4 ms·

‘How Do I Do That?’ The New Hires of 2023 Are Unprepared for Work

10 points by impish9208 3y ago

mydriasis 3y ago
https://archive.is/ORkht https://archive.is/ORkht > “So many young people spent two years in relative isolation and not doing a lot of group projects,” she said. This article is a bit... worrying. I'm wondering what the long-term consequences of all of this look like.
pwg 3y ago
First paragraph of TFA: > Roman Devengenzo was consulting for a robotics company in Silicon Valley last fall when he asked a newly minted mechanical engineer to design a small aluminum part that could be fabricated on a lathe—a skill normally mastered in the first or second year of college. Except.... Engineering classes in college don't teach "lathe-work". Lathe operating skills are a trade-craft and Mr. Devengenzo would have been rightly surprised that a machinist did not know how to operate a lathe. But college engineering classes are not going to teach a new mech. engineer how to operate a lathe.
- ThrowawayR2 3y ago
  The paragraph you quote says "...asked a ... mechanical engineer to design a small aluminum part..." which is well within the scope of the duties of a ME? No place in the text indicates that they were asked to operate a lathe themselves.
  - pwg 3y ago
    True, but the third paragraph includes this statement: > So Devengenzo, an engineer who has built technology for NASA and Google, and who charges consulting clients a minimum of $300 an hour, spent the next three hours teaching Lathework 101. Implying that they were teaching the mechanical engineer how to actually machine the part via a lathe.
    - Teever 3y ago
      Which is exactly where I would start if I had access to a lathe and was tasked with teaching someone who should know how to design a basic part that is meant to be machined on a lathe. Where would you start?
- tekla 3y ago
  My college made all Mech and adjacent engineers learn lathe and machining and basic welding Anyway designing a simple latheable part is not difficult
eesmith 3y ago
> “This stuff used to be taught in schools,” Neal said. “Now people have to be told not to bring their kids to work.” Odd. My schooling never taught me not to bring kids to work. And, as a kid I remember my Dad bringing me to his work back in the 1980s. > instill a work ethic That's what the olds always say about the youngs. That's why my Gen X cohort were called slackers. Here's some relevant quote mining from a 2009 book written in the pre-pandemic era (around https://archive.org/details/moralunderground00dods/page/32/mode/2up?q=%22work+ethic%22 https://archive.org/details/moralunderground00dods/page/32/m... ): ] When turning to complex problems facing workers and their families, however, the discussion was about "character," work ethic, and values, not a by-product of eroded wages and family instability that follows. ... ] Some employers took this tack further. A Denver employer saw work problems as reflecting overall character deficits, particularly in working mothers. "Their work ethic doesn't seem to be that high. It's like they don't expect to have to do as much [or they are lazy]." A Denver print shop supervisor suggested the job turnover experienced by low- wage mothers was unrelated to the constantly changing hours of work and child care crises. No, it was self-induced: "They have a lack of work ethic. So they make sure that they don't work out [on the job]." ... ] The lack-of- work-ethic cliche was widespread and provided a comfortable refrain for those employers who blamed workers, not wages, for problems associated with poverty. ... Bringing up work ethics seemed to shift the conversation into one where the details of pay and cost of living could be ignored because it became all about character. ] A retail store employer in Denver agreed. "I would say about them [entry-level employees] they don't have any discipline. . . . They don't follow up, they're not responsible." A Milwaukee cleaning service owner discussed the lack of "punctuality" that he saw as a reflection of low- wage parents' lack of a desire to work, as indicated by the fact that they were "jumping from job to job . . . they have fear of working and don't really want to work." Now that I'm quote mining, the complaint "The shortcomings run the gamut from general knowledge, including how to make change at a register" is also not new. From 1996, https://archive.org/details/observer1996nort_14/page/10/mode/2up?q=%22don%27t+know+how+to+make+change%22 https://archive.org/details/observer1996nort_14/page/10/mode... : ] “Some aspects of education are not as good as they were 40 or 50 years ago. Students know all about computers today, but don’t know how to make change for a dollar.” From The 1970s, https://archive.org/details/ERIC_ED121988/page/n33/mode/2up?q=%22don%27t+know+how+to+make+change%22 https://archive.org/details/ERIC_ED121988/page/n33/mode/2up?... ] It was very surprising to discover how many students really don't know how to make change
weard_beard 3y ago
A large part of this article is spent on service work which truly is dehumanizing and asinine in large part. Working with unmotivated do nothing coworkers can be frustrating, but with 20 years of perspective behind me I can truly say they were the enlightened ones. I don't get upset any more waiting 20 minutes for 3 cars to go through the drive through. I do a little standing ovation in my head for the workers going at a reasonable pace, drugged to withstand the humiliation, and I sit and wait for the unrecognized, unofficial, union slow down french fries I don't really need.
koromak 3y ago
If they're a good worker, then they'll learn. Quickly. Theres no reason any of these problems can't be overcome.
- euroderf 3y ago
  Didn't you get the memo ? On-the-job training is SO 20th century. Très outré. All bio-units are expected to be productive & profitable from Day One.

10 points by impish9208 3y ago

https://archive.is/ORkht https://archive.is/ORkht > “So many young people spent two years in relative isolation and not doing a lot of group projects,” she said. This article is a bit... worrying. I'm wondering what the long-term consequences of all of this look like.

pwg 3y ago

First paragraph of TFA: > Roman Devengenzo was consulting for a robotics company in Silicon Valley last fall when he asked a newly minted mechanical engineer to design a small aluminum part that could be fabricated on a lathe—a skill normally mastered in the first or second year of college. Except.... Engineering classes in college don't teach "lathe-work". Lathe operating skills are a trade-craft and Mr. Devengenzo would have been rightly surprised that a machinist did not know how to operate a lathe. But college engineering classes are not going to teach a new mech. engineer how to operate a lathe.

ThrowawayR2 3y ago
The paragraph you quote says "...asked a ... mechanical engineer to design a small aluminum part..." which is well within the scope of the duties of a ME? No place in the text indicates that they were asked to operate a lathe themselves.
- pwg 3y ago
  True, but the third paragraph includes this statement: > So Devengenzo, an engineer who has built technology for NASA and Google, and who charges consulting clients a minimum of $300 an hour, spent the next three hours teaching Lathework 101. Implying that they were teaching the mechanical engineer how to actually machine the part via a lathe.
  - Teever 3y ago
    Which is exactly where I would start if I had access to a lathe and was tasked with teaching someone who should know how to design a basic part that is meant to be machined on a lathe. Where would you start?
tekla 3y ago
My college made all Mech and adjacent engineers learn lathe and machining and basic welding Anyway designing a simple latheable part is not difficult

eesmith 3y ago

> “This stuff used to be taught in schools,” Neal said. “Now people have to be told not to bring their kids to work.” Odd. My schooling never taught me not to bring kids to work. And, as a kid I remember my Dad bringing me to his work back in the 1980s. > instill a work ethic That's what the olds always say about the youngs. That's why my Gen X cohort were called slackers. Here's some relevant quote mining from a 2009 book written in the pre-pandemic era (around https://archive.org/details/moralunderground00dods/page/32/mode/2up?q=%22work+ethic%22 https://archive.org/details/moralunderground00dods/page/32/m... ): ] When turning to complex problems facing workers and their families, however, the discussion was about "character," work ethic, and values, not a by-product of eroded wages and family instability that follows. ... ] Some employers took this tack further. A Denver employer saw work problems as reflecting overall character deficits, particularly in working mothers. "Their work ethic doesn't seem to be that high. It's like they don't expect to have to do as much [or they are lazy]." A Denver print shop supervisor suggested the job turnover experienced by low- wage mothers was unrelated to the constantly changing hours of work and child care crises. No, it was self-induced: "They have a lack of work ethic. So they make sure that they don't work out [on the job]." ... ] The lack-of- work-ethic cliche was widespread and provided a comfortable refrain for those employers who blamed workers, not wages, for problems associated with poverty. ... Bringing up work ethics seemed to shift the conversation into one where the details of pay and cost of living could be ignored because it became all about character. ] A retail store employer in Denver agreed. "I would say about them [entry-level employees] they don't have any discipline. . . . They don't follow up, they're not responsible." A Milwaukee cleaning service owner discussed the lack of "punctuality" that he saw as a reflection of low- wage parents' lack of a desire to work, as indicated by the fact that they were "jumping from job to job . . . they have fear of working and don't really want to work." Now that I'm quote mining, the complaint "The shortcomings run the gamut from general knowledge, including how to make change at a register" is also not new. From 1996, https://archive.org/details/observer1996nort_14/page/10/mode/2up?q=%22don%27t+know+how+to+make+change%22 https://archive.org/details/observer1996nort_14/page/10/mode... : ] “Some aspects of education are not as good as they were 40 or 50 years ago. Students know all about computers today, but don’t know how to make change for a dollar.” From The 1970s, https://archive.org/details/ERIC_ED121988/page/n33/mode/2up?q=%22don%27t+know+how+to+make+change%22 https://archive.org/details/ERIC_ED121988/page/n33/mode/2up?... ] It was very surprising to discover how many students really don't know how to make change

weard_beard 3y ago

A large part of this article is spent on service work which truly is dehumanizing and asinine in large part. Working with unmotivated do nothing coworkers can be frustrating, but with 20 years of perspective behind me I can truly say they were the enlightened ones. I don't get upset any more waiting 20 minutes for 3 cars to go through the drive through. I do a little standing ovation in my head for the workers going at a reasonable pace, drugged to withstand the humiliation, and I sit and wait for the unrecognized, unofficial, union slow down french fries I don't really need.

koromak 3y ago

If they're a good worker, then they'll learn. Quickly. Theres no reason any of these problems can't be overcome.

euroderf 3y ago
Didn't you get the memo ? On-the-job training is SO 20th century. Très outré. All bio-units are expected to be productive & profitable from Day One.