What is it with 26 - 30 year old adults these days?

At the age of 24 they would have been out of college for how long 2 years if they got a bachelors on the standard 4 year path, and started right out of high school.

What more experience should they have other then dinky part time jobs or college provided jobs? College is essentially a full time job between classes and homework, when I was in college I had 20 hours+ of classes not including the studying and research/homework I had to do.

You were surprised that a 40 year old had more experience then a 24 year old? That shocked you? They have only been in the working world 22 years at least.

I work 50+ hours a week now, and I would take it any day over going back to school.

I'm CFO of a metal company and when I do hiring I try and do degree and experience, but above all else I try and get a feel for the person's work ethic and intelligence.

I have hired people with 0 financial experience and a degree, they have worked out great.
I have hired people with no degree and a ton of experience, they have worked out great.
I have done both of these things and they have worked out awful.
The worker has more to do with it then the training they have or the experience they have gotten over the years.

 

it's not my fault so many my age (late 30's) didn't value education when they were in the late-teens and early 20s and are now stuck there.


and yes, part time on nights and weekend IS what I'm talking about. That is experience. It doesn't have to be a career choice, but it's experience.



People assume the professional world is obligated to provide you experience....no, you are required to get your own in the field you choose, prior. While I don't know the ins and outs of different career paths out there... all I know is how you can do it in my career field and yes there are ways.


For example.... if you want to be a teacher, you show up for your first interview, since you can become a teacher through alt certification, you can graduate, never having stepped foot in your own class.... you are not going to get hired, despite your GPA/degree.

Instead.... you substitute, or become a paraprofessional......

...but but but.... I have a B.S. / masters degree in education...... and not even internship experience.... pass.

 

lowes and home depot and walmart and Sams, ect, use a forklift and train you on them.... sure would have been nice had you had even a part time job like that back at 18 y.o. where you could have gotten that experience, huh?

 

Back when I was 18 I was working at a reclaimed lumber and steel yard. I could have gotten 6 months on forklifts there if I wasn't moved to the office due to my computer skills.

 

That is just a small microcosm of this generation, there are plenty of others who take their futures seriously. I know of several people in that same age bracket who have already established themselves very well in the workforce. Painting all of them with the same brush is ageist.

I have seen other assessments that say the reason college grads don't have as much experience as would be expected by an HR professional is because the preference for having prior experience is pervasive. When I was applying for jobs, any job that paid more than fifty cents over minimum wage required six months to a year of prior experience. Those jobs were also labeled "entry-level."

My mother once wanted to get into an entry-level job at a local paper mill, all of the entry-level jobs required three to five years of prior experience.

 

It's a real issue. The only reason I work where I work today was because they gave me an internship after I got my bachelors. Originally they had me mapping wires in the server room. They were going to just have me look at some code, go though some things, and send me on my way. Once they figured out that I've been programming as a hobby for over a decade and knew what I was doing they fought tooth and nail to get me a position, and luckily for both my team and myself, were able to do so. I'm lucky I work in a field where I could gain experience on my own, not everyone is so fortunate. It can easily become a vicious cycle of you need experience to get the job but you need the job to get experience. That's why the only practical way to become a pilot with a major airliner is to have flown planes in the military; no other way to get the hours needed short of spending tons of money.

 

Obamanomics is killing us all.........elections have consequences.

 

As much as I feel there is definite "special snowflake syndrome" in young people today, I can't even begin to equate that to the obnoxious special snowflakes of the 60s-80s in any way, the hipsters who danced around SF or whatever scene and then became boomers who sat idly by self-interestedly and ignorantly voting for housing market supporting graft for decades raking it in. So I see both sides of this. Yeah, OP is generalizing, there's some truth to it, but there's also a lot of young people out there who have given up based on the hand they are being dealt by generations who have sucked the juice out of this country like a giant tick. I'm 50 and I don't blame them one bit. Carpe diem kiddies, enjoy things while you can. Live off your parents and the dole and when old f-ers start whinging about "kids today" do a round of the knockdown game on them/us. I feel your pain.

 

Is Auburn your daughter?

 

auburn university, where the vet school is....

 

It is a University? Ever heard of it? LMAO!

 

so the crux of the matter is your companies unwillingness to put any time and money into actually training it's people? I see.

 

no, the problem is people who seem to think they are entitled to the job not getting the proper training before they apply

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well, runner up universities are often forgotten about....lol

 

does ANYBODY over 12 yrs old post here?

 

does anyone actually think the individual is responsible for individual's success and failure.


My job was under no obligation to train me in my job.... Experience is important.... I got some and I have watched many in my field apply for jobs with nothing more than a college degree and think that entitles them to a job over someone with the same degree AND work experience.


You get job experience by working the jobs within your field noone else wants and you get moved into a position you want when you prove you are worthy and dependable and can do it.

 

companies being unwilling to train up the workers they need is a relatively new development in America. As little as 30 years ago it was the common practice.
You buy into it due to a lack of knowledge of history and a mistaken perception you don't 'deserve' it. you make it easy for them to turn this into a sociopath run society.

 

you know how principals "train up" their teachers? They offer para professional jobs that 24 y.o. college graduates with zero experience that can't land a teaching job, can apply for. That gives them valuable classroom experience that another 24 y.o. college graduate thinks is beneath them and won't apply for.


so when both are 25 y.o..... you have 2 college graduates applying for a teaching position, one has a year's experience in the field, the other still has zero classroom experience....


Guess who looks better to potential employers?



I'm no expert on how other fields and industries gain experience initially.... but there's always a way. Simply flashing your college degree doesn't entitle you to jack crap.... you earn it.


I wanted to teach Social studies... but I couldn't find a job for 3 years..... but I got valuable teaching experience that helped me land a social studies position in year 3, by teaching an inner city school with the WORST.OF.THE.WORST kids that noone else was willing to teach.

I could have not taught that class, because that wasn't what I went to school for.... but I never would have gained the experience that help land the dream job I got later.


it's on the person to figure out how to get experience prior to the interview... not the employer to risk his capital on someone that hasn't proven themself

 

To be sure, there were only five in the 24 to 30 year category, so I wouldn't read too much into it though that's a bit old to have never had a real job.

 

Out of the thousands of colleges and universities just in the US, you want me to pay attention to the name of one?

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Never heard of it.

 

There is a definite lack of work ethic among today's youth; and by youth I don't mean just the teenagers. Many people in their 20s and 30s would rather play video games or text on their Smart phone devices than concentrate on real life priorities.

Here's a good example of how good work ethic is lacking these days. I hired a plumber last year to do some repairs and install some faucets around my house. The company I used was very reputable, and I have used them before, but this time they sent out this 20-something kid. I had bad feelings about this guy the minute he came to my door - he was unclean & didn't have the slip-on covers for his shoes. But I gave him a chance, and that was my mistake. He brought the wrong size of faucets, and told me to go to Home Depot to get the right size. I told him that I'm paying for his services, so he should be the one to go back where he got the faucets and exchange them for the correct size, and not charge me for that extra time. He reluctantly went out to get the correct faucets, but attached the faucets in reverse - put the hot water attachment to where the cold water should be. He didn't clean up his messes either. All during the job, he grumbled, whined, and groaned about how the job "sucks". I finally told him to get the hell out, and I would be talking to his supervisor. I lodged a formal complaint against this jerkoff kid, and the supervisor had to come out and re-do the entire job.

This is the problem with today's youth. They're too busy playing games, socializing, smoking weed, texting, and whatnot. And when they are chewed out about their laziness, they say their job "sucks", and start in on the old blame game.

The 20-somethings who don't have any work experience - well, that could be because they don't want to start at the bottom, but want to start at a higher level job than what their experience qualifies them for. They are very selfish and somehow expect to earn the same kind of salary that their parents did when they were in their 20s. Not going to happen without experience and work ethic, kids. Going to college and using spare time to text, socialize, and play video games isn't going to get you into a mid or high-level office job.

 

Every single generation in the history of mankind has thought this about the younger generation. Without any doubt my generation will feel this way about our children. That's just how things go.

 

I didn't say there wasn't competition even in entry level.


But when a paraprofessional in my field, only has to have an AA, or a HS diploma and passed a test, and you show up with a bachelor's degree applying because you are trying to get your foot in the door and experience.... guess who looks better?

But there are still teachers coming out of college, I have spoke to, that refuse to teach Special Ed, or be a paraprofessional because they went to school to be (specific grade/subject) teacher, not a SPecial Ed teacher......

So, while there are plenty like myself, that proved to jump at opportunities in less than ideal locations and situations.... there are still plenty that won't..... yet they still complain "I can't get a job without experience, and I can't get experience without a job"