An interesting take on Gen Y'ers' Unhappiness.

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I’m not all the way through it but it’s an amusing read and at times it is embarrassingly accurate.http://www.waitbutwhy.com/2013/09/why-generation-y-yuppies-are-unhappy.html

just a snap shot of the piece:

RE: Facebok Image Crafting

The nice thing about it is the reasonable advice at the end of it:

Here’s my advice for Lucy:

1. Stay wildly ambitious. The current world is bubbling with opportunity for an ambitious person to find flowery, fulfilling success. The specific direction may be unclear, but it’ll work itself out—just dive in somewhere.

2. Stop thinking that you’re special. The fact is, right now, you’re not special. You’re another completely inexperienced young person who doesn’t have all that much to offer yet. You can become special by working really hard for a long time.

3. Ignore everyone else. Other people’s grass seeming greener is no new concept, but in today’s image crafting world, other people’s grass looks like a glorious meadow. The truth is that everyone else is just as indecisive, self-doubting, and frustrated as you are, and if you just do your thing, you’ll never have any reason to envy others.

[JayS]

This isn’t really a shock considering the most recent generation has been brought up since birth to think they are the most special person on earth and we then crafted a system that never let them experience failure.

“Everyone gets a trophy” is great growing up until the real world bitch slaps you and you find out that only winners gets trophies.

[91MR2]

I can’t stand this generation…

[LZ1]

Most of the forum falls into this range gen Y “1970s and the mid 1990s”

[Motocrossx23]

Yeah.

That being said, this isn’t new news to me. I grew up in a blue collar family that constantly talked about hard work. Fact of the matter is that in Buffalo, even with hard work…you still run into issues.

[ubengineering]

While the article makes a lot of great points, has anyone thought of the differences between America today and 40 years ago? Back when an education wasn’t an arm and a leg and jobs were available to the average person, etc. Yes a lot of children/teens/adults now think they are special, but maybe if we had a time machine and took 1000 baby boomers and moved them here during our generation, they’d probably do a lot worse. Even if you are a hard working GYPSY and are desperately looking for a good paying job (even if you do think it’s below you), you probably can’t find it very easily, where as when my grandfather and uncle were in their 30’s they work doubles everyday beween Bethlemhem Steel and United Silicon, making what today would be hundreds of thousands of dollars, where at their time, these companies paying a living wage couldn’t find enough workers. Sure, those companies also played a role in how our society today has gone down hill. It’s easy to just be biased and agree with the guys article. Not everyone from my generation is like that. Yes even though I say stupid shit on this forum and have fun watching other users get upset, specifically Beck, I worked 2 jobs during school, worked 3 jobs during the summer, paid off all my loans, and I’m hoping I can buy my first house and Viper cash. My brain hurts, JayS can take it from here.

Edit: this lady makes a similar point

[/QUOTE]
Jackie Monkiewicz · Arizona State University Yes, well, that may all be true. But the other really REALLY relevant thing about Gypsies vs. Boomers vs. the Greatest Gen is the job market, and the economy, and the price of education.

Let’s say Lucy decides she’ll try a lawn without flowers in someplace like Cleveland and see where it gets her. Okay.

Back when her parents and grandparents were growing up, you could go to a public college for the equivalent of $3000-$5000 in 2013 dollars per year, and get a degree and be more or less guaranteed a white-collar job with health insurance. If you couldn’t cut college, well, a lot of people could still find a blue collar job in a strong manufacturing industry like steel or automobiles. Cleveland had lots of steel and automobile jobs, great! And labor unions were pretty strong in those industries, so you still had health insurance, and in fact, you probably made the equivalent of $50,000 or $60,000 in 2013 dollars annually.

… and really, do I have to go any farther with this? A college education for $10,000-$20,000 total. Not per year. Not per semester. TOTAL. A blue-collar job in heavy industry that bring home $50,000 annually, and has health insurance and retirement. That was 1985. Do I really have to spell out how that’s different from 2013, and how that could be impacting Lucy’s current happiness quotient, regardless of her expectations or upbringing?
Reply · 2,938 · Like · September 11 at 9:51am[/QUOTE]

EDIT : I had to make another edit just due to the fact that this article is missing so many relevant sources and information on why people are the way they are today it’s sickening, it’s pretty biased.

[LZ1]

I think a lot of this is people being taught “You attend college graduate and instantly get into a career making great money”

This turns into “Hey I got a degree in basket weaving why can’t I find a job?”

[IanK]

Almost reads as though it was written (and depicted) by Andrew Blake haha

[bing]

valid point that the economy / world is different today than for prior generations however, it’s difficult to control for that.

[ubengineering]

@LZ

I think a lot of this is people being taught “You attend college graduate and instantly get into a career making great money”

This turns into “Hey I got a degree in basket weaving why can’t I find a job?”

This is true too, but there are so many other things that come into account, it gives me a headache to think about them all. Maybe if our grandparents (not all) didn’t scam off the backs off large companies when there was unlimited finances and no foreign competition, we never would have been taught that anything is possible. I remember my uncles (who’s 89) laughing about how he would give his boss 20$ at bethlehem steel and he’d go sit at the bar and get paid for a double. Yeah real fucking funny, look at the place now. Thanks last two generations.

[Paulo]

I read this a while ago. It makes some great points, but like ubengineering mentioned it doesn’t take into account the way the world has changed. I feel that this places too much blame on Generation Y without acknowledging the people who not only raised this generation but helped bring down the economy and job marketplace in the process.

There are simply too many factors to just go off and say that Generation Y is a bunch of pussies. (But a lot of them are…)

[Carnut]

@IanK

Almost reads as though it was written (and depicted) by Andrew Blake haha

hahahahaha

[newman]

And here I was thinking I was a unique snowflake.

[91MR2]

We should send more people to college…el oh el…

[1QIKZ]

Globalization.

[Blue_Eyed_Devil]

Generation X was the last great generation. puts on fire suit.

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i heard Gen X has a disproportionately high ratio of homosexuals and ugly people and ugly homosexuals

[97FormulaWS-6]

One other thing to consider, along with all the rest of this is the eduction system and the skills these GYPSYs and a lot of the “kids” now a days are getting. ~60% of incoming freshman in college, have to take HS level math courses AKA remedial math for college kids! Seriously?!?!?

Not mentioning the Critical Thinking skills that seem to be NON EXISTENT anymore; or at least very rare. It takes us FOREVER to find quality interns, yet alone entry level engineers. Some of the people we’ve interviewed who are fresh out of college with ME or EE degrees… wow… words can not even describe it. I’m wondering if these colleges have dumbed down an engineering degree to being able to assemble a Lego set… and even that would be a struggle for a few of these people. (Dead serious!!!)

[newman]

I always called the UB engineering program Highschool #2 because I thought it was that easy.

[JayS]

This study and the opinions in the electricity thread are definitely linked.