Why are kids so entitled?

I just heard a first year 2 months in (I am in Y2 but technically a level 3 employee) start complaining about being asked to send in documents to our document storage system because "these are below me" and "I make too much to be doing that". For one, you don't make that much and for two I would do anything asked of me at work, regardless (as long as I am getting paid) it is not like he had to stay late to do it. Literally a task with an unlimited amount of time to do so, with absolutely no deadline. He eventually went to our boss and said that he wants more meaningful work and asked why we don't have an intern to do that. (our intern left in August) or why we don't hire one or wait until we have one and how it is a waste of time to spend so much money for him to do it. What are your stories of people complaining about tasks "below them" and what is your response to them? Why are people so entitled?

 

why prepare a response? just step over the losers and keep moving. consider yourself lucky to have been given the opportunities to overcome and grow

heister: Look at all these wannabe richies hating on an expensive salad. https://arthuxtable.com/
 

Because they don't know any better and/or are literally from very entitled backgrounds. They'll learn, or they won't, and life will go on.

Ignore them, correct them, or troll them. You have options here.

Commercial Real Estate Developer
 
Funniest
CRE:
Because they don't know any better and/or are literally from very entitled backgrounds. They'll learn, or they won't, and life will go on.

Ignore them, correct them, or troll them. You have options here.

I chose troll once.

Back in high school I was in debate club at a shitty public school, in fact, I think we were one of the very few public schools that participated. Anyway, my teacher was the president of the society and somehow managed to get us to host a tournament.

In between rounds I would walk around and talk to the other participants usually to size them up etc. Suddenly, one asks me with urgency 'hey where's the bathroom in this place?' Our school doubled as a hurricane shelter with few/no windows and quite large so it would take a while for someone unfamiliar with school grounds to find the restroom. So I politely informed them where it was and they started to take off running.

I quickly shouted 'whoa, wait!' They stopped in their tracks turning their head toward me. I said, 'where's your toilet paper?' The look of 'wtf is this person asking me?' was extraordinary. I quickly said, 'hey this is a public school, you have to bring your own tp'.

They immediately ran to anyone they could find asking if they could use their toilet paper.

That day was a good day to be a non-target.

If the glove don't fit, you must acquit!
 

Tbh, I think entitlement is more rooted with upbringing (and possibly personality disorders) than just age. Maybe inexperience young people / juniors are more vocal about it, but it doesn't mean that their attitude disappears / changes when they've learned when to shut up. Some of the most entitled people I've ever dealt with have been wealthy 50-60 year olds.

 

It's a shame that this happens. Sorry you feel this way.

As someone with a privileged background going to a fancy private boarding school, I grew up learning about the values of humility and how my being born in my family was nothing but pure luck.

I'm sad the see that clearly not enough people have the same values ingrained into their minds and mannerism

 

Yep. A fresh grad and I were walking out of our weekly all hands meeting that lasted about 45 minutes and was actually useful sighs to me and says "that was fucking brutal"...uh what dude?

 

If I were you I'd give honest feedback to the person so he/she is aware. Giving feedback (upward/downward) is a skill we all need to have, and particularly important if you are managing / semi-managing someone. You'll be surprised at how receptive and appreciate folks are about feedback. And if that kid is not receptive, then there's nothing you can do. Come review time, it'll come back to bite the kid.

Doesn't help to complain about it on a forum.

 

https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/dear-recent-gradsinterns

Shaun-Mullins:
A friendly reminder:

You are idiots. You are all idiots. You are not qualified for any serious financial position. You may watch CNBC. You may have played with a Bloomberg in your school’s “financial lab”. You may even have run money at a student fund. This is all totally irrelevant. This will not prepare you in any real way for an actual position. If we do hire you, you will be a drag on resources for at least a year, and more if you turn out to be as stupid as you look. Unfortunately, we have to hire you because you’re cheap.

I do not mean this as a criticism. As it says, it’s just a reminder. Everything I wrote absolutely applied to me at one time. The key for you is to realize this now, and own it so you don’t come off looking more naive than necessary. Step one is to get professional resume help. Good lord help me I do not care about your coursework experience or your supposed “software skills”. Your job in the financial aid office does not warrant 5 lines.

If you are granted the opportunity to annoy us, again please be cognizant of your idiocy. Soak up as much of this business as you can. Learn how the business actually works. Shut up in meetings until you know what you’re talking about - and don’t you dare try to interject just to sound intelligent.

There is a light at the end of the tunnel. All of us were idiots, and we worked out of it, and most of you will as well. In the meantime, I need another coffee and none of that foofy latte crap this time, just hot and black. That is all, dismissed.

 
Most Helpful

People might not like to hear this but I think a big reason you see so much entitlement in finance (corporate/IB/er/banking/hf/re whatever) is because the field is full of frat bros/sorority girl whose parents are upper middleclass and above who instilled that attitude in them. Of course they are willing to put in the long hours because that's what they think (and have been told) they need to do to get to the money but doing tasks they perceive as "menial" irks them because they think they should be VP/Manager/etc. already. Their parents were upper middle-class or higher so it's only right they're handed a similar (or better) income/wealth status. You see this less in fields that have more immigrants/ kids who came from nothing or lower middle-class like medicine, engineering, etc.

I was at an office Christmas party

Array
 

+SB I would also add that most kids in IB have been on a long winning streak, going to the best schools, getting a prestigious jobs, coming from a good family,, etc.

They've never been humbled. In hindsight (emphasis on hindsight), one of the best things that happened to me was graduating into the 2008 recession. I was on a winning streak before that and kind of an asshole. Got humbled. Applied for even bank teller and cash box positions. It changed who I am even more than a decade later.

 
The Real Donnie Azoff:
Spoken like a true geed

I honestly had to look up the term geed on urba dictionary. Look, I'm a black guy that went to a predominantly white school. I quickly decided I wasn't about to fully fit in with the frat bros (race being only a small component of that conclusion) so I did my own thing. Slayed quite a bit and had a ton of fun, I was in with a few of the bros so I partied quite a bit with em, but a bro I definitely am not.

Array
 

It's actually more beneficial from a psychological perspective to come from a non-entitled background if you can make it into the arena because that individual is usually hungrier, hard-working, and has less life expectations instead appreciating the journey.

In the top tier of wealth, a ton of those kids develop severe substance abuse problems growing up in high school and through college because their self-esteem is massively affected when they realize the probability of measuring up to their parents success is slim to none. For example, a kid whose father is a carpenter might be elated when he receives the credit analyst position at the local bank and the entire family will be happy and celebrate when the position is achieved. On the other hand, the kid who goes to private high school and a target school was always expected to perform at the top and will be crushed when he is unable to achieve the investment banking job and instead the credit analyst job because he knows that he didn't hit exceed the standard. His father might be embarrassed or disappointed in the son and give him the cold shoulder because the father's ego is impacted when he can't brag about his son's job at the country club.

Not all people who grow up lower/middle income have it easier than all people who grow up with money. You have to keep in mind the serious cost it takes to achieve entrance into that top tier which has a direct stress impact on the family growing up. The kid whose father is a carpenter that has his dad attend all his sports games, eat dinner with him every night, and not place unrealistic expectations on him is going to end up in a much better spot that the son of a high-powered lawyer whose father was absent from his life and measure life through the lens of money/prestige thereby placing unhealthy expectations on the son.

 

Honestly? The first thing I would ask myself is, "Am I providing meaningful work to this guy?" If he complained about doing one simple task then that is definitely entitlement. If that's all he's doing then he's got a point, and it sounds like that is the case. I've been there. It's the worst.

Array
 

Cause they are little shits who think they are the "deal closers" because they had decent grades in school and are making above average salary out of undergrad without having actually accomplished anything yet.

The types of guys you mention typically have a hard time when they get out of their analyst program and into the real world where you need to actually produce value to get paid decently vs just trading all your free time and having an above average attention for detail for a decent salary. Mind you, some do make it pretty far regardless, but wtv, just keep your head down and keep grinding.

 

Its an interesting question and like OP, I also see a rise in a mentality of feeling entitled to do only thinking-intensive work.

My guess is that it has something to do with the labor market being tight (i.e., job market strong) for the better part of a decade. There's been more demand for talent everywhere, including young talent.

If your'e 22 today, this started happening when you were in your early teens. So as you grew up through HS and college, all while keeping one eye on career-related stuff, all you hear about is a world where brains are in high demand. The more traditional "pay your dues" white-collar jobs are still there, but take up less % of the total than before. And what's really adding to the denominator is tech jobs that at least have a perception of being mentally stimulating.

 

Many young people have a false sense attainable lifestyle/career fulfillment due to social media. Social media is cancer, it provides a constant stream of unrealistic comparison standards.

On the other hand, there is a big issue with companies presenting a financial analyst position with a typical job description then tasking that person with 90% data entry/database keeping. That is a bait and switch and it would be reasonable for that individual to be frustrated.

 

I second what InVinoVeritas said about social media, too many people think they have all eyes on them by posting pics (I always wonder how many people would actually do a certian thing if they couldn't tell others, but that's another topic).

Usually people act entitled because they seek the power you don't give them; meaning, if you won't walk up to your MD and ask him/her to do a menial task bc you know they're important and they don't have to tell you . When someone has to tell you they're important, normally they aren't, but they want the feeling they are.

Problem is most of these kids starting in banking think its something its not. Its kinda like sports, if you want to be a QB in the nfl, you can't think its show up on sundays, throw a ball, and be done. You have to like looking at film, working out, practicing. People get to a certain point though and think they've "made it", but that's normally the point when you have to work the hardest.

I always think of Tom Brady vs Ryan Tannehill; when Brady gets intercepted by the practice quad in practice he actually pays them money bc it makes him better; Tannehill apparently yells at the guys bc they "shouldn't be doing that". Their records speak for themselves.

 

I would disagree with most of the comments in this thread so far.

Imagine you are in high school and have no idea what to do with your life. Everyone tells you it is important to find a job, and to do that you need to go to college, get a good degree, yada yada yada. You do all that. You go to a decent school, get solid grades in a useful major, and do your best to get a job. Congrats! You have been rewarded for your hard work with a job offer and you rightfully accept, happy that after being told which steps to take, you did what you could and it looks like everything in life is going to be good / work out.

You start working and after the "honeymoon" period is over, you quickly realize that 1) none of this is complicated or difficult, 2) you didn't need to go to college to prepare for anything you do at work, 3) you're in huge debt to get this coveted job that seems like a joke, 4) you don't actually know if this is what you really wanted but you are willing to try it out because you were told it was smart/responsible/a good long-term idea, and 5) now they except you to be happy and cheerful to email documents and get coffees for people?

After stressing out in college and being told how big of a deal it is to get these "tough" or "coveted" or "prestigious" jobs, you show up and it turns out it was a big lie. I'd be willing to bet that most kids like the one in the original post just had higher hopes to actually do things related to what they studied, to see if they like the job or not.

Imagine getting a job as a barista and having to wait 2-3 years before you get to start making coffee... after going to college to learn about coffee for 4 years. I'd be entitled too.

 

1.) Im asking, are you saying people would be happier if it was more complicated? Does it need to be?

2) I agree, most people don't get a job in the field they studied, but that's kind of a separate argument.

3) Agreed that can be an issue, but not the employer's fault.

4) agreed, again not the employer's fault or people you work with fault

5) agreed that its hard to have a good attitude some times, but you can't bring things outside of work into work and blame it on others

Bottom line is, you don't have to do the job, you can always find another job (ppl forget that). The thing with finance is its just like any other profession. Go ask most kinds what they want to be, and as they go through school they find it isn't as easy as they think it'll be so they find something else. How many 1st grader want to be an astronaut, doctor, engineer who builds an iron man, but run into the knowledge that they have to study high level stuff to get there. They find other ways.

Same thing with finance, except I feel people don't understand what the job entails then they get their and aren't pleased. If you asked most people outside of finance what IBers do, they probably couldn't tell you. A decent amount of college grads going into the field couldn't tell you, they just look at the bottom line. Think is, people want the prestige for doing basically what a lot of others are doing, and that's not how you get prestige.

I always think about a guy like Kevin Hart, most people think he came up overnight, don't realize he had nine failed TV pilots, did stand up for years, worked his way up. But people go to one open mic night then think they should be in "Jumanji 4: Back to the hood" with the Rock.

 
  1. I think the work would be more fulfilling if people had more (and/or more important) responsibilities.
  2. Not that the topics aren't related, but that once you leave school, most employers act like you are starting at ground zero. Meanwhile, you feel like you know more than zero. So you feel like they aren't valuing the 4 years of "education" you just finished. In which case, it seems like a waste of 4 years.
  3. hard disagree. No one is a robot and IMO the general world of finance / consulting / RE / etc. contains a very high % of folks with terrible EQ, barring upper mgmt, and even they sometimes have no idea how to read a room. I'm regularly disappointed at how often people feel the need to pretend that something is enjoyable, when everyone in the room knows it sucks balls. What functioning adult would enjoy scanning hundreds of documents? Anyone that says they enjoy that experience is either a barely functioning human being, or lying. Like what is the benefit of lying? What is the point in the charade? For how long does an adult have to pretend to believe in "Santa Claus"? For me, it reflects a total lack of respect towards the common man / woman.

I take the total opposite viewpoint. I think most people want to do great, big, difficult things, but the mediocrity most of society exhibits weighs them down and people eventually give up. How many young engineers dreamt of re-designing cars in how they look & drive, their components, the systems that comprise them, etc., only to get stuck re-designing screw caps on the engine block to reduce costs by 0.3% for their whole careers?

I don't think it's tied to prestige. It's more about impact. People want (maybe need) to feel like they are useful. That they are important. The best places I've worked at had different groups/divisions where every single group/division felt that they were useful and the business needed them. That gives people a degree of satisfaction when they do their job and a modicum of a rationale to get up in the morning and be positive about what they do for a living.

 

I agree, but it is still sort of the old school pay your dues, and as an entry level you are fairly compensated with 3ish weeks PTO, decent compensation and bonus and the ability to work for an extremely large company. I guess my feeling is that I did whatever was asked for me and it paid dividends and I believe that they should do the same. It is a good job with a lot of thinking associated with it but as the low person on the totem pole you have to pay dues. He complains about any mundane task that he is given as if he is better than it. That is the frustrating part and to top that he is still going through training to do the finance related stuff. He came in with no knowledge of how to do the job so my guess is they are trying to get value out of him while he trains. Other tasks he complains about are spreading financials instead of doing the actual analytics. We are not going to let you do a write-up for a company of $150mm exposure without knowledge of how to do it. Once he trains he will be doing analysis for

 

Totally fair that in your case, the kid might be a bit of a prick / whiner. Happens I suppose.

But on the "paying your dues" part: There are tons and tons of folks in upper mgmt who didn't start out in finance/their career paths. They just learnt things along the way. These folks, now in upper positions, say to younger people "The earlier you pick a career path the better. You'll be able to start sooner and achieve more." etc. So some kid does that. They go to school and do well, follow stocks/market/careers (for ex.), take financial modeling courses on weekends, and get internships. They check all the boxes. And in the first year or two on the job their primary tasks are (typically) admin and/or not-related to what they've been preparing for. Any rationale person in that kid's spot would ask themselves, "What did I do all that extra work for?" I understand that all the steps they took helped them land the position in the first place, but there is a huge disconnect between what is being expected of kids and what they are actually being tasked to do.

"Go practice digging holes for a few years then apply at this hole digging company. Great now that we've hired you, you are going to watch and learn how to dig a hole" THEN WHAT WAS THE PRACTICE FOR

Sorry for the rant but I fought this topic when I was doing my undergrad for 2 years trying to get administration to make changes.

 

Fair points. I studied political theory in college and got my first real political job right out of school. It was a joke and a big mistake on my end. I should've done engineering.

Greed is Good!
 

From a lot of what I experienced throughout my summer internship I tend to agree that class makes a difference in work ethic. There was a particular associate who came from a very wealthy background who would fit the description of the analyst described in this post that I remember would always complain about meetings, work, etc and their work was not that bad.

Because of how I was raised, I was taught to put your head down and do what you have to do but the attitudes I observed had a very negative external impact. It was honestly quite surprising to me that so many people complain so openly about work.

 

My bro!! Read again what you just wrote about this little sh*t first year and what he said to his and your boss. Is it not that obvious?? I don't even get why you're complaining about this!

HE gone!!!!!!! He has effectively killed his own career at your firm. Your boss now thinks he's an arrogant little fck that needs to go. Boom! That is one less male coworker you have to be obsessed with.

-You'll thank me later

 

Ah yes its always the upper middle white class kids that are the enemies, isn't it. Keep on ranting with your stories of WhItE pRiViLeGe.

Give me a break. I've seen plenty of entitled kids whose parents were immigrants. Plenty of those 1580 SAT kids who think attending a state school is "below them" or even at a state school thinking non-stem majors are "below them" as well. And don't get me started on the diversity entitlement. There's a group of kids who think because they are from diversity backgrounds they should get all the attention when something major happens in their life. They're the first to try to get 1000 likes on LinkedIN and then use the mantra "white privelege" to look down on non-diversity kids who even mention an accomplishment.

 

Intelligence can't be measured by an SAT score. I've talked to people who got 1590+ who told me studying for the SAT is just memorizing formulas (even for the English sections).

 

You ever talk to someone who lived in nyc during the 1980s? its like they are from a different fucking galaxy. A lot of people haven't seen gangster, or real savagery. My dominican ex went through so much and she is the most humble girl I know. That being said most people in the corporate world have not been in a situation or time in their life where they were not a priority. They do not know what it is like to not be special

 

The Millenial generation had horrendous parenting. Don't get me wrong, our generation is very much culpable for how much it sucks, but they were told a lot of bullshit as kids that ruined their ability to look at the world objectively. When you get trophies for coming in 10th place, are told that all that matters is feeling good about yourself (regardless of whether or not you should actually feel good about yourself), and are told that you're special, deserving of only the best things in life, and that there's no one else like you, you're going to grow up to be a self-entitled little shit who is incapable of handling life properly.

I come from down in the valley, where mister when you're young, they bring you up to do like your daddy done
 

Now here's someone who speaks the truth. The hypersensitivity of the modern era is ridiculous. A small joke or insult is magnified tremendously these days.

 

No but see the parents praise their kids for getting 10th and then start bragging about it which changes the kids' mindset. It's very rare where kids get super upset with 10th and those kids have a different sense of entitlement that studying 24/7 should lead to first.

 

That's because equality in everything leads to no equality. Consider an attractive person and a mildly ugly person. The attractive person is considered attractive because mildly ugly people exist. When you tell everyone that they look the same then no longer does the attractive person feel more confident. Similarly the mildly ugly person would have some other positive characteristic (maybe intelligence) that the attractive person doesn't have. But when 50% of the class is given an A the grades are equalized so no longer does the intelligent person feel intelligent. In this way all emotions are curbed out and people have nothing to feel positive about any more.

 
earthwalker7:
Ask instead why we non-millennials aren't MORE entitled.

Y'all felt entitled to the whole damn atmosphere your whole lives

heister: Look at all these wannabe richies hating on an expensive salad. https://arthuxtable.com/
 

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