Current Events > millennial men leave perplexing hole in hot U.S. job market

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Men -- long Americas economically privileged gender -- have been dogged in recent decades by high incarceration and swollen disability rates. They hemorrhaged high-paying jobs after technology and globalization hit manufacturing and mining.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-11-02/millennial-men-leave-perplexing-hole-in-a-hot-u-s-labor-market
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tag
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Something something boomers fault
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being an underachiever who settled for mediocrity has it's downsides, yes...
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Whats the problem?
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Working isn't that great tbh
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i think it is rapidly becoming more and more true each day that your 30s are now the new 20s when it comes to professional & personal development
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There, at the very end, everything is explained:

Butcher, for one, hopes EMT training at The Community College of Allegheny County will be a first step toward a career in health care. He wants to earn enough to provide security for his son and daughter, who live with their mother.

When you hit life's milestones in the wrong order, don't be surprised when life hits you back.

The industries that men were good at are either dying, being outsourced, being automated, or depreciating in value.

American work is coalescing around service and technology, but many men aren't sociable or smart enough to do well in those sectors.

And back in the day a lot of guys overachieved mainly so they could get a wife, but now there's little relation between career achievement and how much you can get laid.
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I guess I'm gonna be forever alone
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There's a cuckold joke to be made here.
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CyricZ posted...

There's a cuckold joke to be made here.

let's hear it
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Fuck this country anyway. Im playing video games

DarkRoast posted...

I guess I'm gonna be forever alone

Why do you say so?

Wow hopefully this is all fixed by the time I graduate from high school
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Butcher has a high-school diploma and a resume filled with low-wage jobs from Target and Walmart to a local grocery store. Hes being selective as he searches for new work because he doesnt want to grind out unhappy hours for unsatisfying compensation.

Im very quick to get frustrated when people refuse to pay me what Im worth, he said. His choosiness could be a generational trait, he allows. His mother worked to support her three kids, whether she liked her job or not.

Here lies the crux of the problem, lack of bootstraps. Dude has kids to support but selfishly puts his happiness first. Life isn't fair, get your ass a job.
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imagine caring about the plight of men
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these jobs are shit. even the "good" ones. more and more guys are finding ways to make their own money, myself including.
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Probably by all these liberal guys that believe the wage gap and are thinking they are balancing it in the favor of women by not working.
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It must be the patriarchy and the gender gap.

Trickfinger posted...

these jobs are shit. even the "good" ones. more and more guys are finding ways to make their own money, myself including.

Good for you, that's something I dream about almost every day.
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For whatever reason, its still mens fault.
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Yea manufacturing jobs suck. Heat, physical stress, and workplace bullying?

No thanks

so uhhhhhhhhhhhh

can we uhhhhhhhhh like

maybe like, get some college going that wont put me in five figures worth of debt for even a low-level degree please

kinda don't wanna buy some faceless jackass an entire car just because I want a shot at a successful career
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What do you all think the guy in the article should do? I think it's something like stay at a shit minimum wage job and just grind it out because he probably won't make it through school anyway. I dunno though.

ohnoitschris posted...

so uhhhhhhhhhhhh

can we uhhhhhhhhh like

maybe like, get some college going that wont put me in five figures worth of debt for even a low-level degree please

kinda don't wanna buy some faceless jackass an entire car just because I want a shot at a successful career

with no guarantee of actually getting a job in your field, and even then they want you to come out of college with experience... oh yeah, and half of the jobs that exists now won't exist in 5 - 10 years. it's garbage lmao
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90sEdgeLord posted...

What do you all think the guy in the article should do?

Finish EMT training.

all these people working in warehouses and factories, truck drivers, and even the people making side money with rideshare apps need to get their shit in order. In 3 years droids will be deliverind food and packages, by 2030 "Uber" will be entirely self-driving

edit: drones not droids lol.
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@DarkRoast posted...

I guess I'm gonna be forever alone

Why don't you just get a stay-at-home husband?
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What a sexist article that fails to mention that women are making $.77 cents for every $1 that a man makes. Even worse to lose a job you were already underpaid to do.

Why should we care about the men when the women are doing worse?
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TommyG663513 posted...

What a sexist article that fails to mention that women are making $.77 cents for every $1 that a man makes. Even worse to lose a job you were already underpaid to do.

Why should we care about the men when the women are doing worse?

Can't tell if sarcasm, hyperbole, or just misguided.

Who would go into manufacturing and mining as a first choice

Rexdragon125 posted...

Who would go into manufacturing and mining as a first choice

the highly unskilled.
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Trickfinger posted...

Rexdragon125 posted...

Who would go into manufacturing and mining as a first choice

the highly unskilled.

I worked in a warehouse for Dupont for a few years as a contractor, and trust me it's the shittiest shit in the world. They encourage workplace bullying of younger workers by the older ones.

I work in the medical field now and it's so much better

Rexdragon125 posted...

Who would go into manufacturing and mining as a first choice

If I could make a proper living working in a warehouse I would in a heartbeat.
I'm currently a computer developer and love my job, but I'll never love it as much as warehouse work.

Im a millennial man that will fill that hot perplexing hole
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Questionmarktarius posted...

TommyG663513 posted...

What a sexist article that fails to mention that women are making $.77 cents for every $1 that a man makes. Even worse to lose a job you were already underpaid to do.

Why should we care about the men when the women are doing worse?

Can't tell if sarcasm, hyperbole, or just misguided.

I'm on your side bro. The reality is that the vast majority of jobs suck and very few are truly winning. Wage gap is a lot more complex than the often quoted figure from white girl feminists. Race and ethnicity play a big perhaps much bigger role in influencing wage gaps. Then beyond that is what socioeconomic status you were born into then your genetics. Judging wage discrepancy by dividing the country into two groups is a massively stupid way to simplify an extremely complex issue. Moreover, compensation is more than just wages. Jobs have benefits and preferable hours and working conditions to account for.

Basically, these people in these jobs are screwed. I'm marginally better off having been a UPS employee for 4.5 years working in a warehouse. It'd be impossible for my job to move overseas, but it is still a terrible low paying job. It does have the benefit of great job security though. Reality is that I need to move on from this place if I want a middle class lifestyle with a wife and kids.

The general point is that the job market has screwed over tons of different workers in tons of different ways, but ultimately we need to stand together in some way to improve these conditions. The reality is that no one will, because differences are perceived to be too strong.

Everyone needs to desperately try to climb themselves out of their own hole, because that is your best chance unfortunately.
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t_paynes_ghost posted...

Rexdragon125 posted...

Who would go into manufacturing and mining as a first choice

If I could make a proper living working in a warehouse I would in a heartbeat.
I'm currently a computer developer and love my job, but I'll never love it as much as warehouse work.

That seems unusual. Consensus at my warehouse seems to be that we work in a hell hole. Why'd you enjoy it?
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TommyG663513 posted...

Questionmarktarius posted...

TommyG663513 posted...

What a sexist article that fails to mention that women are making $.77 cents for every $1 that a man makes. Even worse to lose a job you were already underpaid to do.

Why should we care about the men when the women are doing worse?

Can't tell if sarcasm, hyperbole, or just misguided.

I'm on your side bro. The reality is that the vast majority of jobs suck and very few are truly winning. Wage gap is a lot more complex than the often quoted figure from white girl feminists. Race and ethnicity play a big perhaps much bigger role in influencing wage gaps. Then beyond that is what socioeconomic status you were born into then your genetics. Judging wage discrepancy by dividing the country into two groups is a massively stupid way to simplify an extremely complex issue. Moreover, compensation is more than just wages. Jobs have benefits and preferable hours and working conditions to account for.

Basically, these people in these jobs are screwed. I'm marginally better off having been a UPS employee for 4.5 years working in a warehouse. It'd be impossible for my job to move overseas, but it is still a terrible low paying job. It does have the benefit of great job security though. Reality is that I need to move on from this place if I want a middle class lifestyle with a wife and kids.

The general point is that the job market has screwed over tons of different workers in tons of different ways, but ultimately we need to stand together in some way to improve these conditions. The reality is that no one will, because differences are perceived to be too strong.

Everyone needs to desperately try to climb themselves out of their own hole, because that is your best chance unfortunately.

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voldothegr8 posted...

Butcher has a high-school diploma and a resume filled with low-wage jobs from Target and Walmart to a local grocery store. Hes being selective as he searches for new work because he doesnt want to grind out unhappy hours for unsatisfying compensation.

Im very quick to get frustrated when people refuse to pay me what Im worth, he said. His choosiness could be a generational trait, he allows. His mother worked to support her three kids, whether she liked her job or not.

Here lies the crux of the problem, lack of bootstraps. Dude has kids to support but selfishly puts his happiness first. Life isn't fair, get your ass a job.

Hahahahah. Not laughing at you, but the guy in the article. What a jackass, esp if the picture of the guy with headphones and stupid ass gages is him.

Quick to get frustrated when people refuse to pay me what Im worth lololololol. The jackass has a high school diploma, literally any double digit IQ idiot can finish high school in this day and age.

Not to say there isnt a horrible problem with inflation and many jobs postings look like

Req:
Masters degree
5yrs experience
Pay is $12/hr
2 days paid vacation (must work Christmas)
No benefits

Even the whole notion of you should have 2 months of expenses saved yeah good fucking luck with that one fresh out of college at an entry level job.

Spoilers: youll have a hard time saving for a rainy day and spending less than 1/3 of your income on rent fresh out of college, and no one is gonna pay you $70k a year regardless of what skill set you have.

We have a big problem when having some skills and a college degree is barely enough to get by, but what an under achieving crybaby. Go get a masters degree and work for $50k a year before taxes then cry about how you wont be able to afford a house without eating ramen everyday for lunch for a decade if you want people to listen.

Thats an actual fucking problem, hes crying about his personal failures.
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EdgeMaster posted...

Req:
Masters degree
5yrs experience
Pay is $12/hr
2 days paid vacation (must work Christmas)
No benefits

Random certifications
Leadership of a small country preferred
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Questionmarktarius posted...

90sEdgeLord posted...

What do you all think the guy in the article should do?

Finish EMT training.

but when a EMT makes 16 dollars a hour and a refugee is making 15 at McDonald's after they "fought for 15" then what should he do?
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Roxborough4Ever posted...

Questionmarktarius posted...

90sEdgeLord posted...

What do you all think the guy in the article should do?

Finish EMT training.

but when a EMT makes 16 dollars a hour and a refugee is making 15 at McDonald's after they "fought for 15" then what should he do?

I think about this a lot. As a chemist, I see close to $30/hour. If min. Wage goes to $15; part of me feels that I should be getting paid $50-60. I worked hard for my degree.
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zinezinzadan posted...

Roxborough4Ever posted...

Questionmarktarius posted...

90sEdgeLord posted...

What do you all think the guy in the article should do?

Finish EMT training.

but when a EMT makes 16 dollars a hour and a refugee is making 15 at McDonald's after they "fought for 15" then what should he do?

I think about this a lot. As a chemist, I see close to $30/hour. If min. Wage goes to $15; part of me feels that I should be getting paid $50-60. I worked hard for my degree.

And that's how inflation devours the minimum wage into functionally being what it was before. You've gained nothing but a slightly larger number.

if the "lowly" minimum wage earners have what it takes to bargain their labor for more money, why can't the more educated sectors of the labor force do the same thing?
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Questionmarktarius posted...

zinezinzadan posted...

Roxborough4Ever posted...

Questionmarktarius posted...

90sEdgeLord posted...

What do you all think the guy in the article should do?

Finish EMT training.

but when a EMT makes 16 dollars a hour and a refugee is making 15 at McDonald's after they "fought for 15" then what should he do?

I think about this a lot. As a chemist, I see close to $30/hour. If min. Wage goes to $15; part of me feels that I should be getting paid $50-60. I worked hard for my degree.

And that's how inflation devours the minimum wage into functionally being what it was before. You've gained nothing but a slightly larger number.

So what's your solution? We've tried the alternative of just having stagnate wages since the 80s and it's not working out. We continue to test the limit of how expensive things can get before we have a violent collapse.

Unless they can convince their employer otherwise, maybe the lowly chemist, the fast food worker of the lab, sucks it up and realizes they were never worth 3-4x the productivity of a retail employee. It's no slag to them that the fast food worker can now afford health insurance.

Maybe corporations take the hit instead of sitting on trillions of dollars in cash only to be used on stock buy backs.

Maybe the government supplements wages and education instead of bs military interventions since it's clear corporations are trending towards not needing to pay the world's population a living wage.
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Should encourage them to enlist in the military.
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ohnoitschris posted...

so uhhhhhhhhhhhh

can we uhhhhhhhhh like

maybe like, get some college going that wont put me in five figures worth of debt for even a low-level degree please

kinda don't wanna buy some faceless jackass an entire car just because I want a shot at a successful career

Fed ex and Costco give mandatory raises, effectively 27-30 an hour after 4 years. Get yourself in the door and work your way up by putting in time. Go to community College then save money to see if school is even for you. Provided you put in a few years first, you'll probably get promoted just from your associates and that will get you 70-80k.

And that's debt free.
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