Does anyone else get sick upon realizing...?
Does anyone else get sick-- I mean, violently ill-- upon realizing how much worse life is for our generation than for our parents', and even moreso upon considering the fact that the Baby Boomers probably deliberately made it this way? They, after all, collect the wealth produced by IB analysts and law firm associates over 4500 hours each year. Gaining much profit from doing so, they've used divide-and-conquer methods, under the guise of "free competition", to lock most of our generation into a position of de facto slavery.
Cost of living is ridiculous, house/rental prices are a pogrom, work hours have skyrocketed, and career tracks are rigid. In our parents' day, a Woodstock pothead could, two years later, put on a suit, move into the business world, and make a lot of money... if he was willing to work hard (by which, I mean stay at the office till 8:00 a couple times a month, plus put in a few 4-hour Saturdays in the busy season.) In our generation, he'd never get past the gap on his resume. He wouldn't be hired as anything more than a Starbucks grunt. Anyone born after 1970 has to do everything right, at every transition, or he is fucked for life. I went to a top undergrad and, while I have a great job, 20-25% of my friends are unemployed because they majored in the "wrong" subjects.
I can only conclude that our generation has been massively fucked over, even (in fact, especially) the hard-working people. I'd work 60+ hours per week in any time period; some of us are just hard-wired that way. But in a society where 50-60 hpw is the norm, the natural hard workers get reamed even worse, because in a healthy society they would stand out and rise to the top, but in this one they're just average.
I can't even begin to describe how thankful I am to have been born when I was (early '80s) instead of later. Anyone born after 1988 should just leave the US now, because there will be nothing left for these kids by the time they're of age.
very interesting comments, but you really have a point. the baby boomers had so many kids, and they pushed them so hard in everything. the result is that any top job/college is hypercomeptitive and very smart and qualified people are rejected.
however, we are reaching the logical path of free market capitalism. why would anyone hire you to work 40-50 hours per week when someone would work 80-100 for the same pay or less.
we live in a rabidly materialistic culture which only values money and the power that it can buy. it is truly sad at times, but it also has created an unprecedented standard of living for everyone in the country. you have to take the good with the bad.
i can't see any solution to this problem other than living in a society without money, which won't happen. just take for granted you aren't living in some african shithole where 40% of the country dies from AIDS and even more from starvation. that's "fucked for life", not working 20 hour days in your early 20s
"the baby boomers had so many kids, and they pushed them so hard in everything. the result is that any top job/college is hypercomeptitive and very smart and qualified people are rejected."
They were pushed hard. Generations before them were pushed even harder. Immigrants were pushed far harder (or, often, pushed themselves). Yet the US had avoided this particular style of calamity: having a lot of talented and ambitious people is not a bad thing in a healthy society; it's good, even for other talented/ambitious people. They have more competition, but so much more is produced (by orders of magnitude) that they live better: a bright person in a smarter society gets a slightly smaller slice of a much bigger pie. The dynamic is symbiotic, really, instead of competitive. Unhealthy societies lose their capacity to expand, and the cutthroat behavior follows as a result.
There aren't more smart, ambitious, well "pushed" people than there were in previous generations, so your explanation doesn't fly. Rather, the problem is structural: good job positions were cut following the 1980s mergers, the corporate raids, and the gutting of both our public and private infrastructure. That's what really happened to make life worse for our generation than for our parents.
Our standard of living stopped being "unprecedented" circa 1973, when it reached a plateau and then declined.
yes there are definitely more smart, ambitious, and well pushed people now. there are more people in total and with the advent of the internet there is unprecedented access to information and many people who would never have a chance at high paying jobs now can. high finance is no longer a good old boys club based solely on your family connections (yes I know that still plays a big role, but nowhere close to before). it's a problem of over-supply for a limited set of jobs.
i maintatin that the hypercompetitive culture set up by our parents' generation is what is to blame. the idea that you're a failure if you get a B on your report card or aren't dominant in sports or ECs. or if you major in some soft subject nobody even takes you seriously.
it's not just finance. law, medicine, even engineering to a degree have become so competitive and full of type-A pit bulls because of the society we're living in. job cuts in the 80s are only a small factor.
I agree. I was considering medical school until I found out about all of the hoops you have to jump through. ie. research, publishing, volunteer, high gpa, mcat score, prereqs, shadowing, lors, and then you may get an interview. I don't have time to do all of that (specifically the research and volunteering). It wasn't as common to have 1k + hours of volunteering but today's generation is brutal and if you don't keep up it shows lack of initiative. Not to mention I can't just apply to any school in the country and my local medical schools are the top (jhu, gwu, gt). JHU only has a 5% acceptance rate. Only half of premeds applicants actually matriculate. Only 20% of premeds actually apply to medical school.
Don't get me started on residency lol.
Whatever happened to high school graduates enjoying their youth. Now they are work work work and it is never enough b/c everyone wants to be the number 1 candidate.
I guess it has it's pros and cons. Strong work ethic but high competition. Everyone wants to make a six figure salary.
This is a little off topic. I was watching oprah and they are saying that the US used to have the number 1 education system in the world. Now we aren't even number 20.
Why does it seem like we are working harder but yet we are also losing our intelligence. Have we just become lazy? Surely those in Japan and China work just as hard if not harder. They asked some American students to name the first five presidents and they couldn't. They asked a girl in China and she knew. That is sad.
http://www2.oprah.com/tows/slide/200604/20060411/slide_20060411_284_101…
I come from Europe and although the US provides good opportunities for future career development, I have noticed one pretty much becomes a slave to his/her job. We have a lot of problems back in Europe nevertheless, work and after-hours life is the rule, rather than the exception. I have a few friends in M&A and corporate finance groups back there and no one stays later than 6p.m., except when American companies are involved in a deal. I really don't know where this came from, but people are workaholic in this country and I have become one too...
pumpkin...quit watching oprah lol
jk
Sylvester - I don't know whereabouts you're referring to, but my friends in London based M&A groups only get out at 6pm if it's a Sunday. The norm there is a 60+ hour week and that's a slow week in August. Although not this year - has anyone else noticed that we haven't had that traditional summer lull??
haha I must watch Oprah it's encoded in my DNA.
I'll im going to say to the boomer arguement is our generation has the quality of life that only new technology can afford. I wouldnt want to have grown up in a time without computers and internet, even if it meant goign to a better school job..ect.
Pumpkin1621 -
The best and the most hard working are rising to the top. We're constantly competing with each other. I mean cmon, we're at an Ibanking forum for chris sakes, but the average student has decided to drop behind more and more. When I think about high school - I recall a majority of idiots.
That's why our education system is failing behind. While a small number of us are pushing overselves beyond reasonable limits everyday, the rest of us is slacking off to heart's content.
Population is the problem. Look at China and India - 2 countries with incredibly smart population. Their problem - population... and China had the communist lockdown/100% collectivism econoomy.
But if both had capitalism structure and only 150 million in population, I bet you both would be at least 10 times as rich.
Too many bums in this country right now too.... oh yeah let in more and more illegal immigrants... sure that will help in the long run... those bastards have like 10 kids.
Pumpkin1621, who said you had to apply to the local medical schools. You're not limited by geographic region you know?
The liberal baby boomer generation also left us with minorities who do absolutely nothing, get all our handouts and social incentives, affirmative action etc, and if he or she doesn
Rogie- you make some good points but don't go on the extreme. There are smart and motivated minorities too. Alot of that AA crap really go with government jobs though. In the corporate world is all about production. AA only gives some minorities a chance and it's their choice and ability to shine.
And minority - you got "dank you come again to 7 Eleven". Chinese to do your 2am carryout, vietnamese to massage your mom's foot, Koreans to dry clean your cloths, Nigerian to drive you to the Airport... Amigoes to wash yor car"... minorities do things too.
If you over speak on things you'll get backfire. Let's be a little more fair on our comments.
No man, I
hell yeah man. i know some 400lb women on welfare and food stamps. shes poor, but shes fat, go figure. she sits outside all day and smokes. i dont no, its tempting to write off this country and the 100mm idiots that occupy it, but theres 200mm others that make it work, so i guess weve got a chance.
hey you can't have everybody that's smart around. Then who's gonna serve you the burgers at mickey d's?
Rogue are you looking at Merril's page. Stanley O'Neal - CEO of ML is black.
are you people serious? because if so, I pity you. to categorize all minorities as some kind of plague on the country is beyond absurd, its disgraceful. you sound like fucking nazis (who believed the same thing about non-aryan people). yes, as a whole minorities are poorer and less educated than white people, but that's because they never had the opportunites afforded to rich white males in this country. seriously, imagine by the luck of the draw you were born in some third world shithole. you would have no chance in life either. most immigrants are hard working family oriented people who's dream is that their kids and grandkids can rise to the top. rich white males are guaranteed it from birth.
now that being said, i'm totally against AA because it rewards people for their skin color. I believe in equality of opportunity, not guaranteed equal results.
and this coming from a conservative upper middle class white male
I can pick any damn corporation and show you some bullshit like "we're pro fag, pro interracial, pro diversity, pro immigration, pro transvestite etc" on their web page or wherever. ML might have a CEO Black guy
Oh my god look at this limp faggo liberal who posted above me, see this right here is what is wrong with our country, look at what those faggot baby boomers have done to their kid's minds. I must be some kind of lunatic fucking neo-nazi white supremacist Islamic fascist because I'm anti-liberal to the core. I could go through his entire argument posted before me and sound my bullshit beacon ever step of the way but I'm going to bed, someone else needs to take over.
nobody's gonna take over, you're part of the problem in this country. all liberals have to do is point to fucking ignorant morons like you and say conservatives think like that. you're an extremist, just as bad as liberal extremists, but with opposite views. i really hope you let some of your above-posted gems loose in an interview sometime. that would really be funny.
just based on what you've posted in this thread, you are a neo-nazi (look up their beliefs, they match yours). you are a white supremacist. you probably have fascist leanings because most extremists with your views do. you aren't islamic, but your views are in line with theirs on a number of issues. you're not anti-liberal, you're anti-minority. in other words, go fuck yourself.
So True
The world has changed. And we must change with it.
I think we owe our previous generations. I mean, after all, they fought wars protecting our freedom. If it wasn't for them, we'd be living in some communist regime under some wanna-be god king leader who is using fear mongering to unite the masses and allow his regime to rule the world. . .
. . .oh wait. FML.
There was enough data out there for your friends/fellow graduates to make more informed decisions about which major to choose and what the job outlook would be for those majors.
Congrats on responding to a 10+ year old thread.
Grrrrrrr. i keep forgetting to check thread dates
I've always loved/hated hearing about my grandfather's life: -Went to engineering school, completely flunked out first semester. -Went travelling through Europe for a few years. Was able to get semi-decent office/factory jobs while there because visas weren't nearly as strict (I imagine only for people from "white" countries though). -Moved back home, got a job at what was (at the time) the world's largest corporation simply by knocking on the door and handing the local office manager his resume. -Bought a house by his mid 20s; I've seen it and it's actually a decent, suburban house in a great location. -Drove to work in the comfort of his company car every day, because traffic didn't exist, parking was free and gas was pennies. -Worked his way up the company, paid off his mortgage by his mid 30s, bought an even better house. -Got a top international posting, ended up on a decent salary with housing/transport/healthcare/private schools covered. Even got a "hardship" bonus for living away from his home country. -Because everything was taken care of, invested all his money in the stockmarket. Didn't play it at all, just bought stocks and left them idle. -Retired mid 50s, moved back home, bought a huge plot of land with cash and now has a mid six figures income from dividends and a solid pension from the corp. -And, as the FINAL kick in the dick, that piece of land he bought 25 years ago for a very reasonable price is now worth about 8x as much.
It's been said before on this thread, but these days flunking out of college (or even passing with a poor GPA/poorly regarded school) is for 99% of people a life sentence to a very mediocre career.
Dont know how but the model i was working on didnt save properly and i spent 48+ hours on it. Now i come and read this thread and im even more depressed. Maybe its time to join the military
WTF is going on in this thread? A lot of whining.
Tuition costs in real terms have increased dramatically.
I think if rental and housing prices came down it would help a ton of people...
Who's down to start a Boutique in bumblefuck nowhere with me? We can compromise our cost of living through our cost of traveling to clients! (Fly spirit & frontier of course)
Edit: Forgot about the recent news regarding about spirit.. so we now have narrowed down our flight options to frontier
This. But also, and most pertinently for me, these days there are a lot of people who are as hard working and competent as my grandfather but will never, ever get the same kind of breaks even if they do 99% of things "right". I respect the hustle and everyone who makes it into great careers - especially the people in this industry - but I hate how there are so many people who could add so much more if say, they hadn't messed up one semester because of personal problems. Or say, they can't get through the HR bullshit that dominates modern recruiting.
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