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> Millennials are the most educated generation in history. Yet there are record numbers of them working off student debts as waiters and bartenders, and supplem

> Millennials are the most educated generation in history. Yet there are record numbers of them working off student debts as waiters and bartenders, and supplementing their income on the side with ‘gigs’ (like being an Uber driver) We're the most educated in history, but many people decided to use that education to learn topics that aren't lucrative/in demand. Personal responsibility plays in a ton here, and some people made bad decisions. It's still simple/easy to get a good education at a state school, entirely paid for by loans, and come out with a degree that will allow you to pay those loans back in a few years. People who plan accordingly benefit in a HUGE way from the availability/accessibility of student loans, the barrier to entry is that much lower. As far as SS goes, I'd be happy to see it fail but I'm also happy to keep paying into it without a guarantee of return in order to ensure my parents generation doesn't find themselves destitute. There are so many ways to plan for your future, having the government come in and force you to participate in SS is far from ideal. Not sure how my fellow Millennials feel about that, though...

wocka 9y ago
>Personal responsibility plays in a ton here Except everyone is constantly told they need to go to college by authority figures as they go through the education system. There's also responsibility that falls on employers demanding college degrees for jobs that in no way need them, e.g., secretary.
johnchristopher 9y ago
What's SS ?
- cozzyd 9y ago
  social security
- golem14 9y ago
  Social Security ?
- sangnoir 9y ago
  Social Security
michaelchisari 9y ago
Law degrees used to be in demand. Then everyone went to law school. Now it's not in demand, because there are too many people with law degrees. Now you have people with massive law school debt making peanuts and all fighting for very limited amount of positions. If everyone studied computer science, every single one of our salaries (save for maybe the top 5% of us, in terms of skills and experience) would drop significantly. I know the absurd stereotype is that millennials are going to college and studying feminist underwater basket weaving, but there are many, many students who are chasing the "hot" new fields, only to find that they weren't the only ones who had that brilliant idea at 18 years old.
- Karrot_Kream 9y ago
  Many of my childhood friends did that with Biotech. When I was growing up, Biotech was The Hot Thing (TM), and it was going to change the world. Now the ones that didn't like it enough to pursue a Masters/PhD in it are struggling to make ends meet with a cocktail of multiple jobs. The happiest ones mostly ended up leaving to lower cost-of-living parts of the US where it's easier to find lower-middle-class employment. P.S. Most of my friends grew up in families around the poverty line, so that'll affect my story.
jpapon 9y ago
> As far as SS goes, I'd be happy to see it fail I wouldn't. If SS fails, there will be riots, if not armed uprisings in the streets.
jfaat 9y ago
So you call a millennial getting a degree not ‘personally responsible’? Disclaimer: anecdotes ahead, but I know many, many millennials who grew up hearing ‘Just get a college degree and you’ll be in good shape’ who did and aren’t, respectively. Not everyone is geared toward being an engineer or mathematician or scientist. For those who aren’t, and followed the resounding conventional wisdom to get a degree, largely got screwed. Full stop. Personal responsibility would hold water in a world where millennials gave up on the system and got screwed. This isn’t that world.
- prepend 9y ago
  “Just get a college degree” means they weren’t listening closely. I heard to get a marketable degree. I have friends with English degrees with no student loans that are happy. I have friends with English degrees with $150k in debt, not happy.
- 111_1_111 9y ago
  Depends what degree they get. If you're pursuing a degree in English, Art History, Political Science, Women's Studies, etc without a clear plan for a career after your degree, that is irresponsible. > I know many, many millennials who grew up hearing ‘Just get a college degree and you’ll be in good shape’ who did and aren’t, respectively. Getting a useless degree because other people told you to and then blaming it on society seems like the very definition of not being personally responsible.
- SheepSlapper 9y ago
  It depends on the degree. I'm a Millennial and got my CS degree for $15k, which was a smart investment (and make no mistakes, degrees ARE investments). At the same time I have a friend who is going into a few hundred thousand dollars worth of debt to get a PHD in History. That's not a good investment, when you look at time + money vs return. "Just get a degree" is bad advice. I know electricians that make more money than me, and work shorter hours. "Get a skill" is good advice, and college is only one way of doing that. But you can't dismiss personal responsibility when it comes to decision making, both good and bad.
  - 9y ago
noobermin 9y ago
>We're the most educated in history, but many people decided to use that education to learn topics that aren't lucrative/in demand, People keep saying this as if it's true without citing anything regarding it. Is there any hard evidence this is true?
Density 9y ago
STEM grads are only mildly better off. Turns out the sem parts of stem haven't experienced the same jobs boom: https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/11/01/education/edlife/stem-jobs-industry-careers.html?_r=0 https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/11/01/education/edlife/stem-...

wocka 9y ago

>Personal responsibility plays in a ton here Except everyone is constantly told they need to go to college by authority figures as they go through the education system. There's also responsibility that falls on employers demanding college degrees for jobs that in no way need them, e.g., secretary.

johnchristopher 9y ago

What's SS ?

cozzyd 9y ago
social security
golem14 9y ago
Social Security ?
sangnoir 9y ago
Social Security

michaelchisari 9y ago

Law degrees used to be in demand. Then everyone went to law school. Now it's not in demand, because there are too many people with law degrees. Now you have people with massive law school debt making peanuts and all fighting for very limited amount of positions. If everyone studied computer science, every single one of our salaries (save for maybe the top 5% of us, in terms of skills and experience) would drop significantly. I know the absurd stereotype is that millennials are going to college and studying feminist underwater basket weaving, but there are many, many students who are chasing the "hot" new fields, only to find that they weren't the only ones who had that brilliant idea at 18 years old.

Karrot_Kream 9y ago
Many of my childhood friends did that with Biotech. When I was growing up, Biotech was The Hot Thing (TM), and it was going to change the world. Now the ones that didn't like it enough to pursue a Masters/PhD in it are struggling to make ends meet with a cocktail of multiple jobs. The happiest ones mostly ended up leaving to lower cost-of-living parts of the US where it's easier to find lower-middle-class employment. P.S. Most of my friends grew up in families around the poverty line, so that'll affect my story.

jpapon 9y ago

> As far as SS goes, I'd be happy to see it fail I wouldn't. If SS fails, there will be riots, if not armed uprisings in the streets.

jfaat 9y ago

So you call a millennial getting a degree not ‘personally responsible’? Disclaimer: anecdotes ahead, but I know many, many millennials who grew up hearing ‘Just get a college degree and you’ll be in good shape’ who did and aren’t, respectively. Not everyone is geared toward being an engineer or mathematician or scientist. For those who aren’t, and followed the resounding conventional wisdom to get a degree, largely got screwed. Full stop. Personal responsibility would hold water in a world where millennials gave up on the system and got screwed. This isn’t that world.

prepend 9y ago
“Just get a college degree” means they weren’t listening closely. I heard to get a marketable degree. I have friends with English degrees with no student loans that are happy. I have friends with English degrees with $150k in debt, not happy.
111_1_111 9y ago
Depends what degree they get. If you're pursuing a degree in English, Art History, Political Science, Women's Studies, etc without a clear plan for a career after your degree, that is irresponsible. > I know many, many millennials who grew up hearing ‘Just get a college degree and you’ll be in good shape’ who did and aren’t, respectively. Getting a useless degree because other people told you to and then blaming it on society seems like the very definition of not being personally responsible.
SheepSlapper 9y ago
It depends on the degree. I'm a Millennial and got my CS degree for $15k, which was a smart investment (and make no mistakes, degrees ARE investments). At the same time I have a friend who is going into a few hundred thousand dollars worth of debt to get a PHD in History. That's not a good investment, when you look at time + money vs return. "Just get a degree" is bad advice. I know electricians that make more money than me, and work shorter hours. "Get a skill" is good advice, and college is only one way of doing that. But you can't dismiss personal responsibility when it comes to decision making, both good and bad.
- 9y ago

noobermin 9y ago

>We're the most educated in history, but many people decided to use that education to learn topics that aren't lucrative/in demand, People keep saying this as if it's true without citing anything regarding it. Is there any hard evidence this is true?

Density 9y ago

STEM grads are only mildly better off. Turns out the sem parts of stem haven't experienced the same jobs boom: https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/11/01/education/edlife/stem-jobs-industry-careers.html?_r=0 https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/11/01/education/edlife/stem-...