FC/OT: Millennial Men and the labor market...

[anon_xdc8rmuek44eq]

Fascinating article. Just...wow.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...paign=news&utm_medium=bd&utm_source=applenews

 

[BobPSU92]

From the article:

"Butcher has a high-school diploma and a resume filled with low-wage jobs from Target and Walmart to a local grocery store. He’s being selective as he searches for new work because he doesn’t want to grind out unhappy hours for unsatisfying compensation.

“I’m very quick to get frustrated when people refuse to pay me what I’m worth,” he said. His choosiness could be a generational trait, he allows. His mother worked to support her three kids, whether she liked her job or not.

“That was the template for that generation: you were either working and unhappy, or you were a mooch,” he said. “People feel that they have choice nowadays, and they do.”"

I don't know what to say.

 

[bison13]

Participation trophy

 

[diontechristmas]

The guy featured here is such a doofus.

I don’t understand why every young man like him, that is physically able, doesn’t go drive truck. Even the home every night positions are plenty and he would at least triple his retail worker salary.

 

[sluggo72]

The guy featured here is such a doofus.

I don’t understand why every young man like him, that is physically able, doesn’t go drive truck. Even the home every night positions are plenty and he would at least triple his retail worker salary.

do they drug test them?

 

[diontechristmas]

do they drug test them?

Yes, to my knowledge. But yes these guys would rather sit at home and smoke dope instead of having a stable and relatively good paying job (for non college grads).

 

[Nitt1300]

I was surprised to see "millennial" and "labor" in the same subject line

 

[psuro]

From the article:

"Butcher has a high-school diploma and a resume filled with low-wage jobs from Target and Walmart to a local grocery store. He’s being selective as he searches for new work because he doesn’t want to grind out unhappy hours for unsatisfying compensation.

“I’m very quick to get frustrated when people refuse to pay me what I’m worth,” he said. His choosiness could be a generational trait, he allows. His mother worked to support her three kids, whether she liked her job or not.

“That was the template for that generation: you were either working and unhappy, or you were a mooch,” he said. “People feel that they have choice nowadays, and they do.”"

I don't know what to say.

Do they? Do they really?

 

[psuro]

The guy featured here is such a doofus.

I don’t understand why every young man like him, that is physically able, doesn’t go drive truck. Even the home every night positions are plenty and he would at least triple his retail worker salary.

Funny you mention this - I work with contractors that sub trucks for hauling, and they all complain that there is a shortage of truck drivers. The only people who will make the effort to fill the position of truck drivers are low skilled immigrants - because equally low skilled native born Americans feel they are too good for the job.

 

[anon_xdc8rmuek44eq]

I was surprised to see "millennial" and "labor" in the same subject line

Well, the article mentions millennial women are working at a higher rate than pre-recession, so it’s apparently not *all* millennials.

 

[anon_xdc8rmuek44eq]

The guy featured here is such a doofus.

I don’t understand why every young man like him, that is physically able, doesn’t go drive truck. Even the home every night positions are plenty and he would at least triple his retail worker salary.

It’s almost like an Onion article.

 

[ftlpsu]

Thanks for sharing.....I have been anecdotally seeing this trend for last five years. Coming from a GenX mind state with Greatest Generation work ethic these Millennials drive me crazy. I sell to corporations across all verticals and see many of them overhauling there offices-creating an almost Apple-Google work environment with glass common area work spaces, bring your dog to work, games and bean bags everywhere and these environments not even from tech companies. These companies know they need to attract the millienials as they are the new workforce. Unreal....choices? I call it soft society.

 

[anon_xdc8rmuek44eq]

Yes, to my knowledge. But yes these guys would rather sit at home and smoke dope instead of having a stable and relatively good paying job (for non college grads).

I could see that lifestyle for an aimless childless man, but this dude has kids. WTF.

 

[bison13]

The guy featured here is such a doofus.

I don’t understand why every young man like him, that is physically able, doesn’t go drive truck. Even the home every night positions are plenty and he would at least triple his retail worker salary.

Ironic that you bring up the truck driver. I tell kids today about the opportunity to travel and make money by learning to drive a truck. While some kids have taken me up on the idea other have given such excuses as its a poor persons job, I dont like wearing those trucker hats and I dont want to have to pee in a cup.

Yes thats what some of these kids today think about truck driving. No wonder they cant get jobs anywhere or think they are too good for Target and Wal mart

 

[PSU2000]

Here's a good video for you guys...

 

[GreggK]

Participation trophy

zzzzzzzz

 

[mlv5000]

Now those participation trophies weren't thought of by, designed by, nor printed and delivered by millenials. Complaining about how soft these kids are? Somebody raised 'em that way.

 

[BobPSU92]

Well, the article mentions millennial women are working at a higher rate than pre-recession, so it’s apparently not *all* millennials.

FLAG.

 

[GreggK]

Ironic that you bring up the truck driver. I tell kids today about the opportunity to travel and make money by learning to drive a truck. While some kids have taken me up on the idea other have given such excuses as its a poor persons job, I dont like wearing those trucker hats and I dont want to have to pee in a cup.

Yes thats what some of these kids today think about truck driving. No wonder they cant get jobs anywhere or think they are too good for Target and Wal mart

The career of Trucker won't exist in 15 years. Another casualty of technology.

Regardless of whether or not they think they are too good for Target or Walmart, even if they didn't and worked there, it wouldn't be enough to support even a lower middle class life.
And again, technology will devour those jobs as well in the next 15 years.

People need to wake up and see what is happening and stop with the finger pointing and arrogance.

 

[YeOldeCup]

I was surprised to see "millennial" and "labor" in the same subject line

I thought the same about 'millennial" and "men."

(there are many still out there, but this article does not speak to them)

 

[GreggK]

Now those participation trophies weren't thought of by, designed by, nor printed and delivered by millenials. Complaining about how soft these kids are? Somebody raised 'em that way.

Bingo. No doubt kids today are soft, but for god sake it was their parents who raised them.

 

[diontechristmas]

Ironic that you bring up the truck driver. I tell kids today about the opportunity to travel and make money by learning to drive a truck. While some kids have taken me up on the idea other have given such excuses as its a poor persons job, I dont like wearing those trucker hats and I dont want to have to pee in a cup.

Yes thats what some of these kids today think about truck driving. No wonder they cant get jobs anywhere or think they are too good for Target and Wal mart

I live in the Lehigh Valley, which has a lot of warehouses, and there are constant ads on the radio for truckers. They advertise signing bonuses and all sort of enticements. I understand long haul trucking is not for everyone, but a lot of these are local routes picking up containers at the Jersey ports and dropping at the warehouses around here. I suppose lots of guys can’t pass the drug tests.

I’m not in the industry so I don’t fully understand all the reasons behind the shortage, but it’s crazy to me. Go to a driving school for a few months and go from $15 bucks an hours to $25-$30. Why aren’t people doing this?

 

[PeetzPoolBoy]

Nathan’s mother is also part of the problem. She’s an enabler.

 

[Media Fan]

It’s not just millennial males. Lower middle class etc.etc..
It is obvious why, but heaven forbid you say something. Aided and abetted by a compliant elitist media, nyc, wash, and the left coast.
There are precious few who dare to say wait a minute. One of them is Amy Chua (sp), Yale law prof..

 

[Obliviax]

my anecdotal experience is a this:

• Kids from that era feel left out. The "great recession" burst a lot of bubbles and dreams. My son, for example, graduated with a BS in architecture and applied to get his architecture degree. At the time, unemployment for architects was around 26% with no end in sight. So he gave up on this "dream" and now has a good job but one that will never result in a high-paying position.
• When you are dealt a blow, it either motivates you or defeats you. An odd number of them lost any ambitions that they may have had. So we hire kids, they decorate their area with Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, or Unicorns. They show up at 8:30 and leave at 5:00, unless there is a pizza party or bowling/softball/frisbeegolf/gaming league event.
• Most of them have never had any real threats. Many are from divorced parents and lived under some level of discourse in the home. Most of them simply are not buying into commitment: marriages, careers, sports teams. They have very short attention spans and when one thing is a challenge, they dry up and go someplace else.
• They were never really threatened. Most generations grew up on a farm, lived during the depression, WW1, WW2, Korea, Vietnam, Race Riots....etc. There was a real drive just to carve out a safe place to survive no matter what. For 26 year old kids the worst thing in their life was the great recession. 9-11, for example, happened 17 years ago so a 26 year old experienced that at age 9. What did they know when there were 9?
• Many kids have safety nets. For the first time, their parents are dying off with life insurance policies, 401ks, and $100k+ estates. Their biggest concern? Ongoing healthcare but how many think they are going to get seriously sick when they are 26?
• And I ask myself "why not?" In my day, you got the hot girl because you had the hot car and big house. That was a huge motivational piece in the day. today you simply get fired for hitting on the girls. The companies have no loyalty, they are lied to about being "family" day in and out, unjust things happen all the time as middle managers are scapegoated....
• So the kids we hire in that age group show up on time and leave on time. They are not invested in any way, shape or form. If someone holds them accountable, they quit and go to the next job fair where they are lured with the latest video games and pingpong tables in offices. They are and feel entitled.

We've had a lot of success hiring kids and getting them to work with free lunches and dinners as well as time set aside for video and fantasy sports league breaks. We do MBO, Management by objective. We give a kid X number of days to complete a project and he/she can do it in any fashion they want. They can work from midnight to 8am if they want, but the job has to get done. Communications within departments has been challenged so we've set up scrum meetings and make them mandatory, even if you are at home at the designated scrum time meeting (which is done in normal working hours). So far so good, but we have hight turnover as jobs are so plentiful now.

 

[anon_xdc8rmuek44eq]

FLAG.

 

[anon_xdc8rmuek44eq]

The career of Trucker won't exist in 15 years. Another casualty of technology.

Regardless of whether or not they think they are too good for Target or Walmart, even if they didn't and worked there, it wouldn't be enough to support even a lower middle class life.
And again, technology will devour those jobs as well in the next 15 years.

People need to wake up and see what is happening and stop with the finger pointing and arrogance.

Based on the article, do you think this person will be happy being an EMT? I get the issues you raise, but that’s only half the problem. The other is pretty obvious.

 

[PS4814]

Ironic that you bring up the truck driver. I tell kids today about the opportunity to travel and make money by learning to drive a truck. While some kids have taken me up on the idea other have given such excuses as its a poor persons job, I dont like wearing those trucker hats and I dont want to have to pee in a cup.

Yes thats what some of these kids today think about truck driving. No wonder they cant get jobs anywhere or think they are too good for Target and Wal mart

Maybe it's on the trucking companies for not advertising the jobs properly and making the career an attractive one for those that would fit the mold. Are they reaching out to high schools, trade schools, community colleges and advertising in these locations? Not from what I've seen. The best they do is plaster their earnings on the side/back of a truck.

That's my problem with the "trades" in this country right now - they're in desperate need of employees, but they're not doing enough to reach out and get those employees. They're dumping the responsibility on the educational system and then complaining when things go wrong. How many advertisements do you see for careers in the trades vs colleges in any form of media? Driving down the highway do you see billboards for trucking/electrician/machinist jobs, or do you see billboards for "X" local college?

Maybe in the before time local trade unions would have filled this void - but since unions are the devil now their ability to attract qualified people into the field has been neutered.

 

[psuro]

Maybe it's on the trucking companies for not advertising the jobs properly and making the career an attractive one for those that would fit the mold. Are they reaching out to high schools, trade schools, community colleges and advertising in these locations? Not from what I've seen. The best they do is plaster their earnings on the side/back of a truck.

That's my problem with the "trades" in this country right now - they're in desperate need of employees, but they're not doing enough to reach out and get those employees. They're dumping the responsibility on the educational system and then complaining when things go wrong. How many advertisements do you see for careers in the trades vs colleges in any form of media? Driving down the highway do you see billboards for trucking/electrician/machinist jobs, or do you see billboards for "X" local college?

I see, every time I go and down the NJ Turnpike, the ad for the local heavy equipment union - right in front of their "training area", with cranes, dozers, etc. So it's not necessarily not happening from my perspective.

I just went through some contractor invoices for one of my government clients - they have to pay the guys prevailing wage - the apprentice was making $14/hour. Anyone with a level of skill and experience was not less than $30/hour. Top level guys were making $65/hour.

I don't know if they work 2000 hours per year at those salaries, but these are some good numbers, for that level of education.

Get into some of the trade unions in NYC, and they sky could very well be the limit.

 

[Obliviax]

Maybe it's on the trucking companies for not advertising the jobs properly and making the career an attractive one for those that would fit the mold. Are they reaching out to high schools, trade schools, community colleges and advertising in these locations? Not from what I've seen. The best they do is plaster their earnings on the side/back of a truck.

That's my problem with the "trades" in this country right now - they're in desperate need of employees, but they're not doing enough to reach out and get those employees. They're dumping the responsibility on the educational system and then complaining when things go wrong. How many advertisements do you see for careers in the trades vs colleges in any form of media? Driving down the highway do you see billboards for trucking/electrician/machinist jobs, or do you see billboards for "X" local college?

Maybe in the before time local trade unions would have filled this void - but since unions are the devil now their ability to attract qualified people into the field has been neutered.

Truck drivers get a bad rap. They are commonly portrayed as being red-necks, rubes. This is exactly what kids hate as the MSM has fueled those stenotypes. Plus, the MSM is telling us truck drivers are "going away" soon. I've often though of getting a truck driving job for a few years as a cushion between my high stress, high paying job and retirement. Uber is always an option!

 

[sluggo72]

I see, every time I go and down the NJ Turnpike, the ad for the local heavy equipment union - right in front of their "training area", with cranes, dozers, etc. So it's not necessarily not happening from my perspective.

I just went through some contractor invoices for one of my government clients - they have to pay the guys prevailing wage - the apprentice was making $14/hour. Anyone with a level of skill and experience was not less than $30/hour. Top level guys were making $65/hour.

I don't know if they work 2000 hours per year at those salaries, but these are some good numbers, for that level of education.

Get into some of the trade unions in NYC, and they sky could very well be the limit.

and that is probably $65 on their hip (ie pay check) now add in what the contractor pays in for the defined benefit play, let alone what they pay into the supplemental 'annuity' plan (most people call a 401k) there's probably 4 or 5 more on the check off list I am forgetting.

 

[psuro]

Truck drivers get a bad rap. They are commonly portrayed as being red-necks, rubes. This is exactly what kids hate as the MSM has fueled those stenotypes. Plus, the MSM is telling us truck drivers are "going away" soon. I've often though of getting a truck driving job for a few years as a cushion between my high stress, high paying job and retirement. Uber is always an option!

Amazon Flex is an option - but heard it's not easy to get into. Takes several applications and weeks. And you can't log in and out like Uber or Lyft. If you are unresponsive for a period of time, they drop you.
In essence, you use your car to make deliveries for Amazon; you cover all costs and they pay you by delivery.

 

[diontechristmas]

Truck drivers get a bad rap. They are commonly portrayed as being red-necks, rubes. This is exactly what kids hate as the MSM has fueled those stenotypes. Plus, the MSM is telling us truck drivers are "going away" soon. I've often though of getting a truck driving job for a few years as a cushion between my high stress, high paying job and retirement. Uber is always an option!

I also day dream of being a trucker. My grandpa was a teamster mostly driving the cement mixers, and he had a comfortable life and retirement. I sell software and do fine, but I hate the goofy new age work culture at most software companies.

I often tell my wife I am going to drive a truck when I get put out to pasture for being too old for my industry.

 

[anon_xdc8rmuek44eq]

It’s not just millennial males. Lower middle class etc.etc..
It is obvious why, but heaven forbid you say something. Aided and abetted by a compliant elitist media, nyc, wash, and the left coast.
There are precious few who dare to say wait a minute. One of them is Amy Chua (sp), Yale law prof..

What? Feel free to elaborate...

 

[JWB389]

I've worked in the trucking industry for nearly 30 years (mostly in the Lehigh Valley) and I could write volumes on the subject. Bottom line is that driving a truck is an undesirable job and there are too many reasons as to why. The primary thing that jumps out at me is that truck drivers are treated like crap, mostly by the minimum wage people discussed in the article.

 

[anon_xdc8rmuek44eq]

I've worked in the trucking industry for nearly 30 years (mostly in the Lehigh Valley) and I could write volumes on the subject. Bottom line is that driving a truck is an undesirable job and there are too many reasons as to why. The primary thing that jumps out at me is that truck drivers are treated like crap, mostly by the minimum wage people discussed in the article.

What about the military? That is the *perfect* lifestyle for someone not sure of what they want to do. Not to mention all the post-service benefits.

 

[Omar81]

Bingo. No doubt kids today are soft, but for god sake it was their parents who raised them.

Well, I knew it couldn't be the kids' fault. Because everyone who has a problem in today's world is a victim, and there's always someone (else) to blame.

 

[anon_1eeb2b426hv3y]

Do they? Do they really?

For now. But they’d better learn to respect and tolerate people who are willing to work and destined to surpass them on the food chain.

 

[sluggo72]

How is "technology" gonna' replace the process that moves a box of shit from Point A to Point B?

Autonomous Vehicles .

 

[anon_xdc8rmuek44eq]

Truck drivers get a bad rap. They are commonly portrayed as being red-necks, rubes. This is exactly what kids hate as the MSM has fueled those stenotypes. Plus, the MSM is telling us truck drivers are "going away" soon. I've often though of getting a truck driving job for a few years as a cushion between my high stress, high paying job and retirement. Uber is always an option!

Lost me with the MSM stuff...