course.)

Re: On those "Entitled" Twenty-Somethings

#32

Post by baddox » Wed, Aug 19, 2009, 3:36 AM UTC

If he feels he's entitled simply because he worked hard and did what his parents told him, he clearly had (and has) some unrealistic expectations.

Re: On those "Entitled" Twenty-Somethings

#33

Post by quoderat » Wed, Aug 19, 2009, 3:51 AM UTC

mynameishere wrote: post #19

krschultz wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not.

Yeah, well, doing 5 minutes of research shows me that plans in the 300-400/month range are available. http://www.ehealthinsurance.com ...the deductibles tend to be 2000-3000 dollars, but that's not unreasonable. If you have any data to provide, please do so, because chirpy little responses are just so much pollution.

As I can tell you from past experience, 300-400 dollars a month is not a small amount for someone in their 20s with little to no income. In fact, that's a veritable sea of wealth.

If it's a choice between eating and health insurance, which it was for me at times, people will choose eating. And having a roof over their heads.

Re: On those "Entitled" Twenty-Somethings

#34

Post by vitaminj » Wed, Aug 19, 2009, 4:17 AM UTC

If you go to the bank and deposit $20, you are entitled to get your $20 from the bank. If you fulfill your half of a contract, you are entitled to the other party’s performance.

Well, if you enter into a verbal agreement with someone, you're not necessarily entitled to anything. When your parents told you to work hard at school and college with the promise that the world will take care of you, you didn't enter into a legitimate contract. So despite your whining, the world doesn't owe you shit.

Re: On those "Entitled" Twenty-Somethings

#35

Post by calcnerd256 » Wed, Aug 19, 2009, 4:29 AM UTC

caffeine wrote: post #18

californiaguy wrote: post #14

No, fuck this guy and his bullshit attitude. I'm 25 and I work over 12 hours a day in my technology services company and startup projects and I make a good god damn living for myself and so does everyone who puts in time for our company. It's his problem for believing the bullshit "adults" told him all his life. I knew from day one it was complete and utter nonsense. I bet he learned to blame others from them too. He…

Yikes. Potty mouth.

Surely we can hack our language to get across our emotions civilly without resorting to swear words. I appreciate your comment and hope the sentiment you expressed is more widely shared around here.

Re: On those "Entitled" Twenty-Somethings

#36

Post by spking » Wed, Aug 19, 2009, 4:33 AM UTC

pyre wrote: post #21

TomOfTTB wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm sorry but I disagree (I'm a 20-something but not for much longer so I really don't think it counts). Volunteer work is just that. You're supposed to volunteer. It's purpose is to show people the value of sacrifice. Doing volunteer work for Government compensation is called being a Government employee. Plus, as a former low income student I can tell you programs already exist that allow them to go to college for f…

> Doing volunteer work for Government compensation is called being a Government employee. So does that make people that collect social security and/or welfare cheques 'government employees?'

No, it makes them massively unfunded liabilities that you, me and our children will be paying out the ass for our entire lives. Congratulations.

Re: On those "Entitled" Twenty-Somethings

#37

Post by calcnerd256 » Wed, Aug 19, 2009, 4:35 AM UTC

He mentions generational justice. Does that even make sense? The older generation is going to die first, and then the one that was younger gets to take their turn. A revolving system like that doesn't have to have each pair of adjacent agents breaking even with respect to one another if the inequities are passed on. Well, I'm not saying I like the idea that we should be oppressed and then take our turn to oppress the next group; I'm just saying the notion of "generational justice" doesn't seem to make a whole lot of sense.

Re: On those "Entitled" Twenty-Somethings

#38

Post by cakesy » Wed, Aug 19, 2009, 4:46 AM UTC

edw519 wrote: post #11

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Like OP, I busted my butt in pursuit of a better future, graduated with an BS in Math and an MBA just to work at Denny's for 18 months before finding my first programming job. But I can't imagine ever writing a piece like this. I have only one "understanding". No one is ever going to give me anything, so I just have to suck it up and get it for myself. If OP persev…

People who are really serious at work, get into jobs in the last year of uni or before. There are loads of programs at uni, that you can get involved in, to help businesses. Some of these even pay, i did one that involved stochastic modelling for a large car company. That is when you should get involved, companies don't want someone with no experience of how to act in the work place.

Re: On those "Entitled" Twenty-Somethings

#39

Post by cakesy » Wed, Aug 19, 2009, 4:49 AM UTC

mmt wrote: post #5

The author was lied to, but not by me or my kind. I actually vaguely remember hearing the same lies, but not from my parents, at least not without the "nobody owes you anything" caveat. It didn't take me long to realize, intuitively, if not explicitly, that finishing college wouldn't help me get the job I wanted. Today, obviously, it might not even help me get any job. Even absent an entrepreneurship opportunity, I d…

You know, I was told if I worked hard I would get a job. I did, and I did. Many people I know did the same, were always working during Uni, and had little problem getting a job. Many people I know don't work hard, slacked around at uni, and can't find a job.

I found this advice to be quite good, although I am sure it doesn't work for everyone. Then again, I never felt I was entitled to a job.

Re: On those "Entitled" Twenty-Somethings

#40

Post by angstrom » Wed, Aug 19, 2009, 4:54 AM UTC

bdittmer wrote: post #22

sjsivak wrote: post #13

Is anyone else really curious what sort of degree the author of this article has? I just graduated in May and almost everyone I know with a CS or engineering degree found jobs pretty easily. It was only the bottom of the barrel that struggled, and even most of those people still managed to find something in their field.

I was wondering the exact same thing. That BA in a philosophy wasn't such a good idea after all, eh skippy? :D

I wouldn't say that. It's helping him expound upon the entitled morass that is his life. He'll have reached true zen when he realizes he could've saved $40K and said "Fuck You." to the world without college.