Can someone explain the "young=smart" thing?
on
Why Work Sucks
·
· Score: 1
I'm 32 years old, born 1966 in Canada (GenX by official demographic lingo in Canada means being born between 1960-1966), and just had my first kid. Before then I actually had all kinds of time to learn new languages, screw around with hardware and operating systems. Now, more and more I have less time to keep up to date, and must spend more time making money (and not studying) to pay for all those bills (kids cost $$$$). The result of this after 20 years will almost certainly be either:
1. I seem to be smart, but I'm divorced. 2. I seem to be out-of-date, but I'm happy.
I plan on being #2. I hope to be experienced enough to manage projects and not be worried about the little details; or to be rich enough to retire.
As for the entire degradation-of-the-workplace issue: It has gone downhill. Whatever may be said about how bad it was 50-100 years ago, I like to think that we should be striving to improve our lives, and not make them worse in the name of efficiency. Indeed, there's a lot of evidence sugggesting that the new employer work ethic works contrary to efficiency. Certainly my personal experiences back that. My last job (hopefully my last - I'm self-employed) was straight out of Dilbert. I was paid poorly, lied to, coerced to work 10-30 (sometimes 40) extra, unpaid hours each week, and then labelled as disloyal for job hunting - despite being called 'one of the best' etc...
A large study I happened a few years ago found that 4 out 5 companies that attempt to become lean and mean only to end up thin and neurotic, staffed by employees who are hungry and angry.
Problem is, it's a trend of apparent necessity. Since Company A does it, so must company B, and so on. My way out was to leave, and to name MY price.
Slashdot Mirror
I'm 32 years old, born 1966 in Canada (GenX by official demographic lingo in Canada means being born between 1960-1966), and just had my first kid. Before then I actually had all kinds of time to learn new languages, screw around with hardware and operating systems. Now, more and more I have less time to keep up to date, and must spend more time making money (and not studying) to pay for all those bills (kids cost $$$$). The result of this after 20 years will almost certainly be either:
1. I seem to be smart, but I'm divorced.
2. I seem to be out-of-date, but I'm happy.
I plan on being #2. I hope to be experienced enough to manage projects and not be worried about the little details; or to be rich enough to retire.
As for the entire degradation-of-the-workplace issue: It has gone downhill. Whatever may be said about how bad it was 50-100 years ago, I like to think that we should be striving to improve our lives, and not make them worse in the name of efficiency. Indeed, there's a lot of evidence sugggesting that the new employer work ethic works contrary to efficiency. Certainly my personal experiences back that. My last job (hopefully my last - I'm self-employed) was straight out of Dilbert. I was paid poorly, lied to, coerced to work 10-30 (sometimes 40) extra, unpaid hours each week, and then labelled as disloyal for job hunting - despite being called 'one of the best' etc...
A large study I happened a few years ago found that 4 out 5 companies that attempt to become lean and mean only to end up thin and neurotic, staffed by employees who are hungry and angry.
Problem is, it's a trend of apparent necessity. Since Company A does it, so must company B, and so on. My way out was to leave, and to name MY price.