NYT profiles an example of 24-year-old entitlement FAIL

It would be one less piece of shit looking for a job like I am. Although I guess if he's passing on $40k it doesn't really matter. I'm just the kind of garbage that would lower myself for 40k. This brat brings nothing to humanity.

 

Why the vitriol towards this kid? If anything is off here, the reporter tried to use thus young man to make some bigger point about peoples mindsets who are graduating right now. I take issue with the premise made by the reporter that it's bad for this guy to hold out for a better job. That's all he's doing. He never says woe is me, I can't find a job that pays 100k. The kid is a new breed type if eternal optimist. What is wrong with that? He says he's taking odd jobs to pay some bills. And he doesn't say he'd rather be a bartender. He says that he would consider bartending next month as he waits for a better gig to come along. I never got the impression this guy was entitled to anything. And who on here hasn't had the luxury, even for a short time, of living at home or getting help from their parents, while waiting for the right job?

 

Geez. I'm 23, recently laid off and saddled with a ton of student loan and car payment debt. I'd jump at a $40k job right now and I hate the term "millennial."

 

Hi Mr. Nicholson. Did Scott remember to cut the grass today?

 

The tone of the story is "Woe is Me" The reporter wrote about the father and grandfather having the luck to get jobs that they worked at for 30-plus years, and how the kid isn't as lucky to have found his career job.

It would have been one thing if the kid hadn't turned down the $40K job, or had been the son of a steelworker or something like that. But for the kid to be a private school graduate in a family that makes $175K a year, he doesn't garner very much sympathy.

 

Rejecting the 40k is the kicker for me. That was the stamp on the shithead approval.

 

40K is very close to the median wage of the U.S. worker. So basically, this chap turned down a middle class gig. That's not going to make many people like him. It is evidence that to the American well-off, other Americans fundamentally don't exist. He's not an evil person, just totally unaware of reality outside his lucky existence.

 

I don't believe for one second that this kid cuts anyone's lawn.

I'll bet he made that up to sound sympathetic.

He's also going to learn that most bars won't be interested in having a 24 year old loser working as a bartender. They want someone with experience and/or can bring in people (hot chicks).

Whoever said it earlier is right. This article will do him no good. Who's going to want to hire him after reading it? I sure as hell wouldn't want to.

Another kid that want's a fun job, wants it to pay well, and wants it with no reverent experience.

I'd love to know what 5 jobs he's sending in his resume for each week. They're probably all 17 levels above what he's qualified for.

 

To play devil's advocate: The kid made a career decision. May be good. May be bad.

I can understand his thinking that he doesn't want to get pigeonholed. It would be the same thing I would consider if I wanted to start a sports writing career and was offered a stringer gig.

Do I take it and risked getting labeled a stringer when I want to be a columnist?

And this kid apparently had the luxury to make that call. He's not really a villain.

Not a good peg to hand a story on, though.

 

Before anyone goes to college these days, I think they need to think long and hard about what their interested in and what they want/are willing to do when they get out.

The shame of it is that it's a tough job market out there, but then like a couple of weeks ago in this article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/29/your-money/student-loans/29money.html?pagewanted=all

The Times picks someone so unsympathetic to make their point.

My father was a huge advocate of liberal arts degrees, but today's employers aren't impressed by your political science & history degree (or women's studies & religion) and your lack of experience.

This kid is interested in marketing or finance:

Well, maybe he should have studied marketing or finance. Or tried to intern during his undergrad years.

 

But he hasn't worked in two years.

Eventually, employers start to think you're not really interested in working.