>IT has been requiring a 4 year degree (or equivalent experience) plus two years worth of work experience since the 1980's when I started my career. This is no

>IT has been requiring a 4 year degree (or equivalent experience) plus two years worth of work experience since the 1980's when I started my career. This is not true. Associates degrees in IT that lead directly into jobs were common when I was in high school in the 2000s. Even as late as 2019, I knew people working entry-level positions that were working towards their associates degrees. Around 2015, I knew someone who was hired and essentially paid to study for their A+ and Network+ certificates. These people may have been somewhat lucky, then, but it's impossible today. >In 1987 I bought a condo for $55K at 7.5% interest and thought I got a steal because I was buying for cheaper than rent. I just looked up on Zillow and that property today is $163,200. That represents an average annual percentage increase of 5.46%. According to Google, IT salaries have increased an average of 3.8% per year every year since 1987. n=1. Median home prices were $100k in 1987 and peaked at 5x that in 2022.[1] Currently sitting at 4x. So, on balance, the situation is substantially worse. >But that needs to be tempered against interest rates being so much lower now than they were during the 80's and 90's. You might want to check interest rates YTD.[2] I agree on colleges. I would also look at food. The cost of eggs has about tripled since 1987.[3] Income has not. I am being critical about this because it seems that you're one of my many seniors who don't understand the magnitude of the hardship young people face today, compared to what older Americans contended with. I hope that this helps you to understand. [1] https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MSPUS https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MSPUS [2] https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/30-year-mortgage-rate https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/30-year-mortgage-... [3] https://www.usinflationcalculator.com/inflation/egg-prices-adjusted-for-inflation/ https://www.usinflationcalculator.com/inflation/egg-prices-a...