Get Your Grump on Thursdays - Was (What's chapping my @ss today?)

Finding exciting new job opportunities, interviewing well multiple times, and ending up second, again.

I registered for Joe Martin stage race and decided to put in for vacation day for next Friday. That way, myself and the others heading down to Arkansas with me could get on the road early. Day off denied because someone else in my dept. has it off. Whatever!

Getting pissed with kids sports seasons overlapping hogging all sorts of time--everything should have its own season, except ski and bike season of course.

The "Tiny House" movement.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/17/ga...-305.html?_r=0

Squatting in your friend's backyard isn't a "movement".

The fact that your trailer has a peaked roof and a wood exterior and you spent a lot of money for it doesn't make it a house.

Face it, you watched Step By Step every Friday night in the 90s and thought Cody Lambert's life seemed pretty cool.

Save tens of thousands of dollars and buy a clapped out Winnebago or a conversion van. Or live on a boat.

Also, the giant cookie cutter house movement.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Daltex

My gripe is this fraud that has been perpetrated on an entire generation.
I earned my degree at a time when a job at a gas station could pay my tuition and living expenses. I sincerely feel awful about the situation kids are in now.

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I'm going to gripe about people griping about education as if it is some monolithic body. There is a big difference between the thousands of post secondary institutions out there and to assume that all are a fraud (especially if you're saying you have a degree) is pretty lame. Sure, there are majors that are over-subscribed just like there are for-profit institutions that are essentially a scam. That said, I don't see many folks coming out of high school being equipped to step into a career path other than construction, mining, CTD, etc.

There is a reason that the Chinese and Indian students are all striving to attend American colleges and universities with planned careers in medicine and engineering. There's also a reason those nations are investing heavily in their own post secondary education systems. Education beyond high school is not a "fraud perpetuated on an entire generation" (Hyperbole much?).

Instead of bitching about how they were taken to the cleaners, students need to recognize that the decisions they make about the skill sets gained from their investment have very real consequences on what they are equipped to do upon graduation.

Grump for my 7 yr old - third cast in 14 months - broken leg from skiing (missed Spring '13 soccer), broken arm first week of school - dam monkey bars (missed Fall '13 soccer) , fractured ankle from jumping out of tree and his going to miss Spring soccer again. Also this injury is going to cramp our trip to Jay Peak for some spring skiing this weekend.

The kid is a trooper.

Too many hobbies that I want to purse making it hard to focus on a couple.

The price of homes being absolutely ridiculous near DC. Thinking about buying because the market still seems low, but everything is still so freaking expensive.

Potholes. Freaking holes all over the road to keep my wheels from staying true. Looking to buy a truing stand. None used in a 300 mile radius. Thought about building my own then read http://www.velocipedesalon.com/forum...ign-20259.html

I busted my last Joe's Clip.
Damn it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mjbabcock

I'm going to gripe about people griping about education as if it is some monolithic body. There is a big difference between the thousands of post secondary institutions out there and to assume that all are a fraud (especially if you're saying you have a degree) is pretty lame. Sure, there are majors that are over-subscribed just like there are for-profit institutions that are essentially a scam. That said, I don't see many folks coming out of high school being equipped to step into a career path other than construction, mining, CTD, etc.

There is a reason that the Chinese and Indian students are all striving to attend American colleges and universities with planned careers in medicine and engineering. There's also a reason those nations are investing heavily in their own post secondary education systems. Education beyond high school is not a "fraud perpetuated on an entire generation" (Hyperbole much?).

Instead of bitching about how they were taken to the cleaners, students need to recognize that the decisions they make about the skill sets gained from their investment have very real consequences on what they are equipped to do upon graduation.

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No, no, no, you took me completely wrong. The American education system is the best in the world. You may be able to point to studies that say it isn't, but the fact that it is the gold standard for those around the world says differently.

The fraud that I'm speaking of is when the Dean of the school of Art History at a University encourages students to major in Art History by implying that employent will be both plentiful & lucrative. Part B is the financial aid office that loans this student $200,000 to complete his Art History degree WHEN THE REALITY is that even if he secured employment, it wouldn't pay enough to ever pay that loan back.

For the record, I worked my way through school with 0 loans. Earning my degree was the best thing that I ever did in my life.

Yesterday the local college (my alma mater) scheduled an interview with my wife for next Thursday for a secretarial position. This morning they called her and cancelled the interview. The woman who called works in HR and has interviewed my wife before. She did not like my wife then (for the sake of brevity I will not get into that, but it was petty and ridiculous), so she decided to call her and tell her that she will NOT be interviewing her next Thursday, and that the only reason the interview was scheduled in the first place was because the employee in HR who scheduled the interview is new and didn't know any better.

I have never heard of such a thing happening. It blows my mind how brutal that is. The job market is a fucking nightmare and there is no humanity to be had.

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Originally Posted by Zandr Martin

I have never heard of such a thing happening. It blows my mind how brutal that is. The job market is a fucking nightmare and there is no humanity to be had.

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It is. Been there, experienced the excrement.

Just keep her feeling as positive as possible, provide support, and give her a distraction now and then. Keep plugging away, something will turn up.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Daltex

The fraud that I'm speaking of is when the Dean of the school of Art History at a University encourages students to major in Art History by implying that employent will be both plentiful & lucrative. Part B is the financial aid office that loans this student $200,000 to complete his Art History degree WHEN THE REALITY is that even if he secured employment, it wouldn't pay enough to ever pay that loan back.

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Yep, this is pretty ridiculous. I have zero problem with anyone majoring in anything they want, but universities and advisors need to be MUCH more honest with the naive 18-year-olds what their actual job prospects are. You want to major in English because you really love literature? Fantastic. But you need to know that there is almost no chance you will get a job because of your degree. If you're still okay with that, cool. I have a B.S. in economics. It is worthless. However, all throughout school, all anyone ever talked about was how much employers love hiring econ majors, and how "you can do anything!!!" with an econ degree. "Mick Jagger has a degree in econ," they said. Great. How come I have to deliver pizza to pay rent? I had to go back and get a post-baccalaureate certificate in accounting to find career-type employment.

Unfortunately colleges tend to act as though a degree means instant employment when the reality is there are only 6-10 majors (those that are more vocational in nature) that will ever improve one's chances.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Zandr Martin

Yesterday the local college (my alma mater) scheduled an interview with my wife for next Thursday for a secretarial position. This morning they called her and cancelled the interview. The woman who called works in HR and has interviewed my wife before. She did not like my wife then (for the sake of brevity I will not get into that, but it was petty and ridiculous), so she decided to call her and tell her that she will NOT be interviewing her next Thursday, and that the only reason the interview was scheduled in the first place was because the employee in HR who scheduled the interview is new and didn't know any better.

I have never heard of such a thing happening. It blows my mind how brutal that is. The job market is a fucking nightmare and there is no humanity to be had.

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Start your own business. That is the best advice I can give to anyone.

My #2 gripe of the day: Why is it so damn easy for an 18 year old to get a $200,000 loan for some degree, but near impossible for the same guy to get a $40,000 to start his own business ?????????????

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Daltex

Start your own business. That is the best advice I can give to anyone.

My #2 gripe of the day: Why is it so damn easy for an 18 year old to get a $200,000 loan for some degree, but near impossible for the same guy to get a $40,000 to start his own business ?????????????

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No (or minimal) credit check on student loans, and little risk to the lender since they are non-bankruptable. And we as a society have convinced ourselves that college is the only way. A business might fail, but a college degree will always be worth something. Yawn. What a farce.

Adding to the grumpiness: That congress in its "wisdom" privatized student lending, and at the same time made the debt nondischargeable.

Kids, adults or who ever - that believe just because you "earned/paid" for a degree that you will get a job - it has always been the situation that a few degrees (engineering, chemistry, accounting, teaching, computer science etc...) will give you a better chance for securing a job. Yes you can work on Wall Street with a History, English or degree in Philosophy but you better have gone to Harvard, Yale, Stanford or Princeton and not some Podunk liberal arts school that cost $30,000/ year. This has always been the case!!!!

Yes the job market sucks - my wife has been consulting for the past 8 yrs while raising our kids and has been looking steadily for 2 yrs for a full time job with no luck - I am running out of pep talks and I am dreading the "you need to re-evaluate your expectations/dream job" conversation.

20 more yrs to retirement if I can keep a job that long as a middle aged- middle management - white guy.

Chain reaction grumps.

Everyone gets a trophy - or shall I say, diploma? - for unoriginality.

This was a free course btw.

http://blogs-images.forbes.com/sap/f...nick-burns.jpg

People who think education is only for employment.

People who drive with a dog in their lap. ...and a phone in their hand at the same time.