It feels like people around my age are falling through the cracks of society
- Thread starter Sutter Cane
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This. I remember the golden words of "Do well in school and get a good job". Well, I did "well" in College and University, and I can't even get a job packing and delivering in a warehouse :/rob_simple said:
£20,000 worth of money WELL SPENT!. Couldn't finish my Bachelors because of the increase in fees last year *sigh*
OP: Get experience in your field, no matter what it takes. So many times in job adverts I've had the qualifications and NOT the X amount of years' experience.
As a high school student looking through this thread, i'm getting a few chills.
That being said, the notes I've written from the various comments are helpful, and I'm counting my lucky stars my school has a proper selection of AP sciences (i'll have roughly 30-ish college credits before graduation)
I feel the need to emphasize the second bit because a high school next to mine had to cut off all non varsity sports and AP classes and art/music courses from a lack of budget, and there are projected 5 million worth of spending deficit that needs to be fixed in my school (luckily the active student body has lead to mitigating the damage in the aforementioned AP sciences.
It's a good thing the medical field always has a demand!
That being said, the notes I've written from the various comments are helpful, and I'm counting my lucky stars my school has a proper selection of AP sciences (i'll have roughly 30-ish college credits before graduation)
I feel the need to emphasize the second bit because a high school next to mine had to cut off all non varsity sports and AP classes and art/music courses from a lack of budget, and there are projected 5 million worth of spending deficit that needs to be fixed in my school (luckily the active student body has lead to mitigating the damage in the aforementioned AP sciences.
It's a good thing the medical field always has a demand!
I can't quote a per capital statistic, but looking at the map isn't the best way to look at it either, at least not when comparing it to the continent as a whole. The smaller countries have a much bigger population than you would think, with many of them having easily 10 times the population density (aka, amount of people per square mile). But even if you want to look at just the big names (UK, France, Austria, Netherlands, Greece, etc.) it isn't that much better or worse on average, with Switzerland being probably the best of them and Greece being by FAR the worst. Either way you cut it, the US gets a bad wrap, it isn't as bad as people make it out to be. Ya, we have a shit ton of flaws, but a lot of them are being worked out (gay marriage and marijuana being illegal are 2 of the biggest but give it 10 years and they'll both be legal) and a lot of it has to do with the entire world economy being shit. And then the debt... well ya we really need to get that shit worked out but same with a ton of European countries. Either way, its not a bad place by any measure of the imagination, we just need to make dat weed legal, tax the shit out of it, pay off China and den we be nomba 1 again. Oh, and we'll use the excess funds from the weed taxes to colonize Mars.Chairman Miaow said:
I haven't read most of your guys conversation, but this line seemed to sum everything up in a nutshell. And this has created quite a malevolent employers job market, which will eventually lead to that skill-scare that everyone was moaning about coming in the future 3 or 4 years ago, because without the experience, nobody wants to hire you to get the experience. But As I said, I haven't read your guys conversation through, but that bit of your last post just sums up the entire job situation for what seems like the whole world right now.afroebob said:
Minimum wage increasing to $9 an hour won't help a single thing, unless price freezes all across the US were to be instituted. It's about profit margins. Profit margins say that all in all, no matter what the minimum wage is, the cost of goods will increase at an equal or slightly higher factor. It is minimum wage employees that fuel walmart. If they all of a sudden have to pay out 9 dollars an hour to every single employee, do you think they are going to take that on the chin? no. they are going to jack the price of a jar of pickles or miracle whip up by another 2 and a half dollars.Remus said:
Considering the FED is cooking the books by not including the price of consumables into the cost of living/inflation, then Wal Mart can get away with it.
Point being: The entire currency and trade system within the united states needs a grand overhaul. We either need to go completely to a manufacturing/agrarian based socialist society, or a full blown capitalist society where in businesses are allowed to fail and everything else. This half way socialist-capitalist crap is for the birds.
More or less it was him saying the US is one of the less well of countries and me saying that's not really true and that the US is on par or better than the majority of Europe. Of course Europe does have some really well of places, but they also have some really BAD ones like Greece.LordJedi86 said:
Fair enough. If you look at most of Southern Europe right now it's in trouble. I understand some of the Nordic countries are doing quite well for it all though.afroebob said:
Captcha: Huggle Muggle.
Awh, captcha loves me even though I never got that stinking Hogwarts letter.
It's sickening, get used to it or move somewhere with better market regulation. I'm only employed by virtue of being a war veteran working security. All of my other marketable skills, every piece of tech that I'm excellent at fixing or building only happens as a hobby now thanks to the structure of our education system and corporate culture.
As far as I'm concerned, if anyone's primary concern at work is to serve shareholders, that person's job is worse than worthless... it's downright harmful.
There's a reason for this, there's a reason education SUCKS, and it's the same reason it will never, ever, EVER be fixed.
It's never going to get any better, don't look for it, be happy with what you've got.
Because the owners, the owners of this country don't want that. I'm talking about the real owners now, the BIG owners! The Wealthy? the REAL owners! The big wealthy business interests that control things and make all the important decisions.
Forget the politicians. They are irrelevant. The politicians are put there to give you the idea that you have freedom of choice. You don't. You have no choice! You have OWNERS! They OWN YOU. They own everything. They own all the important land. They own and control the corporations. They've long since bought, and paid for the Senate, the Congress, the state houses, the city halls, they got the judges in their back pockets and they own all the big media companies, so they control just about all of the news and information you get to hear. They got you by the balls.
They spend billions of dollars every year lobbying, lobbying, to get what they want. Well, we know what they want. They want more for themselves and less for everybody else, but I'll tell you what they don't want:
They don't want a population of citizens capable of critical thinking. They don't want well informed, well educated people capable of critical thinking. They're not interested in that. That doesn't help them. That's against their interests.
That's right. They don't want people who are smart enough to sit around a kitchen table and think about how badly they're getting fucked by a system that threw them overboard 30 fucking years ago. They don't want that!
You know what they want? They want obedient workers. Obedient workers, people who are just smart enough to run the machines and do the paperwork. And just dumb enough to passively accept all these increasingly shitty jobs with the lower pay, the longer hours, the reduced benefits, the end of overtime and vanishing pension that disappears the minute you go to collect it, and now they're coming for your Social Security money. They want your retirement money. They want it back so they can give it to their criminal friends on Wall Street, and you know something? They'll get it. They'll get it all from you sooner or later cause they own this fucking place! It's a big club, and you ain't in it! You, and I, are not in the big club.
By the way, it's the same big club they use to beat you over the head with all day long when they tell you what to believe. All day long beating you over the head with their media telling you what to believe, what to think and what to buy. The table has tilted folks. The game is rigged and nobody seems to notice. Nobody seems to care! Good honest hard-working people; white collar, blue collar it doesn't matter what color shirt you have on. Good honest hard-working people continue, these are people of modest means, continue to elect these rich cock suckers who don't give a fuck about you?.they don't give a fuck about you? they don't give a FUCK about you.
They don't care about you at all? at all? AT ALL. And nobody seems to notice. Nobody seems to care. That's what the owners count on. The fact that Americans will probably remain willfully ignorant of the big red, white and blue dick thats being jammed up their assholes everyday, because the owners of this country know the truth.
It's called the American Dream, because you have to be asleep to believe it.
It's never going to get any better, don't look for it, be happy with what you've got.
Because the owners, the owners of this country don't want that. I'm talking about the real owners now, the BIG owners! The Wealthy? the REAL owners! The big wealthy business interests that control things and make all the important decisions.
Forget the politicians. They are irrelevant. The politicians are put there to give you the idea that you have freedom of choice. You don't. You have no choice! You have OWNERS! They OWN YOU. They own everything. They own all the important land. They own and control the corporations. They've long since bought, and paid for the Senate, the Congress, the state houses, the city halls, they got the judges in their back pockets and they own all the big media companies, so they control just about all of the news and information you get to hear. They got you by the balls.
They spend billions of dollars every year lobbying, lobbying, to get what they want. Well, we know what they want. They want more for themselves and less for everybody else, but I'll tell you what they don't want:
They don't want a population of citizens capable of critical thinking. They don't want well informed, well educated people capable of critical thinking. They're not interested in that. That doesn't help them. That's against their interests.
That's right. They don't want people who are smart enough to sit around a kitchen table and think about how badly they're getting fucked by a system that threw them overboard 30 fucking years ago. They don't want that!
You know what they want? They want obedient workers. Obedient workers, people who are just smart enough to run the machines and do the paperwork. And just dumb enough to passively accept all these increasingly shitty jobs with the lower pay, the longer hours, the reduced benefits, the end of overtime and vanishing pension that disappears the minute you go to collect it, and now they're coming for your Social Security money. They want your retirement money. They want it back so they can give it to their criminal friends on Wall Street, and you know something? They'll get it. They'll get it all from you sooner or later cause they own this fucking place! It's a big club, and you ain't in it! You, and I, are not in the big club.
By the way, it's the same big club they use to beat you over the head with all day long when they tell you what to believe. All day long beating you over the head with their media telling you what to believe, what to think and what to buy. The table has tilted folks. The game is rigged and nobody seems to notice. Nobody seems to care! Good honest hard-working people; white collar, blue collar it doesn't matter what color shirt you have on. Good honest hard-working people continue, these are people of modest means, continue to elect these rich cock suckers who don't give a fuck about you?.they don't give a fuck about you? they don't give a FUCK about you.
They don't care about you at all? at all? AT ALL. And nobody seems to notice. Nobody seems to care. That's what the owners count on. The fact that Americans will probably remain willfully ignorant of the big red, white and blue dick thats being jammed up their assholes everyday, because the owners of this country know the truth.
It's called the American Dream, because you have to be asleep to believe it.
Dude from my experiences, in the real world, it's all about who you know, not what you know. You could be the greatest engineer in the world but if you don't know the right people you will go no where. Look at the former US President, do you honestly believe he would have even made governor without his family name?Vuliev said:
I'm just an above-average tradesman but without name recognition my business goes no where.
I flunked University, which kind of left me in the worst place to be...
...until I got scooped up by a tech/trade school that not only put me in a program with a 96% hiring rate (or so), but offered me a program that gives me a huge foot in the door/a full time job over the summer.
Have you considered entering the trades?
...until I got scooped up by a tech/trade school that not only put me in a program with a 96% hiring rate (or so), but offered me a program that gives me a huge foot in the door/a full time job over the summer.
Have you considered entering the trades?
And if you don't have the actual skill to back up that connection, you're still going to be fired really quickly. The reason I have an interview on Thursday is due to (a) my university having a reputation for outstanding quality of graduates, (b) my EE specialty, power systems, and (c) my ability to demonstrate that specialized knowledge in my phone interview a couple weeks ago--not because I knew anyone on the inside.tehroc said:
Besides, using Bush is a horrible example--politics is notorious for dynasties that stay in power regardless of actual skill or ability, and that's really not reflected in the workplace to anywhere near the same extent.
Unfortunately the economy in the United States is not improving. As much as suits go in front of a microphone and say that things are getting better they really aren't. Unemployment is higher then ever (So high that the gov't has stopped paying unemployment for thousands recently), more and more companies are going overseas for workers instead of promoting local growth and development, and every job that there is are minimum wage, fast food, or like you said Walmart and similar. It really is sad to say but that's just how things are right now. Give it a few years and maybe things will have changed a bit but even then I can't see all the jobs you need degrees for magically opening up positions.
In my personal opinion, I thing we might be seeing the beginning downfall of the country. I don't know if enough stimulation to the economy can be done to bring the USA back to where it once was.
In my personal opinion, I thing we might be seeing the beginning downfall of the country. I don't know if enough stimulation to the economy can be done to bring the USA back to where it once was.
I'm nearly twenty-five, and I recently looked up some of my old fellow students and friends of my schools, and every one of them is a satisfying story.
The people I liked through school are in various degrees of success, but most are genuinely happy, whether they're travelling, working in their ideal careers or powering through university. I'm lucky enough to not live in a society driven by hard capitalism, where the government actually pays for the education of its people as a long-term sociological investment. I don't know why the American government still believes education is a privilege for the already rich.
On the other side of that coin, are the dickheads who spent their school years being 'cool', not studying, coasting on athletic prowess and worrying about being the top of the social ladder are single parents, working shitty jobs, worrying about paying rent or, in one particular case, hung himself in jail after hospitalizing his girlfriend after a lifetime of failures because once high school ended, society stopped handing him everything.
I utterly fail to sympathize with you. You seem unwilling to take control of your own life, opposed to following the same failing system everyone else is, because why, it's the easiest to do?
The reality is, not everybody gets to be happy. Some people have the luck to be interested in fields with very high demand and are both happy with their work and getting paid well for it. That's not for everyone - society always needs garbage men, Walmart employees and brick haulers.
What you need to do is stop thinking about what you don't have, think about what you want and the steps you can take to attain it. Getting a degree doesn't automatically give you work, you're a fuckin' fool to assume that. What you need to do is be the very best candidate for the position. You have a degree in your field, great, so do a hundred other applicants.
What makes you special?
The people I liked through school are in various degrees of success, but most are genuinely happy, whether they're travelling, working in their ideal careers or powering through university. I'm lucky enough to not live in a society driven by hard capitalism, where the government actually pays for the education of its people as a long-term sociological investment. I don't know why the American government still believes education is a privilege for the already rich.
On the other side of that coin, are the dickheads who spent their school years being 'cool', not studying, coasting on athletic prowess and worrying about being the top of the social ladder are single parents, working shitty jobs, worrying about paying rent or, in one particular case, hung himself in jail after hospitalizing his girlfriend after a lifetime of failures because once high school ended, society stopped handing him everything.
Here's what you do: you think about how there are millions of people out there who die every day, people with nothing to live for - no food, no home, no family, and they fight tooth and nail to live to their last breath, and here you are in the greatest country in the world bitching about not being able to stay optimistic.Sutter Cane said:
I utterly fail to sympathize with you. You seem unwilling to take control of your own life, opposed to following the same failing system everyone else is, because why, it's the easiest to do?
The reality is, not everybody gets to be happy. Some people have the luck to be interested in fields with very high demand and are both happy with their work and getting paid well for it. That's not for everyone - society always needs garbage men, Walmart employees and brick haulers.
What you need to do is stop thinking about what you don't have, think about what you want and the steps you can take to attain it. Getting a degree doesn't automatically give you work, you're a fuckin' fool to assume that. What you need to do is be the very best candidate for the position. You have a degree in your field, great, so do a hundred other applicants.
What makes you special?
Well welcome to the harsh world of the US(i'm going to assume) where the older generations are going to force the problems on the newer generation because they don't want to lose votes. We're going have to deal with the debt the moment we really take a step out in 'life'. Then we're going to be kicked in the face and have to get back up and probably deal with more bs. Go life. It's always trying to push you to suicide.
youre not american, you said it yourself your lucky to live in a country that pays for your educationSansha said:
I wager things are a little worse over there
oh and telling people about the starving children in Africa does not motivate them to solve their problems...it only further annoys them
I'm actually referring to the hordes of homeless living and dying on the streets of Washington DC and New York City I saw on my visit last year, but okay. And I'm not talking about solving your 'problems', I'm talking about how fucking sweet you really have it, and bitching that nobody is providing you with a job helps... wait for it... ffffuck all!Vault101 said:
And actually, it's fucking sweet here. Unemployment is no different, the economy is still chugging along, albeit a little weaker as it mostly relies on tourism, outsourcing and TV/movie productions from America and the EU, but internally it's pretty great. Even better are the people going to Australia to work in their booming raw materials industries and sending money to their families back here.
My grandfather, father and myself started with exactly zero dollars when we emerged blinking into the sunlight of the real world, they both left the world content and successful after a lifetime of innovation and smart work, and I at 24 am well on my way to doing the same.
Sure people will tell you that it's about working until you no longer have skin on your fingers, but that's nothing without knowing where and how to apply your motivation.
You always have options. Used to be you found success in America by having an idea and knowing how to apply it. Apparently, from what I hear out of college kids these days, they think it's unfair that it's not flashing your degree and being provided employment like a fucking gift certificate.
we have homeless too....Sansha said:
I think its a bit rich to dismiss any and all concerns when your clearly saying how great you have it..again the US is different
sure complaing about the systm isn't going to help but thats not to say it doesnt have some serious issues