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The world needs ditchdiggers too.

Mrstupid7: Count me in on that. 24 and have been searching for a job for about 4 months now. Almost all the people I call to follow up on my resume give me a curt "We're still reviewing resumes, bye." I love slaving over a hot grill and living at my fiancee's parents' house to pay for bills and my financial aid, which can't be consolidated now because they've been overwhelmed with consolidation requests.

I've got a friend who is fresh out of college with a specialized degree in law enforcement and has been trying to get into the state police. He passed the exams in several local locations, the last time with the 4th highest score...

and was passed over every time.

I'm working at a white collar firm as a "summer intern" making less than decent money on an hourly wage, with no provided healthcare (using leftover COBRA from a sales job which I was laid off), with the presumed assumption that I will be leaving "sometime in the fall" (was not given a firm "end date") because I mentioned to my reference inside the company that I was maybe looking into grad school due to the economy. Additional uncertainty due to the CEO's mandated hiring freeze. I generally like the place that I work. I consider myself lucky.

At the moment, I'm working my ass off to try to prove my worth so I might get hired on as full-time, but I'm expecting sour grapes.

/24
//When push comes to shove this fall, I know I'm going to be shoving off.

Conservationist: El Chode: Farkin A Bubba: Yeah, except for the 24 / 7 worrying about those under 25 that we care about...

The Baby Boomers were the generation that wanted everything to be given to them for free, and now they're the ones that want to keep everything for themselves.

They're the ones who helped create our modern American "culture" and then so it was never surpassed, they're the ones who restrict it today as the heads of entertainment companies. That way they will always be known as the "greatest" and will keep the rest of us seeking their approval.

They're the ones who were able to succeed based solely on their free education, and now they are the ones who have created a market place where it costs most people to go into hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt just to be competitive in the marketplace. Low-income jobs that would provide on-the-job training now require individuals to pay for 2 years of training at a "school" with no accreditation just to become a glorified secretary.

They're the ones who wanted the government to back off and butt out, and now they're the ones passing laws monitoring what we do in our cars, what we put in our bodies, and what we can watch and listen to - even what words we can and cannot say.

I cannot wait until they all die off.

/26

And they're just about all liberals.

I don't know man, Bush is one of them, elected by them, and either way they've taxed the ever living shiat out of the younger generations.

The only reason that a lot of young folk live at home is because half their money goes to supporting their 30 prescriptions, full pensions, and the lot of them that decided social security was a retirement program.

Now they're just cranky because how dare they be criticized, we owe them for stuff and whatnot.

GonadtheBarbarian: I find it funny...the steel mill I work at had a big hiring spree 3 years ago...the average age of the new hires ended up being 50. You little boys and girls are too good to get dirty for an 80k a year job with insane benefits, a real pension(not a 401k that you all think you'll be retiring on), tons of holidays, etc. So keep on whining, and wait for your big office job



/33
//get off my big-ass farkin' lawn

Maybe they just liked hiring people with experience.

JK_Huysmans: Mrstupid7: Count me in on that. 24 and have been searching for a job for about 4 months now. Almost all the people I call to follow up on my resume give me a curt "We're still reviewing resumes, bye." I love slaving over a hot grill and living at my fiancee's parents' house to pay for bills and my financial aid, which can't be consolidated now because they've been overwhelmed with consolidation requests.

I've got a friend who is fresh out of college with a specialized degree in law enforcement and has been trying to get into the state police. He passed the exams in several local locations, the last time with the 4th highest score...

and was passed over every time.

I'm working at a white collar firm as a "summer intern" making less than decent money on an hourly wage, with no provided healthcare (using leftover COBRA from a sales job which I was laid off), with the presumed assumption that I will be leaving "sometime in the fall" (was not given a firm "end date") because I mentioned to my reference inside the company that I was maybe looking into grad school due to the economy. Additional uncertainty due to the CEO's mandated hiring freeze. I generally like the place that I work. I consider myself lucky.

At the moment, I'm working my ass off to try to prove my worth so I might get hired on as full-time, but I'm expecting sour grapes.

/24
//When push comes to shove this fall, I know I'm going to be shoving off.

Be glad you got that internship. Now the paid internships that I've applied to have their pick of the insanely large litter.

No...from talking with the nurses at the dispensary there, there were few young people applying, and the ones that did couldn't stop taking drugs long enough to get a job. I didn't know shiat about working in a mill. I was a tool and die maker for 10 years.

You Generation-Y'ers needs to stop having panic attacks and go get another tattoo or nipple piercing. Generation-X is quietly infiltrating the corporate and government power structures.

Very soon you will be able to smoke pot legally and wear jeans at work without being hassled. Please be patient.

When we gain control, all we ask is that you please show up to work on time and for fark's sake do not allow your parents call us if you get passed up for a promotion. Because if you do ... we will send them a link to your blog.

-Cheers

Hey DaShredda, you're a farking hater. Intelligent people who are independently minded still exist in the world. Don't think we're all mindless drones. Just because someone has a job and owns a home doesn't make them a cow or a slave.

GonadtheBarbarian: No...from talking with the nurses at the dispensary there, there were few young people applying, and the ones that did couldn't stop taking drugs long enough to get a job. I didn't know shiat about working in a mill. I was a tool and die maker for 10 years.

This was also three years ago. The times are *slightly* different.

niknatas: You Generation-Y'ers needs to stop having panic attacks and go get another tattoo or nipple piercing. Generation-X is quietly infiltrating the corporate and government power structures.

Very soon you will be able to smoke pot legally and wear jeans at work without being hassled. Please be patient.

When we gain control, all we ask is that you please show up to work on time and for fark's sake do not allow your parents call us if you get passed up for a promotion. Because if you do ... we will send them a link to your blog.

-Cheers

I already have generation Xers telling me what to do at my job and they are farking biatches. If they aren't paid to do something, they won't do it. Worst work ethic I've ever seen at any job.

DaShredda: Your home is a weight that keeps you working a job you hate a place to live in.

FTFY.

HAHA!

No way young suckers!

Now go get me my FRIES!

I'll need them when I'm done with my day-long, everyday romp of fun activities.

Mrstupid7: GonadtheBarbarian: No...from talking with the nurses at the dispensary there, there were few young people applying, and the ones that did couldn't stop taking drugs long enough to get a job. I didn't know shiat about working in a mill. I was a tool and die maker for 10 years.

This was also three years ago. The times are *slightly* different.

Well, I'm not so sure that matters in this case. The company is dumping over a billion dollars into that plant between now and 2011. With 1100 employees, and about 400 eligible to retire right now, with another 200 coming up...who's gonna run the place? My guess? Another crop of 40-50 year olds.

El Chode: Farkin A Bubba: Yeah, except for the 24 / 7 worrying about those under 25 that we care about...

The Baby Boomers were the generation that wanted everything to be given to them for free, and now they're the ones that want to keep everything for themselves.

They're the ones who helped create our modern American "culture" and then so it was never surpassed, they're the ones who restrict it today as the heads of entertainment companies. That way they will always be known as the "greatest" and will keep the rest of us seeking their approval.

They're the ones who were able to succeed based solely on their free education, and now they are the ones who have created a market place where it costs most people to go into hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt just to be competitive in the marketplace. Low-income jobs that would provide on-the-job training now require individuals to pay for 2 years of training at a "school" with no accreditation just to become a glorified secretary.

They're the ones who wanted the government to back off and butt out, and now they're the ones passing laws monitoring what we do in our cars, what we put in our bodies, and what we can watch and listen to - even what words we can and cannot say.

I cannot wait until they all die off.

/26

WAHHH!!!! WAHHHHH!

Little crybaby!

Don't you have some homework to do or something up in your room?

...oh, and your music SUCKS too!

Hertzfeld: But I might add that the sense of entitlement does exist among our forebears, especially when it comes to ye olde office job. Even if we're motivated enough, it's tough to get one up on that fat-arse blob in the office who sucks up to the boss and continually reminds cohorts of how integral her - or his - work is to the company.

/28
//Venting, enjoyed it.

I work in a company that nobody works in for long. We've got one guy who's been here 25 years, one guy 15, and everybody else is 10 or less. Despite having no real long term prospects at this company, turnover has it's benefits.

Mrstupid7:
Man, that must be why I cannot find a job. I didn't know that I was secretly lazy.

Quit taking a general statement so personally, man. But you do prove my point a little. You have a job, and I suspect that you don't plan on getting fired from it for showing up late and hungover too frequently. It's not the most fun you could be having right now, but in a few years, your references will be worth it. You and I are still in the minority in my experience.

Smartassshanna: Please don't give up on the gen Y just yet. There are a select few that have decent parents that raised them with respect and knowledge that money doesn't grow on trees.

and please realize that we get sick and tired of being lumped in with the assholes who are lazy and disrespectful.

Please for the everloving Christ someone listen to this man. Stop reading the damn troll articles written by fogies entitled "Gen Y Are Impossible to Employ 'cause They Are Losers."

AmazingRuss: It'll be a few years until they're all busted, but I can wait. Meanwhile, watching the smug turn to horror and desperation is amusing.

Fear not younglings, your day is coming. Don't let them bullshiat you into signing your life away.

You sir made my day. Can you make it come any faster?

GonadtheBarbarian: the steel mill I work at had a big hiring spree 3 years ago

Do you work at steel mills on Great Lakes or the East Coast? From the info I can find, most the mills on LMichigan are running at less than half capacity and are desperately trying not to lay off skilled workers that will be difficult to replace.

That hiring binge will work out real well when the mills finally have to lay people off... for those already laid off.

omris: It's not the most fun you could be having right now, but in a few years, your references will be worth it. You and I are still in the minority in my experience.

It's not that I don't care about references and networking... I do, I'm just hitching my wagon to the various socialist and revolutionary movements throughout the country, not my company which will be going bankrupt and unavailable to provide references anyway.

JK_Huysmans: Smartassshanna: Please don't give up on the gen Y just yet. There are a select few that have decent parents that raised them with respect and knowledge that money doesn't grow on trees.

and please realize that we get sick and tired of being lumped in with the assholes who are lazy and disrespectful.

Please for the everloving Christ someone listen to this man. Stop reading the damn troll articles written by fogies entitled "Gen Y Are Impossible to Employ 'cause They Are Losers."

AmazingRuss: It'll be a few years until they're all busted, but I can wait. Meanwhile, watching the smug turn to horror and desperation is amusing.

Fear not younglings, your day is coming. Don't let them bullshiat you into signing your life away.

You sir made my day. Can you make it come any faster?

GonadtheBarbarian: the steel mill I work at had a big hiring spree 3 years ago

Do you work at steel mills on Great Lakes or the East Coast? From the info I can find, most the mills on LMichigan are running at less than half capacity and are desperately trying not to lay off skilled workers that will be difficult to replace.

That hiring binge will work out real well when the mills finally have to lay people off... for those already laid off.


Well, I'm not a masters degree holding farker, but my feeble mind tells me that if a company is investing 1 BILLION dollars in a strip mill, they fully intend to make some farkin money from it. Although I will say my company doesn't make carbon steel, we're more stainless and exotic alloys.

valencia: If they aren't paid to do something, they won't do it.

Huh? Work ethics apply to a job, a job implies pay. Can you clarify this?

People doing unpaid work benefits the employer while harming the fellow worker as it trains both parties that the work they do is not valued. If I can get you to do work for free then why would I hire people to do it, or pay you to do it?

omris: Mrstupid7:
Man, that must be why I cannot find a job. I didn't know that I was secretly lazy.

Quit taking a general statement so personally, man. But you do prove my point a little. You have a job, and I suspect that you don't plan on getting fired from it for showing up late and hungover too frequently. It's not the most fun you could be having right now, but in a few years, your references will be worth it. You and I are still in the minority in my experience.

Sorry, but I'm a bit sore from being glossed over so easily EVERY farkING DAY. It's just so frustrating to have people treat you like trash because you're not in your thirties and have ten years of experience. I actually had a person laugh at me over the phone because I only had two years of experience in an independent studies class with a GC/MS instrument. She told me it didn't count because I was in school even though I was setting up the parameters myself.

Good, cheap entertainment this is.

GonadtheBarbarian: Although I will say my company doesn't make carbon steel, we're more stainless and exotic alloys.

Well, there you go. From what I can tell, the mills around here in Indiana/Michigan sell mostly to major auto manufacturers.

That's going well, let me assure you.

They had a hiring spree in the timeframe you mentioned, back when steel was over $100/ton.

DaShredda, I agree that owning a home does not 'make you'. I 'owned' a crushing mortgage and recently sold my McMansion for a loss. I feel strangely free now that I am renting.

But if your job sucks, you need to stop being a little biatch and find another one. If you are motivated it is still possible to find work in this festering economy. There is always work for those willing to work.

-Cheers

valencia: niknatas: You Generation-Y'ers needs to stop having panic attacks and go get another tattoo or nipple piercing. Generation-X is quietly infiltrating the corporate and government power structures.

Very soon you will be able to smoke pot legally and wear jeans at work without being hassled. Please be patient.

When we gain control, all we ask is that you please show up to work on time and for fark's sake do not allow your parents call us if you get passed up for a promotion. Because if you do ... we will send them a link to your blog.

-Cheers

I already have generation Xers telling me what to do at my job and they are farking biatches. If they aren't paid to do something, they won't do it. Worst work ethic I've ever seen at any job.

*GASP*

You...you mean they don't work for free? What selfish assholes.

Ever think maybe it's worth insisting you get paid for what you do at work?

In other words, relax. Things will get better because we will make it better.


/31

FTFA: "under-25s are the least likely to be in a satisfying relationship or to have a nice home of their own."

Um... and? Is this supposed to be a surprise? How many people under 25 should own a home? As for the satisfying relationship, I think they've got time to work on that. Are people supposed to have hit every life goal before the age of 25? Pace yourselves, for fark's sake. So sorry that employers aren't handing out $100,000 a year jobs to recent college grads anymore. Poor kids.

Having said that, I don't know that many people over 55 who are "having the tiime of their lives." Most of them are sick and/or stuck in low-paid jobs. Many of them are divorced multiple times. At least one I know is taking antidepressants. So, life is not particularly jolly for older people, either.

Bismi-llāhi ar-raḥmāni ar-raḥīmi, and His Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him and his Household: I am most fortunate to have college students to clean my toilet and wash my clothes. Who else would work as cheap?

JK_Huysmans: GonadtheBarbarian: Although I will say my company doesn't make carbon steel, we're more stainless and exotic alloys.

Well, there you go. From what I can tell, the mills around here in Indiana/Michigan sell mostly to major auto manufacturers.

That's going well, let me assure you.

They had a hiring spree in the timeframe you mentioned, back when steel was over $100/ton.

My point is, there are good jobs out there in manufacturing. But people now think they have to have a title or something. It's like they feel that manual labor is beneath them. What about construction trades? I think the going rate here now for a steamfitter is 31 bucks an hour. Generations of men an women supported their families with these jobs, now they have to hire Mexicans and eastern Europeans to do the job. Can't find work as a biomedicalnurseitbusinessmanagerliberalarts guy? Pick up the phone and call your local trade union halls, if you're not afraid to get your little girly fingers dirty for a decent buck.

Excuse me while I wait to register for the MJ memorial in L.A. to make a quick buck. I'm sure I won't be first in line. Joe Jackson will be there scalping with me as well !

niknatas: DaShredda, I agree that owning a home does not 'make you'. I 'owned' a crushing mortgage and recently sold my McMansion for a loss. I feel strangely free now that I am renting.

But if your job sucks, you need to stop being a little biatch and find another one. If you are motivated it is still possible to find work in this festering economy. There is always work for those willing to work.

-Cheers

Yeah, we're only losing 400,000 jobs a month now. Suck it up, losers.

niknatas: Very soon you will be able to smoke pot legally and wear jeans at work without being hassled. Please be patient.

I can has?

Mrstupid7:
Sorry, but I'm a bit sore from being glossed over so easily EVERY farkING DAY. It's just so frustrating to have people treat you like trash because you're not in your thirties and have ten years of experience. I actually had a person laugh at me over the phone because I only had two years of experience in an independent studies class with a GC/MS instrument. She told me it didn't count because I was in school even though I was setting up the parameters myself.

It sucks, but it's true. I was also miffed when I got my first real job in my field that the fact that I worked doing PCR for the summer for four years didn't count because it happened before my degree was awarded. So I started in the "no experience" salary bracket. Lame. I got there and found out that I knew more going in than the two people who had been there for 45 years combined. But I worked my ass off, did a good job, and when I had a major falling out with my dickface boss and quit, I had people I had worked with calling to offer me jobs.

Science is particularly rough in terms of the experience thing, mostly because no class can prepare you for the skill set you need to do well in science. You're basically learning your job from the ground up whenever you change jobs, because everyone does it THEIR way. But stress that you're adaptable, learn fast, etc. and take whatever comes along. The good thing is science is pretty easy to network and build a place for yourself.

Also, $200 million dollars of stimulus grant money is coming out in September, so expect the number of job offers for entry stuff to spike. I have a proposal in myself, so wish me luck. Want to move to Providence and run western blots until your eyes bleed?

valencia: I already have generation Xers telling me what to do at my job and they are farking biatches. If they aren't paid to do something, they won't do it. Worst work ethic I've ever seen at any job.

I got a temporary promotion at one job, because all the supervisors and project managers had to go to a conference. I discovered, along with my 4 fellow temps, that the project had not been loaded that morning, when we came in, meaning there was no work for anyone in the office. I, of the 5 of us, figured out what the problem was, located the one person in the office who had access to the systems to fix it, and got everyone working by 10:30 so the day wasn't a wash.

My reward? I got biatched out by the project manager when they got back for overstepping my bounds (it was her job, by the by, to load the project before she left).

Another job, call centre work but it paid the bills. If you underperformed on your metrics, you got a chat with your supervisor. If you OVER performed, you got looked at by your supervisor, the project manager, and security, to try and figure out how you were cheating the system. It was literally safer for your long-term career with the company to underperform slightly at all times, because performing beyond expectations was punished more harshly than underperformance.

Add jobs I've had where I couldn't clean up a mess because the union-based maintenance staff saw it as me taking their jobs away, jobs where speaking up and trying to make improvements gets you labelled as a "troublemaker" for daring to question the boss' decisions, and jobs where your tasks are rigidly defined to the very minute, and yeah, it's no farking surprise that Gen X and Gen Y do exactly what you pay us for and no more.

Because we will be farking punished if we exceed expectations. That is the message that has been pummeled into most of our heads. They don't want intelligent, exceptional employees. They want replaceable cogs they can interchange freely. For the most part, anyway.

El Chode: Farkin A Bubba: Yeah, except for the 24 / 7 worrying about those under 25 that we care about...

The Baby Boomers were the generation that wanted everything to be given to them for free, and now they're the ones that want to keep everything for themselves.

They're the ones who helped create our modern American "culture" and then so it was never surpassed, they're the ones who restrict it today as the heads of entertainment companies. That way they will always be known as the "greatest" and will keep the rest of us seeking their approval.

They're the ones who were able to succeed based solely on their free education, and now they are the ones who have created a market place where it costs most people to go into hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt just to be competitive in the marketplace. Low-income jobs that would provide on-the-job training now require individuals to pay for 2 years of training at a "school" with no accreditation just to become a glorified secretary.

They're the ones who wanted the government to back off and butt out, and now they're the ones passing laws monitoring what we do in our cars, what we put in our bodies, and what we can watch and listen to - even what words we can and cannot say.

I cannot wait until they all die off.

/26

What a load of crap.

This generation already has nearly unlimited freedom afforded by a permissive culture, the telecommunications revolution and a safety net of helicopter parents.

But is isn't enough. You bite the hands that fed you when they ask that you start feeding yourself.

What we have here is a revolution of rising expectations. Too bad that this is all there is.

/45
//You'll get over it, 26

Farkin A Bubba: El Chode: Farkin A Bubba: Yeah, except for the 24 / 7 worrying about those under 25 that we care about...

The Baby Boomers were the generation that wanted everything to be given to them for free, and now they're the ones that want to keep everything for themselves.

They're the ones who helped create our modern American "culture" and then so it was never surpassed, they're the ones who restrict it today as the heads of entertainment companies. That way they will always be known as the "greatest" and will keep the rest of us seeking their approval.

They're the ones who were able to succeed based solely on their free education, and now they are the ones who have created a market place where it costs most people to go into hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt just to be competitive in the marketplace. Low-income jobs that would provide on-the-job training now require individuals to pay for 2 years of training at a "school" with no accreditation just to become a glorified secretary.

They're the ones who wanted the government to back off and butt out, and now they're the ones passing laws monitoring what we do in our cars, what we put in our bodies, and what we can watch and listen to - even what words we can and cannot say.

I cannot wait until they all die off.

/26

What a load of crap.

This generation already has nearly unlimited freedom afforded by a permissive culture, the telecommunications revolution and a safety net of helicopter parents.

But is isn't enough. You bite the hands that fed you when they ask that you start feeding yourself.

What we have here is a revolution of rising expectations. Too bad that this is all there is.

/45
//You'll get over it, 26

Yeah, being able to get a job in a non-service industry was a horribly high expectation.

Xenolith: LordZorch: Look, I didn't make them get a degree in art history, OK? Just mow my farking lawn and fetch me a bag of cheeseburgers...

Scarily enough, it doesn't matter what degree you graduate with right now. I know quite a few reputable civil and industrial engineering graduates who still haven't found full-time jobs since last spring.

Even worse, those graduates that do find jobs are replacing experienced, middle-aged engineers so that firms don't have to pay for pensions.

/fark this shiat, I'm hiking to the wilderness and never coming back

Pretty much. As someone said earlier, it's not that there's no personal responsibility left in the young generation, it's that a lot of us realize that the whole system is, well, a scam.

So, all you hard-working, ass-kissing 20-somethings - have fun getting laid off in your 40s so the company's stock can go up 1%!

I quit my "secure" office job last year during a moment of clarity. Now I just work freelance. With the gaps between projects from clients I make a little less money overall, true - but the benefits and the lifestyle more than make up for it. I'd happily work the counter at McDonald's for the rest of my life before my name goes back on "payroll" in the white-collar world.

The best part is when someone (usually a boomer, fwiw) condescendingly asks me when I'm "going to get a real job"...

GonadtheBarbarian:

No kidding. I'm in the wrong field. I make about $20 an hour, although salaried, and I do (no, I'm not joking) brain surgery. IN a research context... but STILL.

LaChanz: Enjoy living in your grass house with your coconut computer.

LaChanz won it in 4.

Brainsick:
I already have generation Xers telling me what to do at my job and they are farking biatches. If they aren't paid to do something, they won't do it. Worst work ethic I've ever seen at any job.

*GASP*

You...you mean they don't work for free? What selfish assholes.

Ever think maybe it's worth insisting you get paid for what you do at work?

In other words, relax. Things will get better because we will make it better.

/31


You were on time today but you spent 2 hours updating Facebook.

/38

Tatsumaki Senpuu-Kyaku!:
So, all you hard-working, ass-kissing 20-somethings - have fun getting laid off in your 40s so the company's stock can go up 1%!

My solution to this was to work for companies that don't have shareholders, like hospitals. I don't have an office job. I don't think I'd LIKE an office job. I work with weirdos in a lab. I have a rubber rat and a wall full of XKCD and lolcats at my desk. I don't make as much money, and if I can't get more grants my funding could dry up and I might have to change jobs, but we're actively encouraged, practically forced, to network. But there is no stock value. The majority of my success is dependent on my work and not surrounding myself with morons.

Mrstupid7:

Yeah, being able to get a job in a non-service industry was a horribly high expectation.

I tend to agree with those in the thread proposing that crappy jobs executed well tend to lead to better things.

Very few these days have the patience to believe this.

Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Hoseyni Khamene'i: Bismi-llāhi ar-raḥmāni ar-raḥīmi, and His Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him and his Household: I am most fortunate to have college students to clean my toilet and wash my clothes. Who else would work as cheap?

You are a bad man and you should feel bad.

Reading these comments just cements the basic premise of Idiocracy.

As long is this country is going to continue to support those who won't work with resources from those who do, the spiral will continue. As long as we continue to bail out those that made bad decisions, ignoring the entire basis of capitalism (or even darwinism) we are screwed. It doesn't matter how old you are, what race you are, female/male or something in between, or if you think Buddha/Allah/God/Spongebob is the center of the universe.

This business of the US Government passing broad, sweeping bills into law without even reading them is asinine though. WTF are we paying them for? To fall asleep in those padded chairs and listen to them snore, or Pelosi to fly around and go shopping on our dime.

Farkin A Bubba: Mrstupid7:

Yeah, being able to get a job in a non-service industry was a horribly high expectation.

I tend to agree with those in the thread proposing that crappy jobs executed well tend to lead to better things.

Very few these days have the patience to believe this.

I think that any experience in a service industry is kind of looked down upon as the only skill you really need is the ability to follow simple instructions.

Gyrfalcon: Even Los Angeles is a small town when you're talking career-hunting. One bad reference can kill you.

What information are former employers allowed to give when contacted for a reference? Is there something that can legally be done about a former employer giving bad references that prevent you from obtaining employment?

Mrstupid7: Farkin A Bubba: Mrstupid7:

Yeah, being able to get a job in a non-service industry was a horribly high expectation.

I tend to agree with those in the thread proposing that crappy jobs executed well tend to lead to better things.

Very few these days have the patience to believe this.

I think that any experience in a service industry is kind of looked down upon as the only skill you really need is the ability to follow simple instructions.

No kidding. People look right past college, mentoring and tutoring college students, a laurels scholarship, and see "Customer Service" or "Cashier" and go on to ask if you're not actually applying for a part-time cashier job.

Then I have to go into detail and explain that I took a cashier job to supplement my pay as a TA and mentor and that I just ended up really liking the company and the job, that is if they give me the chance to explain and don't just tune right out or refuse to call back.

Nevermind that I've basically run the store I work at for three years or that in that time I've had exactly 1 (o.n.e.!) sick day and that was only after getting someone to cover my shift before even calling in.

I'm going to learn to make meth ot suck dicks, more dignity in either one of those options that some min-wage job that expects me to wear a suit and tie and piss in front of a stranger for the privilege of working a fryer.

I janitored in malls from age 19 - 21, give or take a few months. People are disgusting pigs for the most part.

/almost 23 now

omris: Mrstupid7:
Sorry, but I'm a bit sore from being glossed over so easily EVERY farkING DAY. It's just so frustrating to have people treat you like trash because you're not in your thirties and have ten years of experience. I actually had a person laugh at me over the phone because I only had two years of experience in an independent studies class with a GC/MS instrument. She told me it didn't count because I was in school even though I was setting up the parameters myself.

It sucks, but it's true. I was also miffed when I got my first real job in my field that the fact that I worked doing PCR for the summer for four years didn't count because it happened before my degree was awarded. So I started in the "no experience" salary bracket. Lame. I got there and found out that I knew more going in than the two people who had been there for 45 years combined. But I worked my ass off, did a good job, and when I had a major falling out with my dickface boss and quit, I had people I had worked with calling to offer me jobs.

Science is particularly rough in terms of the experience thing, mostly because no class can prepare you for the skill set you need to do well in science. You're basically learning your job from the ground up whenever you change jobs, because everyone does it THEIR way. But stress that you're adaptable, learn fast, etc. and take whatever comes along. The good thing is science is pretty easy to network and build a place for yourself.

Also, $200 million dollars of stimulus grant money is coming out in September, so expect the number of job offers for entry stuff to spike. I have a proposal in myself, so wish me luck. Want to move to Providence and run western blots until your eyes bleed?

Times are pretty tough in molecular biology.

Every job I've inquired about has at least 50+ applicants- many of whom have PHDs (for basic "Research Tech" positions). I've got a M.S. in genetics and I just filled out an application for Starbucks (and med school).

/Times are tough all over
//At least the only one who depends on me is content with a clean litter box and a can of tuna

LaChanz: GAT_00: LaChanz: You can suck my big fat privileged cock.

You people haven't done anything in the last 40 years except drain the world dry of resources and demand more. You are a parasite on society.

Obvious troll is obvious. Enjoy living in your grass house with your coconut computer.

What GAT_00 may look like:


/hot like Mary Ann