Posted on 09/03/2007 11:07:38 AM PDT by afraidfortherepublic
Every time John Remore steps up to his workstation to form a piece of sheet metal, he brings an intangible asset to the job: 42 years of experience, dating to lessons from his father.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Maybe we should just shoot everyone over 40, would that work for you? You sound like the boomers did in the 1960s, don't trust anyone over 30, kill them off and make a better country, only in your case you seem to think the older workers are holding you back form a job. If they are, it has more to do with, than their age or yours. I would say you and your other young co-workers who have to wait for someone to die to be promoted aren't worth a sh** at doing your jobs.
I would love to be around to see how you react when you turn 40 and someone suggests you be killed so they can move up. The older people above you are doing a good job or they would be fired, why should they step down after putting in years of work to reach where they are simply because you "have a family"? What a putz, do you have any idea how selfish and mean hearted you sound? I doubt it. Get a life, learn a new job if you have to or get better at the one you have and quit wishing for the old people to die so you can move up.
Any job that can be replaced by a machine is not a job worth having. People need skills that require them to use their brain not their brawn. Work smarter not harder.
The dean of my graduate program enjoyed telling stories of how he and his fellow radicals used to look down upon the business school and others that focused on money.
In other words, he hated successful people.
I am 40. I am the youngest guy in my division. It's a demographics problem: Someone will have to die, or retire, for me to get promoted
And they're not retiring.
The way I see it, you don’t have to dislike successful people to dislike business. Though the business I’m talking about is Wall Street-type. I absolutely don’t like that whole business, but I fully understand it is vital to our economy.
Commonly they try to ship workers off to the rest home
The other side of the coin is I can’t wait for my company offers and early retirement package. I’ve been there 33 years and want a little change to hit the road with.
Are you kidding? Apply to Boeing.
I've seen little guys make it in freight. You learn how to handle freight without too much lifting. You use tools, such as fork lifts and two wheelers. Work smart. If you can get your CDL and are old enough, you might be able to skip the dock work, but it's a good idea to do some before going to driving because you learn how to handle freight.
Driving P&D for an LTL company can be a great job if you have a good attitude, enjoy meeting people, and have patience in traffic (which is no problem when you're paid by the hour.)
Once you get in line haul, physical size is completely irrelevant. The stress is the intensity of long drives, and working at night.
I’m sure there are many specific businesses that are worthy of dislike and disgust, but that wasn’t really where the dean was going. He looked down on anyone that contributed something of value to society and wasn’t a member of the ivory tower.
Only if they are writing the games. The youngsters of today don't seem to know "hard core" computer science. All the packaged software takes the real skills out of them.
I’m old enough to get my CDL, I turn 22 in October.
It will probably take a few months or so until I don’t feel tired all day, every day. Once that’s gone, I’d have no problem driving for a 16 hour clip.
If the left wingers think that manufacturing is vulgar and dirty,then I’m not sure if I want to know what they think about farming.
That is precisely the industry I am talking about: It's a geriatric wasteland. The top ranks are packed with older fellows who will have to die or retire for anyone to get promoted.
Ah, understood
Reality time:
Businesses are neither bad nor good, liberal nor conservative. They are entities whose purpose is to make a profit. They harbor no feelings towards their employees, one way or the other. A worker is useful to a business as long as that worker is the most profitable means to an end, and that end is profit.
As long as you understand this, you will not be resentful towards an employer or let it affect your work.
Of course, your loyalty towards a company should only go so far as to not back-stab them or steal their property or time while you are in their employ. But they should mean nothing more to you than a pay check.
I was in the electronics industry for 30 years. I loved it. One company I worked with wanted to hire 80% new college grads and 20% highly experienced people. In a meeting one time I told them they are doing this backwards. Bring in 80% experienced and 20% new college grads. Reason being is that the new kids would do fine but would be reinventing the wheel. Let the old guys train the kids. It took this company, on average, 2 years to turn a product out when other companies were doing the same thing in 18 months. Upper management just didn’t get it. Eventually, they went from 22,000 employees down to about 7,000.
One thing to remember, companies pay a fortune in insurance for older employees. Younger employees cost less....in their eyes. Older employees are more reliable, more dedicated to the company and are worth their weight in gold if treated half way decent.
Interesting. I have a small R&D business and we hire students from a local college as programmers. We have to vet them well (luckily one my co-owners is a professor), but they are phenomenal. Young people (18-30) are much more adaptable to learning new programming languages and techniques than those above 35. In fact, most people have little desire to program after age 40—its looked at as a young persons gig.
I would advise being cautious about whom you start out with. A lot of long-haul companies promise the moon, then keep you out of state for weeks at a time and pay very little. Few good, reputable companies will hire a long haul driver right out of the box. That’s where local experience with a major LTL freight company comes in handy. Companies like Estes, Fedex Freight, etc. might hire a newby for local work and get you the experience you need. Talk to truck divers in your area and get the feel of the situation.
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