15 Dollars an Hour

[gray rider]

I had a computer technology intern assigned to me for a 10 day period. This was a few years ago at the end of my career when I was completely in control of all aspects of my job. The first morning the kid sat down and tried to log onto my network to read his personal E-mails. He had been on duty for two minutes. I told him that we were in an inventory cycle and it was going to be all shoe leather, barcode scanners and flashlights for the next month. I had, give or take, 100 million in capital asset equipment to find, scan and verify location. The kid literally told me he wasn't going to leave the office. Trust me, he did but never returned after lunch. He left and filed a complaint with the university that our expectations were unreasonable and had nothing to do with his agenda. He could not comprehend that computer data is more than data in a drive and that it represents, in many cases, real world systems, equipment and products that allow the human race to function. The front half of my job was loading and managing history, maintenance and depreciation of the asset property into a massive rather complex data base. He didn't last long enough to gain any insight into the total program. He is probably ceo of a gaming company or flipping burgers.

[leroysch]

Laugh all you want...they will vote in Berney then what....

A fighting chance, my guess....

[wjduke]

It's funny that stories of kids like this are so popular and we never hear about the other side so here is one. I coach wrestlers at a large high school. Two of them will graduate with their AA degree one week before they graduate from high school. They take college level physics and math courses, practice 2.5 hours a night and compete in large wrestling tournament on weekends. One plans on being a Dr and the other is following his religion and plans on going to a thrid world country to honor the god he follows. On yea both worked part time at McDonalds last summer and I assure you they can make change with out a computer. There are lots of great kids doing what they are suppose to everyday they just don't get the attention the screw ups do.

I've bragged about my bosses kids since they graduated from high school in the 90's. Two boys with their parents on their butts, catholic schooling. Today, one works for a Pharmaceutical company....he made almost $900,000 last year. His older brother is the head of pharmacy at Martha's Vineyard hospital. He started at $100,000 a year at least 15 years ago. These two had drive and knew what they wanted at a young age. I never had that and from what I've seen, it's rare. As valkmc just said, they're out there.

There were screw ups when I was a kid. I hope most of what we see is from being the older generation. True or not, Socrates supposedly once said, " I don't know what the future will bring with this young generation". Maybe there's hope...there has to be, right?

[Old Ryder]

Being the witty prankster that I am, I decided I would always order a "Diet Water" to break the ice and maybe get a chuckle from the waiter or waitress. I had to quit because they would never catch the joke and ALWAYS brought me a diet soda--obviously of their brand choice--because I didn't order it. I guess my humor was over their head.

[BEIST]

Being the witty prankster that I am, I decided I would always order a "Diet Water" to break the ice and maybe get a chuckle from the waiter or waitress. I had to quit because they would never catch the joke and ALWAYS brought me a diet soda--obviously of their brand choice--because I didn't order it. I guess my humor was over their head.

I use to like teasing waitresses by ordering a Virgin Martini = I wanted the ice water with lemon shaken not stirred = quickly found out that this joke goes over like a fart in Church.

[valkmc]

There were screw ups when I was a kid. I hope most of what we see is from being the older generation. True or not, Socrates supposedly once said, " I don't know what the future will bring with this young generation". Maybe there's hope...there has to be, right?

This reminds me of my dad (now 80) and my grand father (passed away) sitting at our kitchen table complaining about how worthless kids were. They both grew up on farms and could not understand how they could not find kids to hire who knew the farm industry. I used to say to myself, under my breath of course, I wish I did not know how to milk cows, plow a field, or mow hay. I believe part of what we feel about the youth today is the same thing past generations felt about the youth they dealt with.

[Bob Penn]

Yep, I read a book in high school, back in 1962, the writer was complaining about the action of the youth seems they were letting their hair grow, wearing jewelry, growing facial hair, talking their own language, promoting love and wearing funny cloths. Remember now this was in the 1960's when the hippies ruled.
The only problem was the book was written in Russia in 1865.

[3Chief]

They can't even give you the right food. Can't read and comprehend the screen above their heads. You have to check your bag to see if you got a fork or spoon. They hand you two sodas , unmarked , and can't tell you which one is the Diet Coke and which is the Dr Pepper. Good thing wife and I don't mind each others germs. I could go on for days. $15 dollars an hour? That's a joke. They aren't worth minimum wage. There is a small percentage of today's youth that has their shyt together. These few , when they hit the job force , will command respect and a large salary. Since I believe that most of us on this forum are of above average intelligence our kids should do extremely well in the job market. If you've raised your kids to have common sense and above average intelligence , congratulations. You have beat the odds.

Unfortunately despite my best intentions my son is one of those useless youth...He is highly intelligent...and a lazy waste of life...

[wjduke]

Unfortunately despite my best intentions my son is one of those useless youth...He is highly intelligent...and a lazy waste of life...

My son is 32 now and I wish I could sit here and brag on him. He chooses his path. He has many artistic and musical talents and won't pursue anything. Very lazy. I maintain a decent relationship, we get together often for dinner. He has a job but barely gets by. I'm tired of pep talks, and he probably is too. Sometimes, you can only do so much. Hope there's a chance for your son to make changes.

[stroguy]

Nobody tires of pep talks thrown at them. Never stop, the day will come when you you are at the end and you will never regret that you always tried.