Millenials living at home epidemic

[xfactor9]

US home ownership was only 45% pre-WW2, and has been 65-70% since the 1960s. It isn't harder to buy a house now than it was 30 years ago. If anything, you don't have to pay 10-16% interest rates like Boomers did, or 7-9% like Gen-Xers did. It still requires the same things as before: good financial discipline and long-term planning. Those who can't afford a house (regardless of their age) should look in the mirror first

 

[Brons2]

Originally Posted By: Al

Originally Posted By: Brons2

Now a days, UT-Austin costs $7000 per semester, and housing costs have soared. Yes, there are cheaper college educations available, but they also don't carry the esteem and extensive alumni networks that UT-Austin does. In this state, a degree on the wall from UT-Austin means something.

Oh scheesch...Its called adapting. Go to a community college and live at home during that time. Then transfer to the cheapest college that has an Engineering course...that's what I did. And "gulp" you might actually have to leave Texas (yes Virginia there is a world outside of Texas). An Engineering Degree from UT is no better than a degree from any other college. Sure..in "some" cases it might get you a job quicker (in Texas) but ultimately its what you do with your degree and your skills...not where your degree comes from. One of the best Engineers I ever knew had en Engineering Technology degree from a Branch Campus of Penn State (never went to University Park.)

I am from Oregon originally, so your (condescending) comments about Texas are very misplaced. I agree that good engineers can come from anywhere, but it's more complicated than that, too. Example: UT is top 5 in petroleum engineering so if you want to go work for an oil company, it's a good place to start. All the major oil companies recruit the top students from UT petroleum and chemical engineering. If you want to walk right out of college and into a $100K a year job, graduating chemical engineering near the top of your class will give you a pretty good chance. That's not to mention MBA students as well - a very close relative does this for one of the majors and recruits on campus at UT and other top business schools. At Nowhere Tech, there is no chance to even get your foot in the door. Right or wrong it doesn't make a difference, they don't recruit there. Just saying.

 

[ArcticDriver]

Originally Posted By: L_Sludger

Originally Posted By: itguy08

Maybe their retirement savings darn near vanished in the crash of 2008?

Do you smell burnt toast? Are you seeing double? Facial droop? Ataxia? The markets have more than recovered since then.

You really don't know how it worked. Many people nearing retirement became so worried at the dropping markets that they moved to cash and locked in losses. Many people lost their jobs and at 50+ years of age...well often times there continues to be a thing called age discrimination. I have already mentioned lost pensions and lost retirement benefits such as continued coverage on the emmployer group insurance. A good suggestion for some young guys...when your mouth is open your ears are closed and when you are young you should be listening all you can. Cheers

 

[ArcticDriver]

Originally Posted By: Brons2

I am from Oregon originally, so your (condescending) comments about Texas are very misplaced. I agree that good engineers can come from anywhere, but it's more complicated than that, too. Example: UT is top 5 in petroleum engineering so if you want to go work for an oil company, it's a good place to start. All the major oil companies recruit the top students from UT petroleum and chemical engineering. If you want to walk right out of college and into a $100K a year job, graduating chemical engineering near the top of your class will give you a pretty good chance. That's not to mention MBA students as well - a very close relative does this for one of the majors and recruits on campus at UT and other top business schools. At Nowhere Tech, there is no chance to even get your foot in the door. Right or wrong it doesn't make a difference, they don't recruit there. Just saying.

Thanks for sharing this.

 

[Brons2]

That's not to say you can't get success any one of many, many other ways, just pointing out a couple of ways that name brand universities still have some cachet.

 

[ArcticDriver]

Originally Posted By: Brons2

Originally Posted By: L_Sludger

The real epidemic is the proportion of people over 65 who are still in the workforce, occupying management positions, and constipating the upward mobility of career progression. Most of them can retire and not work a day again, they just choose to keep working for selfish reasons.

My 66 year old boss retired a year ago. Was replaced by a 49 year old. Breath of fresh air. I liked my old boss as a person a lot, but the technology had passed him by and he was holding us back trying to understand it. The new boss came up in IT in the 90s and understands the current environment much better what all with outsourcing, cloud services, federated identity management, IaaS/PaaS etc, etc, etc. Like it or not the old guys from the mainframe era are not that valued anymore, even as managers unless you can find an employer with a mainframe. It's just a completely different mentality today. In this case the older boomer was holding us back as an organization.

Well he could have continued to train and work on education and been every bit as good as his replacement. The problem was not his age but rather his complacency.

 

[brave sir robin]

Originally Posted By: xfactor9

US home ownership was only 45% pre-WW2, and has been 65-70% since the 1960s. It isn't harder to buy a house now than it was 30 years ago. If anything, you don't have to pay 10-16% interest rates like Boomers did, or 7-9% like Gen-Xers did. It still requires the same things as before: good financial discipline and long-term planning. Those who can't afford a house (regardless of their age) should look in the mirror first

I cannot afford a house and may never to be honest. I have had (and been witness to) a lot of instability regarding employment. I recently received a massive pay cut from 45k around 30k. I barely make enough money to pay rent, utilities and food right now. If it wasnt for the fact the bike gets 30+mpg and living 7 miles away from work I do not know what I would do. I watched my dad go from low six digit income to nothing over the course of a year and in the process lose his wife and his literal dream home. I do not blame millennials for sticking around at home longer than we did

 

[Tony10s]

Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm

Originally Posted By: Silk

Originally Posted By: Kibitoshin

In my area we call it multi-generational living.

Over here we call it Whanau, a Maori word meaning extended family. The extended family is very important - brothers and sisters, uncles and aunties, parents and grandparents, grandchildren. It's how I was brought up, and it's how I want my children to live - that they are welcome to come here anytime, and that at some time in the future, I may need to live with them. When my wife was younger, she lived in the garage at her grandparents place, while her parents put together money for a house, and then built it. For a couple of years we lived in a caravan with 2 young boys in the backyard of the mother in laws place, using a corner of the garage for kitchen and office. Later my 2 daughters arrived with a caravan each. One daughter was back there a few years later, with daughter living in a single room sleepout. Now the sister in law is living in the backyard in a similar sleepout, while the bro in law sleeps in a van. When building our new garage, we put a sleepout on the end for my daughter and granddaughter. I have no problem with helping out, or being helped...it's what you do for family.

The best post in this thread! Sounds like you have a wonderful family Silk

+1 I agree ... Great post by Silk.

 

[DoubleWasp]

Originally Posted By: xfactor9

US home ownership was only 45% pre-WW2, and has been 65-70% since the 1960s. It isn't harder to buy a house now than it was 30 years ago. If anything, you don't have to pay 10-16% interest rates like Boomers did, or 7-9% like Gen-Xers did. It still requires the same things as before: good financial discipline and long-term planning. Those who can't afford a house (regardless of their age) should look in the mirror first

The price of housing itself is the factor that you are ignoring here. Ownership rates have a lot of factors involved that you are not considering, including the fact that previous generations have increased their buying power as they have gotten older. The price of homes in my neighborhood have quadrupled since I moved in. Retired baby boomers keep coming in and paying way too much money for a neighborhood that simply isn't worth it. Beach and water are nice, but I'm seeing 60 year old homes that should be condemned changing hands for 800k-1.2 mil. There used to be normal people here. Normal families. Now everybody is a boomer who wants to buy a $150k house for a million dollars. I'm glad I got in before all of this stupidity started. Financial discipline and long term planning only go so far when you're trying to compete in a market full of retards who think they struck oil and spend on housing like a rapper in the strip club.

 

[Al]

Originally Posted By: Brons2

Example: UT is top 5 in petroleum engineering so if you want to go work for an oil company, it's a good place to start. All the major oil companies recruit the top students from UT petroleum and chemical engineering. If you want to walk right out of college and into a $100K a year job, graduating chemical engineering near the top of your class will give you a pretty good chance. That's not to mention MBA students as well - a very close relative does this for one of the majors and recruits on campus at UT and other top business schools. At Nowhere Tech, there is no chance to even get your foot in the door. Just saying.

OK I get it UT is the greatest University in the world. Well Penn State is decent..Most Highly recruited in the U.S. But (again) it doesn't always translate into highest it terms of overall job performance. I have no doubt that if you are into Petroleum engineeriong (UT is #1, PSU is #6) you will easily get a job in that field. My son graduated from PSU in Computer Engineering. He was nowhere near the top of his class. Probably near the bottom. But after a number of jobs and after 20 years in the field....he is department head of a major international computing firm. He is a Computer Architect (mediamn salary $125K) and hires Computer Engineers..he hires grads from "Nowhere Tech" and we are talking jobs in the $80K...Just saying. I will tell him though to keep his eye open UT computer engineering grads

 

[dareo]

About 2003 I started a very entry level job at 8.00 an hour and everything was cheap. Now I have employees happy to work for 9.00 and goods have more than doubled. I think it is harder today. In 1980 you could rent a nice 2 bedroom for under $200. Now $900 is more typical.

 

[L_Sludger]

Originally Posted By: dareo

About 2003 I started a very entry level job at 8.00 an hour and everything was cheap. Now I have employees happy to work for 9.00 and goods have more than doubled. I think it is harder today. In 1980 you could rent a nice 2 bedroom for under $200. Now $900 is more typical.

Standards of living have plummeted for younger folks starting out in life. And they have more competition than the boomers ever did.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Originally Posted By: dareo

About 2003 I started a very entry level job at 8.00 an hour and everything was cheap. Now I have employees happy to work for 9.00 and goods have more than doubled. I think it is harder today. In 1980 you could rent a nice 2 bedroom for under $200. Now $900 is more typical.

I agree with this. I think min wage in the late 80s here in Tx was $4.25. I can still remember the cost of goods,etc from back then. The cost of living vs wages has gone sky high. Anyone remember how 4-5 member families with only the dad working (and not having some uber high end corporate ceo type job) could live and maintain a good middle class lifestyle? None of my friends growing up had rich parents,and no one's mom worked,they were all stay at home moms and everyone lived a comfortable lifestyle.

 

[dareo]

Competition is right. There is always somebody working harder than you for less money and that person is willing to pay more rent than you are. One good thing smart kids have now is easy money in [internet stuff]. Demonstrate abilities in SEO or web development and find a 40 to 50k job without college. Plus all the youtubers making big bucks. There's still opportunity to succeed for the well motivated.

 

[wwillson]

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