My ex step-son was attacked by gang members in high school in LA and was diagnosed with mild brain damage. All of the doctors said he could lead a normal life but never have the ability to at excel at much. I turned him on to computers and had him work with a number of specialists and though he got a late start, he applied to the Naval Academy and was accepted. We worked harder than any of the younger plebes in his class and finished at the top of his class. Was accepted in to the flight program and is currently on the fast track to be an officer. His commanding officer said he is the most naturally born pilot he has ever seen. My old girl friend in high school called me one day about 13 years ago and told me her son was given a choice in court to either enlist or go to jail. His father was a career criminal. He and I talked and he enlisted into the Navy. I directed him to take as many classes and get as much education as he possibly could. I told him to only take take classes that interested him and never give up. He became a sponge. He served in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan. He is now on special duty in Florida and was asked recently to join the Secret Service. Everyone wrote him off as incorrigible except his mother and I. He calls me Pops and tells me I saved his life. All I did was care. That is all most kids want is just to have someone show them that someone cares what they want. I have two daughters and the support I gave them never faltered. We have the responsibility to see that our children have the best shot at succeeding at whatever THEY choose to apply themselves toward. In my home, failure is not an option. If they would have chosen to be garbage workers, what mattered was they applied themselves, tried and were the best based on their abilities. I supported them, whole heartedly in their choices and that is what is truly important. One works for the government as a private contractor and the other is an internet marketing developer. IMHO - Part of the problem today is that most parents push the responsibility of education and support on to the educational system instead of taking on the responsibility themselves. It is a partnership and just like any good partnership if one partner doesn't do their job the whole process falls apart.
I think like you ProfLogic. Instead of expressing empathy or sympathy towards the struggles of people my age (like the reality of there being less opportunities now-a-days and debt traps), I see people my age falling behind as less competition. Some people would be concern about the future of the USA, but I just see it as less competition for me. I know for sure no one cares about my struggles. I can only hope to be one of the survivors in this weeding out environment. I can only hope and wish to become as cold and rich as you one day. Is that healthy?
In my opinion all forms of schooling dont matter if you are unable to sell yourself. I would reccomend anyone who is in school try to find some sort of job in sales while attending university, so that they learn the ins and outs of dealing with the public. I have met or been close friends with alot of people who got insanely high marks in university, but had no common sense knowledge, and no people skills whatsoever, and none of them ended up very succesful to this point. If you look at alot of these people who are struggling to make it after obtaining a degree with honors it most likely has to do with people skills. Who is going to hire someone with no social skills? The most valuable thing you can learn in life is not something you will learn in a textbook, it is learning how to sell yourself. Life has as much if not more to do with the people you make connections with than general knowledge in my opinion. I apporeciate the connections i have made just as much as i do my general knowledge of the market, and the fact of the matter is that alot of my knowledge has come from my connections (which i made myself) so there is a second side to the whole equation which has very little to do with my original knowledge. The few times i have went in for job interviews i have had very little trouble getting the job i want, and that is solely based on a sales background. If you go in with a nice suit and are well spoken you will get the job atleast 7 times out of ten over a guy who is more qualified than you but unable to talk with employers.
Now how does he scale? Has he peaked at 6 figs? Seems like a lot of work to still be middle class and under the thumb of an oppressive tax regime. Nice accomplishments though. But we could say the same thing for a lotto winner who manages to not lose it all or end up with a terrible life.
Well, you have a good point here. Maybe that is something they should be teaching in school: role playing selling yourself. It will work in some situations. But it does not work to get into a top law firm. You either have the grades and the right alma mater, or you don't. You cannot sweet talk your way into those types of positions. Maybe much of school is a losing game and we just don't want to admit it. Certainly there are lots of 20-somethings with degrees that have provided them zero benefit. Why is the middle/upper middle/upper class in America so fixated on college? There are other ways to make it in life. No, they are not easy--is anything?? I feel sorry for all these non-academically oriented kids being pushed into square holes. I have an undergraduate and two graduate degrees, all of which have been very useful in earning a living. HOWEVER, before I got any of them, I did some research to make sure I would be able to find a job or profession at the end of the road. I did not ever assume that just because I had a degree, some imaginary door was going to open to me.
The real story here is first we lost mfg., but that's ok because we will be service sector, now we lost those too. We can't compete with Chindian wages period, whether its making Ipads, doing taxes, or common legal work.
He hasn't peaked. He's been asked to teach at Stanford. He wants to be a judge. He has a budding music career. He has the world by the gonads.