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This Is Why The American Dream Is Out Of Reach

thelastpsychiatrist.com

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Re: This Is Why The American Dream Is Out Of Reach

#81

Post by jwhitlark »

SHOwnsYou wrote: post #65
jtbigwoo wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That was my thought, too. No matter how I feel about rejecting the insurance job, I can't deny that he's showing sufficient dedication to job hunting. The trouble is he doesn't seem to be showing any dedication to anything else. Why is he not tutoring or coaching little league? Why is he not learning something or building something?

I have to disagree that he is showing sufficient dedication to job hunting. I recently moved away from a secure job that paid well to live closer to family. All my old friends asked me what I was going to do. I assured them I would have a job after my first day of looking. I did. I worked serving fast food for three weeks before I found a job more in line with my previous employment. During those three weeks I worked…

Agreed. As my Grandfather always used to say, "If you have a job, you can get a job."

Re: This Is Why The American Dream Is Out Of Reach

#82

Post by randallsquared »

SHOwnsYou wrote: post #65
jtbigwoo wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That was my thought, too. No matter how I feel about rejecting the insurance job, I can't deny that he's showing sufficient dedication to job hunting. The trouble is he doesn't seem to be showing any dedication to anything else. Why is he not tutoring or coaching little league? Why is he not learning something or building something?

I have to disagree that he is showing sufficient dedication to job hunting. I recently moved away from a secure job that paid well to live closer to family. All my old friends asked me what I was going to do. I assured them I would have a job after my first day of looking. I did. I worked serving fast food for three weeks before I found a job more in line with my previous employment. During those three weeks I worked…

I worked serving fast food for three weeks before I found a job more in line with my previous employment.

Ah, and for those three weeks, what did you do about the crushing, crippling depression and feelings of doom as you wondered if you'd ever again find anything better than fast food?

What's that? You didn't feel that way? Some of us do. This was such a powerful effect for me, personally, that when the company I was working for folded in December 2008, I borrowed money for two months to pay rent rather than getting a "just for now" job that couldn't pay my bills anyway, but which certainly would suck up all my energy and send me immediately into depression (presumably not clinical depression; I'm using the word to mean just being depressed), in which state virtually anything I do would be hampered, including effectiveness at looking for a job.

Re: This Is Why The American Dream Is Out Of Reach

#83

Post by mquander »

jquery wrote: post #78
mquander wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What a shame that nobody has posted a pithy one-line summary for you. My big condolences. I spent three minutes skimming this article and it's perfectly clear what the author's thesis is; that the millennial generation has been raised to expect a breed of safe, corporate job in their favorite fields which just don't exist in the quantity that young adults wish they did. He suggests that they had better relax their st…

> Learn to fucking read. Is that necessary?

No, but if I didn't curse, my useless, content-free flamebait post would probably only have gotten +10, not +20.

Amazingly, rufius's comment was at +11 before I posted. My speech must have been very convincing.

I get the feeling that voting for comments on their merits here is a long lost cause.

Re: This Is Why The American Dream Is Out Of Reach

#84

Post by mkramlich »

Discussing whether college education is worth it is an inherently controversial topic here on HN, I think, and here's why.

First, because most would agree that getting degrees in a technical field are more justified and warranted than non-technical fields. So you're going to get two totally opposite conclusions from the folks dissing $100k history degrees versus the folks praising $70k electrical engineering degrees.

Secondly, software and business degrees are probably among the two fields where you can arguably gain the exact same knowledge and skills outside of college, free or very close to it, and at your own pace, and be just as qualified to work in industry. Unlike say medicine or chemistry or physics, etc. But here on HN software and business are probably two of our top most interested fields among readers. So we know a lot about these fields in particular. And the readers here should be very aware how easy it is to access and use free and independent resources and techniques to teach themselves in the areas of software and business. But with software and business in particular we have two camps, each further split into sub-factions, and they are all essentially right when it comes to their positions. Yes, having college education is better than not. Yes, college is too expensive. Yes, you can learn most things on your own. Yes, having that piece of paper WILL help you in the long term. No, of course you don't actually need it (with exceptions like doctors, etc.) All of these positions seem in conflict, but they're not, and that's where the controversy comes from. Because everybody is right.

Re: This Is Why The American Dream Is Out Of Reach

#86

Post by SHOwnsYou »

randallsquared wrote: post #82
SHOwnsYou wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have to disagree that he is showing sufficient dedication to job hunting. I recently moved away from a secure job that paid well to live closer to family. All my old friends asked me what I was going to do. I assured them I would have a job after my first day of looking. I did. I worked serving fast food for three weeks before I found a job more in line with my previous employment. During those three weeks I worked…

I worked serving fast food for three weeks before I found a job more in line with my previous employment. Ah, and for those three weeks, what did you do about the crushing, crippling depression and feelings of doom as you wondered if you'd ever again find anything better than fast food? What's that? You didn't feel that way? Some of us do. This was such a powerful effect for me, personally, that when the company I wa…

It must be nice to have a life so luxurious you can't stomach working a dead end job for 2 months.

It is interesting to me the different notions of pride people have. I would lose all my pride if I had to take out loans to survive. It seems you would lose your pride if you ever had to take something less than you thought you were worth.

It has been impressed upon me my entire life that self sufficiency is the greatest thing you can achieve.

I am genuinely curious to know (you and the others that are cripplingly depressed when life doesnt go their way) -- Why would you be in a crippling state of depression?

This is eye opening and like a field course in psychology to me.

EDIT I'm not going to baby anyone. It's pathetic to skate by on loans rather than your own hard work. Grow some balls, stomach your problems, and power through it.

My goal in life is to be the rock of stability that people can cling to when times are difficult. If that means ignoring my fears like they aren't there, then that is what I will do. If that means serving french fries to people that are more rude than you can imagine - saying horrible things about you just because you work at mcdonalds - then that is what I will do.

But please do answer my above question. I learn more with every comment that is made. EDIT

Re: This Is Why The American Dream Is Out Of Reach

#87

Post by matwood »

cynicalkane wrote: post #24
yalurker wrote: post #13

Sigh, another blogger trotting out the tired, false cliche that college is useless. From the article: "Were you smarter at 21 post college than your Dad was at 21? And whatever the difference, was it worth the $50k-$200k he paid to get you it?" Yes. Yes I was smarter. And I didn't pay 200k because I went to a state school. I graduated a wholly different person with a completely different world-view and a ton of appli…

I'm rather bothered by all the people knocking liberal arts degrees, in this and other threads. I did go to a school with a reputation for having a hard liberal arts core education, and it turned out to be a great decision. (In retrospect, I now wish I had gone to a different school, but the one I chose wasn't bad at all.) It's hard to explain why it's good to be able to think about these things, but it's hard to exp…

I got CS degree from a liberal arts school. I really considered it the best of both worlds. I enjoyed the art, music, and other arts classes I had to take, and I think they kept me from getting burned out on math/science.

I feel that I received a very good education for the money I paid.

Re: This Is Why The American Dream Is Out Of Reach

#88

Post by kingkawn »

yalurker wrote: post #13

Sigh, another blogger trotting out the tired, false cliche that college is useless. From the article: "Were you smarter at 21 post college than your Dad was at 21? And whatever the difference, was it worth the $50k-$200k he paid to get you it?" Yes. Yes I was smarter. And I didn't pay 200k because I went to a state school. I graduated a wholly different person with a completely different world-view and a ton of appli…

my dad went to harvard, i didn't. so no, i was not smarter than him.

Re: This Is Why The American Dream Is Out Of Reach

#89

Post by matwood »

SHOwnsYou wrote: post #65
jtbigwoo wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That was my thought, too. No matter how I feel about rejecting the insurance job, I can't deny that he's showing sufficient dedication to job hunting. The trouble is he doesn't seem to be showing any dedication to anything else. Why is he not tutoring or coaching little league? Why is he not learning something or building something?

I have to disagree that he is showing sufficient dedication to job hunting. I recently moved away from a secure job that paid well to live closer to family. All my old friends asked me what I was going to do. I assured them I would have a job after my first day of looking. I did. I worked serving fast food for three weeks before I found a job more in line with my previous employment. During those three weeks I worked…

I agree with you. I remember getting my first job beyond cutting grass. I had gone out and dropped off resumes at all the grocery stores, etc... I came home and told me Dad I tried and needed to wait. He asked me what I did and told me to get back up and go back to each store, but this time ask politely for the store manager and hand him my application. First place I went back to and handed the manager my resume hired me on the spot starting the next day.

It taught me an important lesson about really looking for the job and putting the proper effort in.

And yea, get a job doing something while you look. I haven't been jobless since before my first job at 15.

Re: This Is Why The American Dream Is Out Of Reach

#90

Post by matwood »

randallsquared wrote: post #82
SHOwnsYou wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have to disagree that he is showing sufficient dedication to job hunting. I recently moved away from a secure job that paid well to live closer to family. All my old friends asked me what I was going to do. I assured them I would have a job after my first day of looking. I did. I worked serving fast food for three weeks before I found a job more in line with my previous employment. During those three weeks I worked…

I worked serving fast food for three weeks before I found a job more in line with my previous employment. Ah, and for those three weeks, what did you do about the crushing, crippling depression and feelings of doom as you wondered if you'd ever again find anything better than fast food? What's that? You didn't feel that way? Some of us do. This was such a powerful effect for me, personally, that when the company I wa…

Depression? Grow up. It would depress me to sit at my house all day for 2 months while borrowing money from my friends to pay the rent.

How would some side work suck up all your energy? It's not like you have to think to serve fries, stock shelves or wait tables. Working crap jobs is the best motivator I've ever had to do better for myself.

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