YAIHSMT (S = some, M = millenials) *rant*

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MarkXIX

Platinum Member
Jan 3, 2010
2,642
1
71
Sure, but you'd be surprised how many younger people can't even use Google correctly. My wife has a set of highly educated friends and you would think asking them to find a simple piece of information (for example, what time does restaurant X, Y, and Z open?) is the equivalent of asking them to land men on the moon, not to mention more complicated queries.

Look, here's the deal. Raw knowledge only gets you so far in life. Sure, Millenials may be better at having access to knowledge because they grew up with an encyclopedia in their pocket, but that's not the same as being smart or intelligent.

As I get older and I start to mentor younger people aspiring to be me, I realize that my experiences in conjunction with my knowledge are far more important in a great many things.

Besides, I find most Millenials know about 1cm deep of any given subject and usually that view is one-sided and not a holistic view of the entire subject matter.
 

poofyhairguy

Lifer
Nov 20, 2005
14,612
318
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Sure, but you'd be surprised how many younger people can't even use Google correctly.

So true. Give me a Gen Xer over a millennial any day of the week for Google Fu. My generation grew up on search engines, we know how to use a boolean string.

Where millennials rock is social media and how to use mobile apps. If I ever need to find something on the Tumbler-spelt-wrong I will ask a millennial. Thank God there isn't really anything important on that site (yet).
 

Exterous

Super Moderator
Jun 20, 2006
20,582
3,791
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What kills me too is how kids fresh out of school don't understand the inherit limitations in implementing things in real-life, i.e. why things aren't just perfect.

Heh - I used to think kids fresh out of school were bad. That was until I started working here where we have a program with a local University where we get kids while they are still in school. Some are ok but D: Had to have a talk with one of them the other day that muscle shirts are not appropriate work attire for this place because he couldn't read the visual queues of what everyone else was wearing. Another I had to tell 'When the VP stops by to talk to you you should probably put down your cell phone and acknowledge him'
 

MagnusTheBrewer

IN MEMORIAM
Jun 19, 2004
24,122
1,594
126
The thing that bothers me most isn't 'yoots' per se, it's the common bureaucratic outlook of internal departments that says, 'we've done everything according to the book and your deadline isn't OUR problem.' Performance is measured by metrics instead of customer satisfaction. It happens in all industries but, seems to be endemic in IT.
 

Newell Steamer

Diamond Member
Jan 27, 2014
6,894
8
0
You don't have to be a millennial to display that kind of suck.

I know tons of old people who don't do their reporting because Excel is so much more complicated than e-mailing their boss.
 

IronWing

No Lifer
Jul 20, 2001
73,091
34,387
136
The thing that bothers me most isn't 'yoots' per se, it's the common bureaucratic outlook of internal departments that says, 'we've done everything according to the book and your deadline isn't OUR problem.' Performance is measured by metrics instead of customer satisfaction. It happens in all industries but, seems to be endemic in IT.
My last three internal IT problem tickets were closed before the problems were addressed because performance is measured mostly on getting tickets closed. The last one yielded the automated performance survey "How did we do?" email before IT even contacted me about the issue at hand. "Oh, your problem has not been resolved <in a shocked voice>. Go ahead and submit another ticket." Two beans for the price of none.
 

MagnusTheBrewer

IN MEMORIAM
Jun 19, 2004
24,122
1,594
126
My last three internal IT problem tickets were closed before the problems were addressed because performance is measured mostly on getting tickets closed. The last one yielded the automated performance survey "How did we do?" email before IT even contacted me about the issue at hand. "Oh, your problem has not been resolved <in a shocked voice>. Go ahead and submit another ticket." Two beans for the price of none.

I don't even blame the IT folks, at least not much. It's the corporations who treat IT like black magic that set it up that way. Corporations in general think profits are created by policy instead of performance. Worse, there seems to be little in the way of penalties for thinking and acting that way. Anyone who pushes back or, rocks the boat, gets labeled as a 'non-team player.'
 

Ns1

No Lifer
Jun 17, 2001
55,420
1,600
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My last three internal IT problem tickets were closed before the problems were addressed because performance is measured mostly on getting tickets closed. The last one yielded the automated performance survey "How did we do?" email before IT even contacted me about the issue at hand. "Oh, your problem has not been resolved <in a shocked voice>. Go ahead and submit another ticket." Two beans for the price of none.

that's the point where I notify my boss and keep escalating that shit up.
 

Jeff7

Lifer
Jan 4, 2001
41,596
20
81
Ok, 1st let me say that we have some new hires (also millinials) who are awesome. They are few in number and seem to be the exceptions to the rule. 2nd, I'm not going to brag about my salary, but let's say that I'm well established.

But let's get back to my story. It kind of seems like you are sticking up for this guy (& others like him). So you think I should be cool with the fact that this guy has taken over 6 weeks (& counting) to accomplish something that takes a similarly-aged person 1 single day???
Same here. There are plenty of noisy kids out in the production area. There is a very small number of them who do understand that the root of the word "workplace" is in fact "work."

We've also got, and have had, our share of "millenials" who are in their mid 40s. Come in, get coffee, spend 40 minutes wandering around chatting before starting to do anything useful.


As far as being an "angry old senor level admin (or whatever) that hates to see some young blood," I think I've been that way since primary school. :D
I was a bit more formal and.....disciplined than most others in my age range.

<shaking sticks at the youth of today before it was cool>


It's good to get some new people into fields where a lot of the long-standing experience is going to be retiring soon, so long as they can learn to do it competently.
 
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CountZero

Golden Member
Jul 10, 2001
1,796
36
86
Millenials are, in general, lazy and entitled. Every generation has been at the age. Young people thinking they are the smartest person in the room and that the world owes them for their "brilliant" insights goes back to at least the boomers but probably earlier minus the derailed depression/WW generations.

The ones that are actually awesome will go on to do awesome stuff but the rest (the vast majority) will run headlong into brick walls, plateau early, middle around for life, burn out spectacularly or fizzle out slowly. At this age though most don't know that they are part of that majority that are destined for being average or less. For now though a lot will think they are god's gift to <insert item> and most aren't.