Younger generation mobility at 50 year low

[Texashiker]

Interesting numbers in this article. The number of young people who have moved, and have bought a home are down.

Burdened with a slow economy, and student debt, young adults are putting off buying a home and not starting a family until they are in their 30s.

http://www.nbcnews.com/business/generation-wait-share-young-adults-who-move-hits-50-year-2D11591053

U.S. mobility for young adults has fallen to the lowest level in more than 50 years as cash-strapped 20-somethings shun home-buying and refrain from major moves in a weak job market.

I feel the young man in the article is a good example of how people with junk degrees are having problems find a job. He has a masters degree in human and organizational development, and is having problems finding employment.

If you are going to get a masters degree in something, why not get it in a career field that has a real demand for people, such as engineering or nursing?

I wonder what is in store for the kids of today in 20 years.

If people in their 20s today are having problems finding a good paying job, what about the next graduating class? Or the kids that are in high school right now and about to go to college?

 

[Doppel]

Times change and we really need to band together with a unified front and stop lying to our children. It is NOT okay to get a TPD. With student debt where it is now and the job market it is a tough time for people in that age group, but having a TPD is not the answer.

Really wtf is human and organizational management? It is a toilet paper degree gained by a lazy tit who has no real passion and his parents and peers didn't sufficiently mock his selection of degree. That fact is a lot of kids in college don't know what to do but a TPD does not help anything.

 

[waggy]

i blame part of it is constant telling of kids "do what you love"

sorry. i would love to get paid to jerk off and play video games. that is not going to happen.

so many go to school for stupid shit.

 

[SheHateMe]

I'm moving back in with my mom and stepdad after I graduate in 3 weeks. Its too expensive to get out on my own right away...especially in NOVA.

I'm looking forward to interviews for positions in the area and I need to get security clearance.

There's going to be a lot on my plate, so not having to take on too much adulthood at once will help me.

 

[irishScott]

i blame part of it is constant telling of kids "do what you love"

sorry. i would love to get paid to jerk off and play video games. that is not going to happen.

so many go to school for stupid shit.

Mostly this. Speaking as a 25 year old the "you can be whatever you want to be" rhetoric I grew up with in the 90s was pervasive. Just about every day in school we'd have some small tidbit about how awesome we could be if we just followed our dreams.

Fortunately my dreams were to become an engineer, a dream I'm admittedly still working at. My former classmates aren't as lucky.

But it seems to be a logical outcome. The baby boomers got the post-war boom and effectively lived in America's golden age. By the time the yuppies came around they'd grown up it in. In a Golden Age, "follow your dreams" can work because there's more than enough stuff to go around. Essentially people got complacent, and while a lot of my generation is responding as best they can to the cold slap of reality I know a few who still aren't.

Prime example is an ex-English major I know. He graduated, couldn't find a job. I ran into him one day at Starbucks (he was behind the counter), turns out he's working two such jobs. We talked for a bit and I asked him why he didn't go into teaching or something. His response: "nah, I'd hate that." I didn't say anything but I was thinking "well wouldn't it pay better with better hours and benefits than this?"

 

[nageov3t]

I dunno, I'd like to think that I have a fairly decent job for someone in their early 30's, but even so, I couldn't fathom affording a home even in the distant future unless I get married and have dual incomes to draw on to pay off the mortgage (barring doing something like cashing out my 401k to make a down payment)

on the other hand, the job market still feels like such shit that I couldn't see myself moving away from my entire family/support network to go somewhere that has a cheaper cost of living.

 

[Texashiker]

Mostly this. Speaking as a 25 year old the "you can be whatever you want to be" rhetoric I grew up with in the 90s was pervasive. Just about every day in school we'd have some small tidbit about how awesome we could be if we just followed our dreams.

Fortunately my dreams were to become an engineer, a dream I'm admittedly still working at. My former classmates aren't as lucky.

My dream was to become an anthropologist. But I went into welding instead.

Regardless of what I wanted to do, making money was more important.

 

[Genx87]

The wait continues for Eric Hall, 30, of Decatur, Ga. After picking up a master's degree in public health in 2008, Hall moved from California to the Atlanta suburb with the plan of living with his parents for about six months.

Five years later, after struggling to find work in his field and switching his career path last year from health management to teaching kindergarten, Hall has opted to remain at his parents' home until he can pay off more debt. He is now studying to earn a doctorate in education, amassing college debt of more than $110,000.

Tripling down on fail. Where are his parents to slap him straight? Coddling this guy has only pushed him further into debt.

 

[Doppel]

Mostly this. Speaking as a 25 year old the "you can be whatever you want to be" rhetoric I grew up with in the 90s was pervasive. Just about every day in school we'd have some small tidbit about how awesome we could be if we just followed our dreams.

Fortunately my dreams were to become an engineer, a dream I'm admittedly still working at. My former classmates aren't as lucky.

But it seems to be a logical outcome. The baby boomers got the post-war boom and effectively lived in America's golden age. By the time the yuppies came around they'd grown up it in. In a Golden Age, "follow your dreams" can work because there's more than enough stuff to go around. Essentially people got complacent, and while a lot of my generation is responding as best they can to the cold slap of reality I know a few who still aren't.

Prime example is an ex-English major I know. He graduated, couldn't find a job. I ran into him one day at Starbucks (he was behind the counter), turns out he's working two such jobs. We talked for a bit and I asked him why he didn't go into teaching or something. His response: "nah, I'd hate that." I didn't say anything but I was thinking "well wouldn't it pay better with better hours and benefits than this?"

You can be what you want is not really such bad advice, it's that it rarely comes with the qualifier "if you work for it". If you don't have a real genuine passion to be a clinical psychologist and you half ass through a degree all you will do is make coffee when you graduate. So, if you don't have a true passion, stop pretending, and get a degree in a field you a least can get work in.

I know somebody working at Starbucks with a degree in Spanish. absolutely pathetic waste of four years.

I have a co worker who's son is half adding through a degree in art therapy! Google it, people actually study this shit. His son is wasting life and money.

 

[HumblePie]

Tripling down on fail. Where are his parents to slap him straight? Coddling this guy has only pushed him further into debt.

LOL at having a doctorate in teaching KINDERGARTEN!!!! I'm sure being a kindergarten babysitter, erm teacher, is not going to pay the bills or that amount of debt off.

As for the guy with a friend working starbuck, because he'd hate having to work in a career that was something other than his college major... I can't believe he doesn't hate having to work 80+ hours a week at starbucks more for the rest of his life with a college debt that still has to be paid off.

 

[nageov3t]

getting a master's degree as a teacher makes sense. at least around here, it comes with a pretty sizable automatic pay grade bump for teachers, so it'll pay for itself eventually.

but a doctorate? I don't get the point unless you're in administration or plan on teaching teachers.

 

[Moonbeam]

We have created an ant farm in which we can extol the virtues of being ants. Too bad we cant create an army of ants to take down the farm, but we're too busy worrying about money. I bet though, that those who do have money are happy to see all the ants are busy.

 

[Zaap]

Mostly this. Speaking as a 25 year old the "you can be whatever you want to be" rhetoric I grew up with in the 90s was pervasive. Just about every day in school we'd have some small tidbit about how awesome we could be if we just followed our dreams.

That advice was never really meant for (or perhaps shouldn't have been directed to) the masses. It applies to the small 1% to 5% of people who have unique talent or ability, true inventiveness, exceptional creativity, exceptional skill at something useful and in high demand by the rest of mankind, etc. etc...

In other words, the very few people who possess the potential to: invent new things, create new industries that will employ thousands, be world class entertainers that millions will flock to, offer something to the world that no one else has or can...

Regardless of the youtube generations bullshit that this is them, it's only ever been and ever will be a tiny percentage of people.

For the other 95 to 99% of slobs, the message should be: "Find whatever it is you can do to not be the default- which is just another useless mouth to feed, another carbon copy of the next person, another taker, another schlep that just takes orders from the small percentage of creators. Your dream is no deeper than "I want free stuff! I wanna jerk off and feel good all the time!" so OF COURSE you're not getting by following your stupid dream. Wake the F up, and don't be a burden.

But of course in the era of participation trophies, no one wants to hear that.

 

[Moonbeam]

getting a master's degree as a teacher makes sense. at least around here, it comes with a pretty sizable automatic pay grade bump for teachers, so it'll pay for itself eventually.

but a doctorate? I don't get the point unless you're in administration or plan on teaching teachers.

Surely there must be a few folk around who love to learn for its own sake.

 

[halik]

i blame part of it is constant telling of kids "do what you love"

sorry. i would love to get paid to jerk off and play video games. that is not going to happen.

so many go to school for stupid shit.

About this. Get a degree in something that qualifies you to flip burgers, you shouldn't be surprised if you have to flip burgers.

<- undergrad degrees in CS and Economics, Masters in Finance

 

[waggy]

I dunno, I'd like to think that I have a fairly decent job for someone in their early 30's, but even so, I couldn't fathom affording a home even in the distant future unless I get married and have dual incomes to draw on to pay off the mortgage (barring doing something like cashing out my 401k to make a down payment)

on the other hand, the job market still feels like such shit that I couldn't see myself moving away from my entire family/support network to go somewhere that has a cheaper cost of living.

i also have some issue with this.

People THINK they need these huge 4k sq/ft houses on .5 acres in the suburbs (and as a first house!).
what's wrong with a 1200 aq/ft 3 bedroom on a small lot? far cheaper to buy.

I have seen many people do this. first time home owners buying these huge houses and then can't afford it. 3 families i know are in foreclosure because of it.

 

[irishScott]

You can be what you want is not really such bad advice, it's that it rarely comes with the qualifier "if you work for it". If you don't have a real genuine passion to be a clinical psychologist and you half ass through a degree all you will do is make coffee when you graduate. So, if you don't have a true passion, stop pretending, and get a degree in a field you a least can get work in.

I know somebody working at Starbucks with a degree in Spanish. absolutely pathetic waste of four years.

I have a co worker who's son is half adding through a degree in art therapy! Google it, people actually study this shit. His son is wasting life and money.

Yes and no. Majoring in Dance, well if you hope to become a professional dancer and make anything resembling a decent living you better be in the top 1000 dancers in the world.

 

[nageov3t]

i also have some issue with this.

People THINK they need these huge 4k sq/ft houses on .5 acres in the suburbs (and as a first house!).
what's wrong with a 1200 aq/ft 3 bedroom on a small lot? far cheaper to buy.

I have seen many people do this. first time home owners buying these huge houses and then can't afford it. 3 families i know are in foreclosure because of it.

and this is why I harangue my BF for watching HGTV all it does it stoke up envy for things most people can't afford (I love all the couples who end up rejecting houses because the master bathroom just isn't big enough or only has one sink.... fuck, I grew up in a house that only had one bathroom for the entire household and we all seemed to manage fine)

 

[halik]

Tripling down on fail. Where are his parents to slap him straight? Coddling this guy has only pushed him further into debt.

Ha he's fucking stupid. No one, NO ONE goes into a doctorate program without securing the funding by either doing research or teaching.

 

[Sonikku]

Mostly this. Speaking as a 25 year old the "you can be whatever you want to be" rhetoric I grew up with in the 90s was pervasive. Just about every day in school we'd have some small tidbit about how awesome we could be if we just followed our dreams.

Fortunately my dreams were to become an engineer, a dream I'm admittedly still working at. My former classmates aren't as lucky.

But it seems to be a logical outcome. The baby boomers got the post-war boom and effectively lived in America's golden age. By the time the yuppies came around they'd grown up it in. In a Golden Age, "follow your dreams" can work because there's more than enough stuff to go around. Essentially people got complacent, and while a lot of my generation is responding as best they can to the cold slap of reality I know a few who still aren't.

Prime example is an ex-English major I know. He graduated, couldn't find a job. I ran into him one day at Starbucks (he was behind the counter), turns out he's working two such jobs. We talked for a bit and I asked him why he didn't go into teaching or something. His response: "nah, I'd hate that." I didn't say anything but I was thinking "well wouldn't it pay better with better hours and benefits than this?"

We don't need more teachers with budgets the way they are anyway, so the point is moot.

 

[Texashiker]

i also have some issue with this.

People THINK they need these huge 4k sq/ft houses on .5 acres in the suburbs (and as a first house!).
what's wrong with a 1200 aq/ft 3 bedroom on a small lot? far cheaper to buy.

I have seen many people do this. first time home owners buying these huge houses and then can't afford it. 3 families i know are in foreclosure because of it.

Downsizing is not the american way.

 

[irishScott]

Downsizing is not the american way.

It is when you bite off more than you can chew. The American way is to continually improve your circumstances. While it would be nice for that improvement to include a big house, I'm just fine living in a smaller one for a few years until my salary is commensurate to a big one.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

Let me describe the difference for everyone that hasn't realized it yet. This has been going on for the last 10 years:

Old Generation: Shit looks bad here, there isn't much thriving. I need to move somewhere with a better economy, more jobs - and a prospering town. Do what you have to do.

New Generation: Shit looks bad here, there isn't much thriving. Let's see how long I can stay on the gravy train of food stamps and welfare checks. Maybe if that starts to run out I will go for social security! Weeeeeeeeeee!

 

[Texashiker]

It is when you bite off more than you can chew. The American way is to continually improve your circumstances. While it would be nice for that improvement to include a big house, I'm just fine living in a smaller one for a few years until my salary is commensurate to a big one.

My wife likes to watch those "first time homebuyer" tv shows.

I think it is ironic how these 20 something year kids, right out of college, can afford a 500k home. But yet we have news articles talking about how rough the younger generation has it.

 

[Gunslinger08]

I think that parents have set their children's expectations too high. It's agreed by most people that not everyone needs to go to college, but how many parents do you know who think that actually applies to their child? It's my belief that college should be for STEM majors only and should be reduced to a 2 or 3 year program that excludes liberal arts studies. Liberal arts/humanities majors should be in their own colleges that aren't eligible for student loans - if you want to get a degree in something without a large demand, why should the government subsidize it? Many more high school students who aren't interested in college or can't afford it should be pushed to technical/trade schools. Mike Rowe has a famous video about the coming dearth of skilled tradesmen - plumbers, electricians, pipe fitters, mechanics, etc. These jobs all pay well (above median income) and don't require 4 years of school or $100k+ of debt.