Are There No Mature Men In Our Age Bracket?

powplz
wrote on May 18 2009 @ 12:07 pm: [report]

My bf is 8 years older than me, and it makes it really difficult to picture trying to date someone my own age given that most of them don’t have their #&@$% together.  Some do, for sure, but my perception is that most don’t.

<3 that my bf does his own laundry, does the dishes, has a 401(k) (I have my own as well, it’s not about me floating off his work/$$), put his own budget together, and generally doesn’t need any hand-holding from me regarding practical life issues.

Humble Bee
wrote on May 18 2009 @ 12:10 pm: [report]

Your make so much sense. I had the same issue with my last partner. He swore he was going to be in the NBA but he doesn’t even play basketball. I never wanted to shoot his dream down, but I’m sure NBA stars play 24/7. It’s hilarious to me how, like you say, Men believe they will be something yet they are working in some field that has nothing to do with their dream. I am more realistic, I need to grasp whatever it is in my hand, I need to see results, not some freaking fantasy.
It’s hard for me to find a guy, I don’t expect him to have a top of the line car, with a newly purchased house, with a CEO position. BUT i do expect him to be working towards his dream. Whatever it may be.  It is just plain hard to find a guy with some freaking goals.

CheeeeEEEEse
wrote on May 18 2009 @ 12:19 pm: [report]

I call BS on this article. Men are once again an over generalization. Have you stopped to think that you may be attracting/allowing these kinds of men to get attached. Isn’t ambition something women look for anymore? Sorry Catherine, but perhaps you need someone much older to fulfill those requirements in a relationship.

Catherine
wrote on May 18 2009 @ 12:38 pm: [report]

@ CheeeeEEEEse: They don’t really have ambition, that’s the thing. They’re not even working toward a goal by taking steps to get to it. Instead, they’re sort of haphazardly expecting success to come to them. And you’re right, it’s not all men, but it’s most of the ones I’ve come in contact with in the last two years or so. Sure, I might be attracting the wrong ones, but isn’t it a little weird that so many have similar tendencies? If a guy were honestly trying to make his dreams come true by taking the necessary steps, that would be one thing. But these guys are just waiting for a miracle. To me, that’s lack of drive.

CheeeeEEEEse
wrote on May 18 2009 @ 12:49 pm: [report]

@Catherine: You are indeed dating foolish people then. I’d hazard to say that this generation is a bit obsessed with instant gratification, can you say reality television?

Me? I’m working, not necessarily somewhere I see myself in 5 years, but I’m 23 and that would be unwise to think like that anyway. I’d like to go to Law or Business school eventually, but I still haven’t made up my mind as to which yet.

Maybe you just found a bunch of broken dudes, instant gratification works the other way too. Dump em’ and get a new one.

Humble Bee
wrote on May 18 2009 @ 12:55 pm: [report]

I’ve noticed that too!!!
People just want instant gratification. Seriously, people think that they will become a success overnight. I have SO many friends like that, amd CheeeEEEEse your right, half of them are not even men. Women too, expect things in their palm if they just dream it. Wake up people, it takes hard work to gain success and to complete your dreams.

writergirl
wrote on May 18 2009 @ 12:58 pm: [report]

Did you know that the average age of the people—all men, I am sure—in the mission control center during the Apollo 13 crisis was 26?  Would any of you trust today’s mid-20 somethings in a situation like that?

@Catherine, it isn’t just you.  While I’m married and not “looking” for a man, I feel sorry for the women who are.  Across the board, men I know in their mid-twenties to early thirties are incredibly immature, irresponsible and unmotivated. 

They are part of what my friends and I have dubbed “the entitlement” generation.  They don’t believe in working toward a goal—but want it dropped in their laps out of nowhere.  They believe they are “entitled” to the large starting salaries and don’t need to start at the bottom and work their way up.  They don’t listen, and they don’t learn.

On the flip side and to be fair I’ve run across quite a few women with the same ideals as these men.  They too have this idea that sucess is going to be dropped in their laps by some fairygodmother and that will be that.

Maybe now that economy has bottomed-out these people will get a clue.  For some reason, working hard and earning your stripes, so to speak, seems to have been lost on this generation.  I am not sure why….I know my siblings and I were raised by the same parents.  School maybe?  Whatever the reason the difference between how men and women were when I was in my mid-twenties just ten years ago versus how they are today is astounding.

powplz
wrote on May 18 2009 @ 01:05 pm: [report]

@writergirl - NO, you do not get to pin the entitlement bs on the entire geneartions.  I’m 23, working from the bottom up, doing the best with what I have, and doing quite well.  Yes, a lot of my peers pull that BS but come on, this is just another bad case of “kids these days.” 

You’re only seeing the people who are whining the loudest - the rest of us are too busy working and building our lives to run around throwing hissy fits that piss off the older generations.

CheeeeEEEEse
wrote on May 18 2009 @ 01:07 pm: [report]

@Writergirl: At NASA they had to be young, computers were new, as was the concept of space exploration. If they were in their 40 and 50’s they would have been been in WW2 and would have gone through the depression. That time wasn’t that conducive to breeding out of the box thinkers, more survivors than anything, but hard workers none-the-less.

On your economy point, I knew countless people in college not only with finance degrees, but with any sort of degree who said they were going into finance because they could make 4x the money starting out than at any other job. I shook my head at this because there was no way it was sustainable. I didn’t know that this economic downturn was going to be this bad, but I did see a reckoning coming. I actually told this to people in college and they were so clueless to what I like to call the “Financial Bubble”.

AgentBeryllium
wrote on May 18 2009 @ 01:16 pm: [report]

Oh Yeah? Well I have dated men or should I say guys from 21 - 37 and let me tell you this little crunchy tidbit: They are all immature. The problem is with our generation. and the generation before and after. All men have this whack a doodle idea that they are special because they have been coddled too much by their mommies and not given responsibility. My now BF full on admitted his parents are tougher on his younger sister than they are with him. In which he refers to himself as their golden child. I told him not in my orb of reality.

They’re all Mama’s boys. And CheeeEEEEse I am sorry if your pissed at our perception. But it’s true. Women are forced to provide for themselves because men are to immature to grown up and get a real job and cash in on that reality check that they are the average joe.

CheeeeEEEEse
wrote on May 18 2009 @ 01:25 pm: [report]

@msPriss: Relying on yourselves is good. I’m just happy that when all the old dudes with money and power start to die off (Damn you drug companies for keeping them alive longer <and having sex, ew> longer), I hope to be right there to pick up the slack. I consider my chances better with the legions of WoW, Guitar Hero, and otherwise ADD addled teens and young adults inhabiting America.

writergirl
wrote on May 18 2009 @ 01:31 pm: [report]

@joyy Your generation—no matter how unfair the generalization—just constantly proves how unmotivated the
bulk of the people are.  I know a girl in college—and very smart—and is getting her degree in teaching.  When I asked what grade she wanted to teach, she said, “Second and above because they have to be able to read at the end of first grade and that’s too much pressure on me.”

Um….seriously?  *That’s* the mentality of a majority of people in your age group that is heard and repeated the most.

You’re right—they probably are whining the loudest.  But there is little proof to the contrary that the “entitlement” generation doesn’t exist—
more aptly known as Generation “Y”.  Countless articles have been written on Generation Y, and while yes, generalizations are bad and there are those within your generation who are unfairly categorized, the fact is—the majority of that generation are as being described. 

Every person in every generation hates being pigeon-holed. I did.  But if the observations didn’t exist—and on such large scales—then the article(s) never would have been written documenting said behaviors.

@cheese—you’re right about the age thing with Apollo 13 but you didn’t answer my question.  Could you see todays twenty somethings in the same situation?

AS for the economic boom—at least you knew people who wanted to make money…most of the twenty-somethings I know are content to kind of mosey around at minimum-wage jobs.

Bengia
wrote on May 18 2009 @ 01:36 pm: [report]

Why should a man change his goals to meet a woman’s need for stability & maturity in her life?
How about compromise in needs & wants, a reasonable quality of life, having kids, paying bills, house payments & repairs, autos & accompanying maintenance, able & ready to communicate with your significant other, retirement planning, divorce rate of 50% within the first 7 years, college tuition & loans, not to mention work & it’s related issues where the average person changes jobs 13 times in their life…
I can’t imagine why ALL men wouldn’t want this level of maturity…

jojo32
wrote on May 18 2009 @ 01:37 pm: [report]

@msPriss - that’s a great point.  My ex-husband is a total mama’s boy (although he’s in denial about it).  He totally feels entitled to everything.  He’s selfish and lazy.  He doesnt want to work at all and expects to be making 6 figures.  It’s hilarious. 

The new boyfriend was (sadly) his mom’s whipping boy…he got out of his house by the time he was 17 and he is the most responsible, hard working and generous person I’ve ever known.  He has full custody of his son, busts his @ss at work every day, and never complains about any of it. 

The difference in age between these 2 boys (men??).  4 years.  The new boyf is 4 years older than the ex-hubby.  I always knew I should be w/ someone older than me.

powplz
wrote on May 18 2009 @ 01:41 pm: [report]

@writergirl - sorry, I just have a total knee-jerk to being lumped into “entitlement” #&@$%.  I don’t expect anything from anyone, and I’m actually pretty proud of the fact that at 23, I’ve got my stuff in order - retirement accounts, savings, health insurance, good job/nice career path, hell I even own property and will own it outright by the end of the year. 

I also have a pet peeve with it because you can’t really blame children for how they were raised, they have no say in it and all the bad things are focused on, with none of the good coming to light.

CheeeeEEEEse
wrote on May 18 2009 @ 01:45 pm: [report]

@writergirl: To answer your question the second time around, no. Not even the smart ambitious people, why? Simple, they are much too cookie cutter kinds of people with no imagination, drive and brains yes, but simply cannot see interesting solutions to problems.

tattooed_redhead
wrote on May 18 2009 @ 01:50 pm: [report]

It’s not just about motivation and drive - I’m in my mid-thirties, and I’ve recently ruled out dating men in their thirties, because my idea of a fun Saturday afternoon is *not* a video game marathon/tournament with the guys while throwing back bottle after bottle of beer interspersed with joints and cigarettes.
Nearly every guy in his thirties I’ve dated recently still plays video games obsessively and spends the majority of his paycheck on beer and smokes.
I’m not looking for marriage and kids, but is it too much to ask for a man who has some intellectual maturity? Reads books? Watches something other than reality tv?

writergirl
wrote on May 18 2009 @ 01:59 pm: [report]

@joyy—no problem.  Like I said I hated being pigeon holed too, and I wasn’t like generation xers as were described back when.

You sound like a very impressive young woman—and to be honest, based on your posts, thought you were older.  Unfortunately for you, you are in the minority and will have to work twice as hard to make a go of it because of the people you will be automatically lumped in with.

I wish you luck—sounds like you have a bright future ahead of you.  Congratulations!  ANd may I say, it is refreshing to see someone who doesn’t fit the mold!

@cheese—precisely my point.  Why is that creative thinking and abstract problem solving gone.  And to be fair, I couldn’t see guys from my my twenties working in NASA’s mission control either when we were that age.  Go to law school—you actually sound like you have a level head on your shoulders.  Lawyers could use you.

lilrockgoddess4u
wrote on May 18 2009 @ 02:00 pm: [report]

I too have found this to be a major road block in relationships.  I am 23 and my BF is 41.  I thought he was stable and mature. HA! What a joke.  I now live with the oldest 12yr old in the world!

MissJennLynn
wrote on May 18 2009 @ 02:03 pm: [report]

@ Bengia

“Why should a man change his goals to meet a woman’s need for stability & maturity in her life?”

Why should a woman give up her wants and needs to stay home, raise a family, clean the house, put her career on hold?? You’re right, it IS about compromise. But it seems as if women are giving up quite a bit to compromise. It’s not 50/50, more like 70/30…

There is still inequality and with that comes pressure on both sexes. Women seem to be able to handle it better, is all.

Annika
wrote on May 18 2009 @ 02:10 pm: [report]

You think this is bad? Try dating a guy who has realized his dream won’t be fulfilled. What a Dougie-Downer!

Alison Wonderland
wrote on May 18 2009 @ 02:12 pm: [report]

@writergirl: Cheese is right. NASA needed young out of the box thinkers who were both capable and willing to take on the responsibility of such a position. Education requirements have seriously changed though. These days, even on the fast track, you’re about 26 by the time you’ld have earned the necessary degrees to be working anywhere near mission control. So no, I can’t imagine it. You’re right that the average 26 y/o today probably couldn’t handle it. But also, that would never happen.

Ginger
wrote on May 18 2009 @ 02:29 pm: [report]

I don’t think this problem is just with guys, I think that it is with the generation.

Albeit, I am a bit younger (I’ve got a couple of months before I reach twenty) but I see it in my classmates. And I’ve actually seen it more with kids who were spoiled or richer growing up.

I have so many classmates who don’t seem to realize that while they are still under the protection of mommy and daddy, they are also kind of out in the world. And they’re expecting to live in apartments and houses and acting like they take care of themselves, but all of them keep saying how their parents are helping them, or their parents bought them this, or it’s fine if they spend too much money on clohtes or something because their parents will help them with the rent.
It’s like they have the dream of being adults, but they aren’t willing to actually be adults.

It makes me really glad that my parents taught me to take responsibility for myself from a young age, because I don’t want to be one of those people who waits until they turn thirty to realize that they need to take care of themselves.

Muttface
wrote on May 18 2009 @ 02:33 pm: [report]

It’s true about our generation and their ridiculous aspirations. However, I think it applies equally to both men and women. Women have this notion of the perfect men (wealthy, handsome, monogamous) and I think most men will always fall short when you apply such high standards to someone.But yes, men as a whole are not doing as well as they should, and are perfectly content to let women stoke their ego’s whilst working 9 to 5 and raising the kids. My grandma used to say “I can be miserable all by myself” when it came to sub-par men. I love old people, they’re so adorable.

Bengia
wrote on May 18 2009 @ 03:31 pm: [report]

@tattooed_redhead - As a middle-aged male, I too want “intellectual maturity” from reasonable women.  On the reading issue, they either read or they don’t.  In my humble travels, readers, particularly non-fiction, are very difficult to find.  And then try and share a conversation regarding current affairs… As a person who has a deep interest in economics and it’s mechanics, I find very few takers but when I do, it’s good… Overall, I find very few gals who have the ability to compromise on life’s issues, i.e. raising kids, where to live & thrive & work, who does what cooking & cleaning, etc – all of which should culminate into a better quality of life for both people while they work together… But, it seems lately that it’s all about what someone else wants (neurotic need for affection or they disregard other input that may collide with their independent plans)... At my 46 years, compromise has become a dirty word!

anatomization
wrote on May 18 2009 @ 04:11 pm: [report]

Whats wrong with video games???  Or Beer??? I mean, how is that a level of maturity?  Im just wondering if everyone is actually on the same page with some of this.  What is the standard of maturity here?  Is owning a house/condo a level of maturity?  Is having a college or post graduate degree a level?  How about a big bank account?  Right now there are a ton of people who used to meet those criteria but no longer do.  And alot of them were in their 20’s-30’s before the recession.  I just don’t understand the “why so many immature men” junk when paying rent, showing up to work, or dressing appropriately seems to have little to do with gender or age/generations???

ChoJinn
wrote on May 18 2009 @ 05:39 pm: [report]

Chloe should not be surprised.  If her film roles, photo shoots, and Brown Bunny scenes are any indication, she probably surrounds herself with a bunch of man-children who are too busy getting stoned and banging starlets to be concerned with knocking up a 34 year old version of the chick from KIDS.

This article is obviously the result of the author sharing Chloe’s predicament, and thus I’d recommend the same: get a new group.  And why are you confusing your “dates’” aspirations with what they do for a living?  If they’d really like to be a musician or actor, are you suggesting they drop their day job just to prove a point to you?

“31-year-old man believes he is going to become the next Wes Anderson by working on a script in his spare time and having friends film on the weekend, it seems a bit absurd.”

Uh, so you’d rather him NOT do this in his spare time; his spare time being the time he has to spare (i.e. not working, whatever his occupation even is).  He’s not working his ass off? Definitely doesn’t sound like he’s waiting around for something to happen.

Such cynical generalization just reek.  If you’re surrounded by unmotivated, lethargic guys who feel entitled, perhaps you should ask yourself why you continually associate with them.  It’s not exactly their problem.

Tarvold
wrote on May 18 2009 @ 06:13 pm: [report]

These comments are hilarious.

The girls are complaining about men who have set goals and expectations in their life and career, yet do nothing remotely related to achieving those goals… ambition, motivation, maturity…

Yet, here you are, complaining about the lack of these men, yet continue to date the same type of guys over and over again, and not doing anything remotely related to breaking that cycle…

And somewhere in between, you have a decent guy like Cheese banging his head against a brick wall…

Great guys with confidence and education and ambition and intelligence are around… we just don’t drive nice cars yet, because we’ve invested our money instead… and we don’t look like Vincent Chase because all the long hours at work, and the late nights in business school leaves us no time for skincare…

erikasf
wrote on May 18 2009 @ 06:29 pm: [report]

This article brings up a lot of issues, including how we define the words “maturity” and “driven”.  I want to ask Catherine if she would prefer a rich 23 year old Wall Street guy who is ruthless and soulless. Is that what young gals are looking for?
My point is, regardless of the economy, there are tons of hard working people in America who aren’t exactly pulling in six figure salaries.  There are class issues here, and plenty of people bust their butts for not a lot of money.  Did you read Nickel & Dimed?
Would gals rather have these potential musicians working as unpaid interns during the day and delivering pizzas at night?  Is that their definition of “driven”?
It is certainly fair to expect a guy to be responsible and not a flake.  But if our definition of maturity only includes well-paid corporate flacks, than we are in trouble.
I have the best of all worlds.  My husband is a scientist with a great career.  But plenty of my other smart friends are struggling, regardless of gender.

CheeeeEEEEse
wrote on May 18 2009 @ 06:30 pm: [report]

@Tarvold: How dare you only call me “decent”! I am splendiferous!

Also, other than my 401K I don’t invest anything, but I do have an ‘08 VW GTI which is faster than allowable on the road. Who the hell is Vincent Chase? My skin cleared up nicely when I switched to a special face wash. Did that cover everything?

Nope, business school, my senior undergrad year was like business school. Strategic Management was fun, if not a ridiculous amount of work. I got to tear other peoples ideas to shreds because they were based on faulty logic or poor planning and who doesn’t like that, wheee fun! I got to pretend to be Donald Trump with better hair.

sam04
wrote on May 18 2009 @ 07:10 pm: [report]

Ha.  Splendiferous.

Backliteyes
wrote on May 18 2009 @ 09:14 pm: [report]

There are plenty of reasonable men out there, I’ve known many. There’s also a lot of retards. Same for women. Or if women don’t have this particular issue as much, they have others that are not so desirable.

I agree there are issues with my generation though. We were often spoiled by our parents and being nice and including everyone in success was favored over competition and achievement in school and in our social lives in childhood. The smart kids that worked hard in school weren’t praised and looked up too, they were laughed at and looked down on. Accomplishing things as a group was emphasized much more than individual success, which is simply not how it is in the working world (I have yet to hear of people getting group promotions and raises).

Also, schools stopped teaching you how to think critically and be creative a long time ago. All the way through a bachelor’s degree so much more focus has been put on passing standardized and multiple choice tests. This is particularly true at large universities, which more and more people are attending because so few can afford small, private schools anymore.

Those are just two examples, others have sited more (instant gratification, superficiality, child-like immaturity well into the thirties). So honestly, given the inputs is anyone really surprised at the quality of some of the outputs? I’m surprised so many turned out so well, honestly.

@CheeeeEEEEse: You and I are pretty similar as far as the major points you listed. We’re the same age, and I’m also planning to graduate school, though I already decided on business school. I’m saving up for it at the moment. Ditto on the job situation too.

loveitlala
wrote on May 19 2009 @ 08:34 am: [report]

I think lots of women feel this way because they hang out with the artsy, creative crowd.  Women are usually found in careers that are more artsy and creative, so obviously that’s who they find.  I hang out with doctors, computer programmers, and engineers because I’m in a traditionally masculine field.  I have no problem with finding serious men.

CheeeeEEEEse
wrote on May 19 2009 @ 08:52 am: [report]

@sprinkibrio: I know what you mean, the first school I went to was purely engineering (75% is high enough, the rest was all other science majors…I think the least sciency major was Architecture, go figure) which meant that 75% of the school was men. The women had their pick which kinda sucked, but at least most were like us at least.

@Backliteyes: Your profile says “Systems Analyst”, that’s pretty hardcore. Hehe, I’m also only a month older than you, late birthdays suck, I don’t know the cutoff for Texas, but I was always the youngest in the grade.

powplz
wrote on May 19 2009 @ 09:03 am: [report]

@cheese - vincent chase is the main character in HBO’s Entourage.  Tarvold is actually kind of a joke within the show, but I won’t bother explaining it because it won’t make sense if you haven’t seen the show.  You should netflix it though, it’s good.

CheeeeEEEEse
wrote on May 19 2009 @ 09:24 am: [report]

@joyy: I’m retroactively watching about 5 shows at the moment, no time.

powplz
wrote on May 19 2009 @ 09:50 am: [report]

add entourage when you finish those five.

CheeeeEEEEse
wrote on May 19 2009 @ 10:14 am: [report]

@Joyy: I’ve got like 10 seasons of Stargate then I get to go through 5 of the spinoff and then 5 from Babylon 5, I still need to watch season 2 of Pushing Daisies, and I’m behind on Fringe, Robin Hood, and The Tudors!

kristy1584
wrote on May 19 2009 @ 11:16 am: [report]

Im going to have to agree with cheeeeEEEEse here. We cant make generalizations ALL men arent the same that would be like a man saying ALL women are whiney nagging bitches. I personally date older bc that just seems to be what comes along and they all are different Ive never dated 2 guys that are the same nor have I ever dated a single guy who aspired to be something he wasnt working towards so maybe you just have bad luck. Time to start looking in other places.

Bengia
wrote on May 19 2009 @ 01:45 pm: [report]

@Backliteyes - I commend you on such keen observations as “spoiled by our parents” and “schools stopped teaching you how to think critically”... I love it! As you point out “Those are just two examples…” I would add one piece that ties very close to “spoiled” issue and it affects both genders, but particularly boys, and that has been the action/s of false “esteem-building” perpetrated by schools and American culture/psychology & parents.  Examples include trophies given by a child’s sports team whether they came in second or tenth place, and the actions of teachers, at least here in Kalifornia, to do everything but hurt poor Johnny’s & Jenny’s esteem.  Esteem should be earned, not given. Otherwise you have people chasing fantasies, rather than knuckling down to life’s business and raising a family or building a real career…

jojo32
wrote on May 19 2009 @ 01:48 pm: [report]

@ Bengia - RIGHT ON!!

Backliteyes
wrote on May 19 2009 @ 09:02 pm: [report]

@CheeeeEEEEse: I actually went to school entirely in Arizona and the cut-off was at the end of September so I got “held back” from starting school and became one of the oldest kids in the next year. Systems Analyst is the fancy title, I do software testing. Kind of boring, but it’s a good company to have on my resume/b-school application. I majored in Management Information Systems, there were very few women.

@Bengia: Thank you, and I agree with the unearned esteem-building you metioned. That combined with the spoiling done by parents is pretty much responsible for most of the entitled attitude of 20-somethings. A lot of us have only rarely or never had to work really hard or make real sacrifices for anything (before I get crucified there are exceptions and I recognize that).

bethylane
wrote on May 20 2009 @ 11:34 am: [report]

My last boyfriend was on a record label one time, made one record, it sold moderately well in Europe, and he hasn’t done anything since but watch electronic musicians who’ve “made it” and whine about how he’s so much better than them. It drove me up the wall.

HOWever, my current snag it proof that they aren’t all immature. He’s 34 and together in every way. Only thing is he miight be a little sexist..this remains to be seen. But hey I’ll take a little of that over a lot of laziness and “poor me” crap any day of the week.

LESdude
wrote on May 21 2009 @ 04:26 pm: [report]

This article reeks of sexism. I live in New York City, its the year 2009. Jobs are being outsourced to China left and right (I know because I talk to people who outsource them). There is no ‘safe’ career path left. Innovate or die. Become an entrepreneur or risk the pink slip. Building your personal network and risk-to-achieve are the name of the game. Traditional career-path is done FOR GOOD unless you wait for Barack to give you a job fixing the nation’s highways.

So ladies, if you are dating a screenwriter-wannabe, you are kidding yourself. But, like anything else, failure is the name of the startup game (whether its a band, company, etc.) Henry Ford failed twice before succeeding. Look at Steve Jobs - he was fired from the company he started. I’m sorry - real men take chances - its the only way to innovate and make a better tomorrow.

Btw

landesign
wrote on May 21 2009 @ 08:18 pm: [report]

@LESdude. You are so right. I read all these comments about
ladies dating lazy dudes. Heck, I goofed off a bit when I was in my early twenties, only starting college at 26. But
I worked a night job, went to college and kept a business going with employees at the same time. I’ve patented a product and marketed it, bought houses that I now rent, purchased business items when the money could have gone to
vacations, and to some women it could have looked like I was a real dreamer/loser because it all didn’t start kicking good until a few years went by. I now make decent money and there is no way I can be laid off or not have money to pay all the bills, and I’m starting my Masters soon, not because I need to but because I want to.
But the most important thing through all this that I had was the complete and total support of my woman, working just as hard next to me and listening to all my constant
dreamer talk.

CheeeeEEEEse
wrote on May 21 2009 @ 08:19 pm: [report]

@LESdude: There certainly are safe career paths, not to be sexist, but I’d like to see hairdressers outsourced. On a more serious note, most knowledge workers jobs aren’t getting outsourced, in this marketplace smarter is the new harder.

landesign
wrote on May 21 2009 @ 08:38 pm: [report]

Knowlege worker jobs aren’t getting outsourced? In the past
week I’ve been on the phone trying to get my sons Dell to
work right. While these long tests run to check the computer, I’ve had great conversations with techs in India
about the different foods of our countries and the high value of water in India due to the population. I don’t know
how many techs they employ in India but it has to be in the
thousands. Dell ships over sixty thousand units a day.

CheeeeEEEEse
wrote on May 22 2009 @ 06:47 am: [report]

@landesign: Those aren’t IT professionals, thats the help desk. Those aren’t the same thing. Either learn to fix the machine yourself (Diagnose the problem, it’s either hardware of software, then replace the bad part/reinstall software) or deal with the help desk.

landesign
wrote on May 22 2009 @ 05:08 pm: [report]

Yes Cheese, after many hours on the line, I can now run
through the appropriate tests and diagnose the problems.
Practice makes perfect.
But it is a bit depressing to see so many jobs going overseas that don’t involve manual labor.
In this economy, there are many who would love to have those jobs back in the U.S.

Bonus
wrote on May 24 2009 @ 04:30 am: [report]

‘Are There No Mature Men In Our Age Bracket?’

Kay Hymowitz wrote two excellent articles in the ‘City Journal’ on this very matter. To get deeper into this topic, you *must* read these two pieces.

‘Child-Man in the Promised Land’:
http://www.city-journal.org/2008/18_1_single_young_men.html

‘It’s 1965 and you’re a 26-year-old white guy. You have a factory job, or maybe you work for an insurance broker. Either way, you’re married, probably have been for a few years now…’

And her follow up article, ‘Love in the Time of Darwinism’:
http://www.city-journal.org/2008/18_4_darwinist_dating.html