How different the world of those of us born in the early 1940’s was.
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So true! Born in ‘42, before the baby boomers. Grew up with a Victory Garden at my house as did most of the neighbors and we all shared our bounties, with the women gathering at various houses to help can the vegetables and make jellies. People grew different things and would share and swap with each other; corn for tomatoes, carrots for onions, peaches for plums, etc.
Many teens got married right after HS in late ‘50s and went to work, as only about 20% went to college. I knew I was not ready for college, so in Oct. of my HS Sr. year I joined the Naval Air Reserve.
Finished my active duty at age 20 and married. Child at age 21. Worked many different jobs and had hardships. Finally got a job at a company from which I would retire 35 years later. .....During those years I went to night school, was divorced and remarried, got let go and worked elsewhere while going to a State Univ. and finally took a leave of absence from work. That gave me the BBA and I was rehired at my former company. While there I attended night school and earned my 48 hr. MBA.... at age 40.
Based on what I have been seeing from the young college kids that we see on the TV news, I just don’t think they have the desire to persist to achieve such goals.
There may be an aspect of the decline of opportunities that lead to the young being rather lackadaisical.
I went to a state school (college in 1982 and the total for my first year of tuition, books and living expenses was ~ 4,700 as an out of state student. That is equivalent to ~11,650 today. At the same time the minimum wave was 3.35 (8.31) today and I was able to easily get work as a factory worker on winter break and as a low level tech for 5.00 an hour during the summer.(~11.12) an hour now. With 2,500 my parent fronted me per year, I could just about pay for college by working summers and during winter session. Jobs were there for the finding.
With no help from the college I was able, by using the Thomas register of companies in the local library, able to find part time work in companies on the production line, then as a test tech, then as a engineering tech and finally as a programmer in 1987 for 9 dollars an hour (18.96/hour today). By that time having become an In-state student my tuition and living costs were still around 4,700 (9,900 today) Got out of college with only 1,600 dollars of debt (3,400 today).
First full time job out of college was 25K in March of 1988 (equivalent to 50,500 today). It was a low rate for a BEE back then, but the job was in the field I wanted to work and by 1990 I was making 34,000 (~62,00 today).
Here is the thing, I did not have impressive grades or any great genius, there were simply more positions out there, in more companies. To find my first full time position, I am again used the Thomas register and sent out a total of 20 resumes, got three responses back and took the first job offer, not even waiting on the second which was to come. Form what I hear from the young chaps today, no such opportunities are out there.
So of course the kids have to leave home longer and save more,, to pay off much higher student debt than I had. A lot of the value added jobs have been shifted to over seas. It is true the kids seem to show less get up and go, but in my day the get up and go was rewarded, today it is not, at least to the same degree.