Editorial on the Millennial Generation.

[clenz]

God forfucking bid they have to work through college (like THEY are the ones having to pay off the trillion dollars in student loan debt--that will all just get defaulted on)

I don't have a fight in the generation v. generation spat, but hearing this point from older people (including my father) is kinda annoying. Most students I knew, including myself, had a job throughout college and it's damn near impossible to pay your way through it nowadays. It's nice that my dad was able to work his way through a master's degree, but it also cost him something like $25,000 for 6 years of college (at GWU nonetheless). It cost me a little over $80,000 for 5 years for a bachelor's at a public school. How am I supposed to realistically work through that? Now I agree that it's stupid to accumulate $300,000 in debt for a photography degree or something, but let's be realistic here regarding the cost of an education today.

mostly this.

I'm well on record stating I hate most of my generation.


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[Ibanez]

AZ is right, we are worthless. He's so astute.


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[GrizFanStuckInUtah]

They must be smoking crack, generation Y would fold like the French did (Pick a war).

Generation Y didn't fold in Iraq or Afghanistan.


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They also didn't face the same thing as WWII and that is what I was referring too. The casualty numbers on D-Day alone are close to those 2 wars combined. I think it is a a REALLY GOOD thing we don't take those casualties today but I do also wonder how we as a nation would deal with something like WWII today. I hope for the best and fear the worst as I just don't see the same work ethic and attitudes from the younger generations.

[Ibanez]

Generation Y didn't fold in Iraq or Afghanistan.


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They also didn't face the same thing as WWII and that is what I was referring too. The casualty numbers on D-Day alone are close to those 2 wars combined. I think it is a a REALLY GOOD thing we don't take those casualties today but I do also wonder how we as a nation would deal with something like WWII today. I hope for the best and fear the worst as I just don't see the same work ethic and attitudes from the younger generations.

Oh I don't know, that's an interesting question. The people today are too narcissistic, sheltered and soft.

I'm not excusing my generation, and i'm certainly not excusing the generation that follows me. I'm, more or less, saying that all of us born between In the 1980's and early 1990's are not the whiny, entitled bitches that give everyone the impression. There are many, many good, civic minded people that I feel will do the world some good. Like Generation X, we've been in a more diverse culture and environment and I believe that will only help increase equality. People my age were in High School/College on 9/11 and have seen the ugliness of our government since then. We don't like it and many of us want to change it.

[Pwns]

My mom's mom didn't work and her dad had no college education, and they payed all of my mom's college expenses and put my uncle in a private school. Not all that atypical for the mid to late seventies. Pretty much everyone these days hits the ground sprinting after high school. Spending a couple of years working to save money for college these days is almost pointless.

Even though we definitely are in a tough situation, can't say we have handled it all that well, though. A lot of that is on the baby boomers who have ruined education with all the emphasis on self esteem and no-child-gets-ahead mentality. That, and so many high schools pushing outdated (if it was ever even valid) crap that technical colleges are for unambitious losers looking for the easy way out.

There's truth to both sides of this.

[Ibanez]

My mom's mom didn't work and her dad had no college education, and they payed all of my mom's college expenses and put my uncle in a private school. Not all that atypical for the mid to late seventies. Pretty much everyone these days hits the ground sprinting after high school. Spending a couple of years working to save money for college these days is almost pointless.

Even though we definitely are in a tough situation, can't say we have handled it all that well, though. A lot of that is on the baby boomers who have ruined education with all the emphasis on self esteem and no-child-gets-ahead mentality. That, and so many high schools pushing outdated (if it was ever even valid) crap that technical colleges are for unambitious losers looking for the easy way out.

There's truth to both sides of this.

Amen to the tech school comment. Growing up, this is what we were told. It was for dummies. Shit, i wish I were smarter back then. I'd have gone to two years at Trident Tech(with lottery money) and then transferred for the bachelors. The 2nd largest college in South Carolina is Trident Technical College. More kids attend Tech than Clemson (however, attrition at Tech schools is high).

[ASUG8]

My mom's mom didn't work and her dad had no college education, and they payed all of my mom's college expenses and put my uncle in a private school. Not all that atypical for the mid to late seventies. Pretty much everyone these days hits the ground sprinting after high school. Spending a couple of years working to save money for college these days is almost pointless.

Even though we definitely are in a tough situation, can't say we have handled it all that well, though. A lot of that is on the baby boomers who have ruined education with all the emphasis on self esteem and no-child-gets-ahead mentality. That, and so many high schools pushing outdated (if it was ever even valid) crap that technical colleges are for unambitious losers looking for the easy way out.

There's truth to both sides of this.

Tech schools are underrated IMO - you need a constant stream of people in the trades (plumbing, electricians, woodworkers, construction, etc.). Good honest work, solid pay, and it won't get outsourced. Too often today everyone pushes that you have to have a college education (meaning 4 year) so there's nearly a surplus of college grads these days. Even master's programs are to some extent taken for granted these days. I'm certain there are 19 year old apprentice electricians out there making more than a lot of newly minted four year college grads, without the opportunity cost of lost wages while attending school.

[Ibanez]

My mom's mom didn't work and her dad had no college education, and they payed all of my mom's college expenses and put my uncle in a private school. Not all that atypical for the mid to late seventies. Pretty much everyone these days hits the ground sprinting after high school. Spending a couple of years working to save money for college these days is almost pointless.

Even though we definitely are in a tough situation, can't say we have handled it all that well, though. A lot of that is on the baby boomers who have ruined education with all the emphasis on self esteem and no-child-gets-ahead mentality. That, and so many high schools pushing outdated (if it was ever even valid) crap that technical colleges are for unambitious losers looking for the easy way out.

There's truth to both sides of this.

Tech schools are underrated IMO - you need a constant stream of people in the trades (plumbing, electricians, woodworkers, construction, etc.). Good honest work, solid pay, and it won't get outsourced. Too often today everyone pushes that you have to have a college education (meaning 4 year) so there's nearly a surplus of college grads these days. Even master's programs are to some extent taken for granted these days. I'm certain there are 19 year old apprentice electricians out there making more than a lot of newly minted four year college grads, without the opportunity cost of lost wages while attending school.

A friend of my in laws teaches at a Career School attached to Sumter High School. This guy teaches welding. Anyway, he was doing some work in Charleston and had one of his prized students with him. This kid is 18, just graduated from high school and has been hired to be a welder at a Nuclear facility in South Carolina. His wage? $60,000/yr + mileage expenses + $75/day per diem. That's pretty damn good.

[UNI88]

Generation Y didn't fold in Iraq or Afghanistan.


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They also didn't face the same thing as WWII and that is what I was referring too. The casualty numbers on D-Day alone are close to those 2 wars combined. I think it is a a REALLY GOOD thing we don't take those casualties today but I do also wonder how we as a nation would deal with something like WWII today. I hope for the best and fear the worst as I just don't see the same work ethic and attitudes from the younger generations.

Iraq and Afghanistan weren't WWII but they also weren't pretty or easy and anybody who survived deserves some credit.

Every generation tends to think that the generations that came after them were lazy and lacked toughness.

Give the Millenials time, they'll likely grow into something that will surprise people.

[AZGrizFan]

God forfucking bid they have to work through college (like THEY are the ones having to pay off the trillion dollars in student loan debt--that will all just get defaulted on)

I don't have a fight in the generation v. generation spat, but hearing this point from older people (including my father) is kinda annoying. Most students I knew, including myself, had a job throughout college and it's damn near impossible to pay your way through it nowadays. It's nice that my dad was able to work his way through a master's degree, but it also cost him something like $25,000 for 6 years of college (at GWU nonetheless). It cost me a little over $80,000 for 5 years for a bachelor's at a public school. How am I supposed to realistically work through that? Now I agree that it's stupid to accumulate $300,000 in debt for a photography degree or something, but let's be realistic here regarding the cost of an education today.

Think it's a coincidence that college costs exploded just after the US government made low cost interest student loans available to anyone with a pulse?

I think not.

[AZGrizFan]

Every generation tends to think that the generations that came after them were lazy and lacked toughness.

Difference being, this time, we're right.

[GrizFanStuckInUtah]

They also didn't face the same thing as WWII and that is what I was referring too. The casualty numbers on D-Day alone are close to those 2 wars combined. I think it is a a REALLY GOOD thing we don't take those casualties today but I do also wonder how we as a nation would deal with something like WWII today. I hope for the best and fear the worst as I just don't see the same work ethic and attitudes from the younger generations.

Iraq and Afghanistan weren't WWII but they also weren't pretty or easy and anybody who survived deserves some credit.

Every generation tends to think that the generations that came after them were lazy and lacked toughness.

Give the Millenials time, they'll likely grow into something that will surprise people.

I am saying what I am saying because I have a pretty strong opinion on it and have my own reasons for thinking like I do. My son went to Afghanistan and I went to Iraq during Desert Shield/Desert Storm so I am including myself and my generation as well. I have spent some time talking to the WWII era vets before they are all gone and I am here to tell you, their generation is different and faced a lot of shit that I hope we never have to face. I am the first person to support our military and applaud their efforts but I also don't think we have faced nearly the same thing in quite some time. I guess I am just skeptical whether today's generation would lie about their age to enter a war they knew they might not return from. Whether we would endure rationing of food and gasoline for the sake of the war effort. I really do not mean to diminish what our troops are doing, I really don't. I just don't know that as a society whether we would have the intestinal fortitude to get the nasty job of a WWII done or not. My suspicion is, we wouldn't and I really hope we never have to find out.

[TheDancinMonarch]

I would be personally offended to think that I was being lumped in with every other person born between a set of years. I am an individual not the member of a group defined by someone else.

[GrizFanStuckInUtah]

I would be personally offended to think that I was being lumped in with every other person born between a set of years. I am an individual not the member of a group defined by someone else.

[TheDancinMonarch]

I would be personally offended to think that I was being lumped in with every other person born between a set of years. I am an individual not the member of a group defined by someone else.

I may well not be 100% unique but I will never buy into the idea that I am the same as millions of other nameless faceless people.

[LeadBolt]

Trade/Technical schools provide higher income potential for the current generation than do bachelor degrees in arts and social sciences. Trade/Tech schools are an amazing value today for those willing to work.

Portions of this generation are SPECIAL. Their problems are worse than previous generations. We can thank their parents, public schools, politicians and lawyers for that. In a large portion of our society, shortcomings are NEVER our OWN fault...

Ibanez is correct that this generation did not fold in Iran or Afghanistan. I believe that is because the military is now volunteer and not drafted, giving it a more motivated membership than the more representative cross section of the past generations.

For the motivated of this generation, opportunities are greater than for many in past generations because a large portion are unmotivated as AZ points out. The gulf between the motivated and the unmotivated in this generation is wider than ever before.

[Ibanez]

I don't have a fight in the generation v. generation spat, but hearing this point from older people (including my father) is kinda annoying. Most students I knew, including myself, had a job throughout college and it's damn near impossible to pay your way through it nowadays. It's nice that my dad was able to work his way through a master's degree, but it also cost him something like $25,000 for 6 years of college (at GWU nonetheless). It cost me a little over $80,000 for 5 years for a bachelor's at a public school. How am I supposed to realistically work through that? Now I agree that it's stupid to accumulate $300,000 in debt for a photography degree or something, but let's be realistic here regarding the cost of an education today.

Think it's a coincidence that college costs exploded just after the US government made low cost interest student loans available to anyone with a pulse?

I think not.

Or around the time the DoE was established?

[Ibanez]

Iraq and Afghanistan weren't WWII but they also weren't pretty or easy and anybody who survived deserves some credit.

Every generation tends to think that the generations that came after them were lazy and lacked toughness.

Give the Millenials time, they'll likely grow into something that will surprise people.

I am saying what I am saying because I have a pretty strong opinion on it and have my own reasons for thinking like I do. My son went to Afghanistan and I went to Iraq during Desert Shield/Desert Storm so I am including myself and my generation as well. I have spent some time talking to the WWII era vets before they are all gone and I am here to tell you, their generation is different and faced a lot of shit that I hope we never have to face. I am the first person to support our military and applaud their efforts but I also don't think we have faced nearly the same thing in quite some time. I guess I am just skeptical whether today's generation would lie about their age to enter a war they knew they might not return from. Whether we would endure rationing of food and gasoline for the sake of the war effort. I really do not mean to diminish what our troops are doing, I really don't. I just don't know that as a society whether we would have the intestinal fortitude to get the nasty job of a WWII done or not. My suspicion is, we wouldn't and I really hope we never have to find out.

Our society, Baby Boomers and Gen. X included don't have the balls to make the tough choices. Look at our current state of affairs. Have any REAL tough but necessary decisions been made? No. Only the "tough" POLITICAL decisions are made.

[Ibanez]

Every generation tends to think that the generations that came after them were lazy and lacked toughness.

Difference being, this time, we're right.

Your parents were right.


"Hey man, like, lets just make love."

[BDKJMU]

I did some reading on Generations yesterday and I find it intriguing that some leaders in Generational studies predict that Generation Y will be similar to the Greatest Generation due to the strong sense of local and global community.

We won't see another generation that has to go through close to what the Greatest Generation endured during the War Between the States. 600k+ deaths in a population 10% of what it is today, and that devastated a large portion of the country.

[∞∞∞]

I did some reading on Generations yesterday and I find it intriguing that some leaders in Generational studies predict that Generation Y will be similar to the Greatest Generation due to the strong sense of local and global community.

We won't see another generation that has to go through close to what the Greatest Generation endured during the War Between the States. 600k+ deaths in a population 10% of what it is today, and that devastated a large portion of the country.

And this is based on your psychic abilities? The thing about the world is that demographics and national borders constantly change, often by force. Perhaps one day Spanish speaking nationals will make up much of the southwest US and decide that secession (or Mexican statehood) is their best option...I bet that would cause another large-scale civil war. Regardless, neither you nor I nor anyone else can say that no other generation will have to fight through something big again, internally or externally. The US is young and time is long...

[Ibanez]

I did some reading on Generations yesterday and I find it intriguing that some leaders in Generational studies predict that Generation Y will be similar to the Greatest Generation due to the strong sense of local and global community.

We won't see another generation that has to go through close to what the Greatest Generation endured during the War Between the States. 600k+ deaths in a population 10% of what it is today, and that devastated a large portion of the country.

Yeah, thanks to the Yankee invansion and the war the South was a shithole well into the 1940s.



And many parts still are. Thanks Lincoln.

[Ibanez]

We won't see another generation that has to go through close to what the Greatest Generation endured during the War Between the States. 600k+ deaths in a population 10% of what it is today, and that devastated a large portion of the country.

And this is based on your psychic abilities? The thing about the world is that demographics and national borders constantly change, often by force. Perhaps one day Spanish speaking nationals will make up much of the southwest US and decide that secession (or Mexican statehood) is their best option...I bet that would cause another large-scale civil war. Regardless, neither you nor I nor anyone else can say that no other generation will have to fight through something big again, internally or externally. The US is young and time is long...

Shut up you Millennial, you don't know what you're talking about. YOU'RE STUPID!!!!!!!!!!

[kalm]

I did some reading on Generations yesterday and I find it intriguing that some leaders in Generational studies predict that Generation Y will be similar to the Greatest Generation due to the strong sense of local and global community.

We won't see another generation that has to go through close to what the Greatest Generation endured during the War Between the States. 600k+ deaths in a population 10% of what it is today, and that devastated a large portion of the country.

I've mentioned this before but if you're into this stuff, you have to read the "Fourth Turning" by Strauss and Howe. Periods of economic crises, war, expansion, and prosperity are cyclical almost without exception going back to the War of the Roses. Within each cyclical phase a generational archetype is born. It's truly amazing.

So yes, there has already been a Gen Y and a Greatest Generation, and there's a pretty decent chance there will be more to come.

[CID1990]

I am a firm Gen X'er and I can confirm that my generation is a bunch indecisive, risk averse assnecks.


Sent from the center of the universe.