Hmm Whose Skid Is This?
*raises hand* YSS21
https://www.thehrdigest.com/employers-are-firing-gen-z-graduates-and-don...
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*raises hand* YSS21
https://www.thehrdigest.com/employers-are-firing-gen-z-graduates-and-don...
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My Skids, definitely!
OSD’s first job was at an ice cream stand, a place notorious for hiring only ‘cute and sexy’ girls. The irony wasn’t lost on me, given that OSD is far from ‘cute’ with her ever-present resting bitch face. As for ‘sexy,’ well, she’s managed to create a superficial version of it, plastered in layers of makeup, with false eyelashes so long they belong more on a Las Vegas showgirl than behind a counter. Add in the absurdly long, impractical hooker nails and skimpy, skank-in-training summer clothes, and you get her idea of ‘sexy’—but it’s a look that’s more a costume than anything genuine ‘girl next door’ wholesome type. Oh, and let’s not forget the hair extensions. With her olive complexion, her bleach blonde hair—complete with dark, reverse skunk roots—doesn’t do her any favors. Instead of adding any charm, it gives her a harsh, almost gritty look, like she’s trying too hard to fit a certain image. The result? She looks more like a streetwalker than someone working behind an ice cream stand.
Being her mother’s savage daughter, OSD is the epitome of lazy, entitled, and manipulative. Along with another future skank-in-training, the gruesome-twosome decided to target two girls who came from lower economic backgrounds. While, OSD and her BFF were being asked for their numbers by dirty old men, and young men who wanted to photograph them for porn, these girls, unlike OSD, were hardworking, with a sense of real work ethic that stood in stark contrast to the ‘look-at-me, look-at-me’ nature of OSD and her BFF. Naturally, it was the hardworking girls who earned the most tips—surprise, surprise—which made them targets for OSD’s calculated jealousy.
They started stealing tips from the hardworking girls, and to top it off, OSD’s BFF even stole one of the girl's phones. When she was inevitably caught, OSD tried to spin the story, claiming she quit to show solidarity with her BFF. But from what we gather, the reality was much simpler—and far less noble. OSD and her partner-in-crime were busted for their unethical practices, and the whole I quit out of loyalty routine was nothing more than an attempt to save face after being caught red-handed.
Some sororities are great because they network their members with organizations and businesses, setting them up for promising careers. OSD, however, didn’t choose one of those sororities. No, she’s in the kind that seems more focused on grooming future OnlyFans content creators. If you took a glance at any of her sorority’s photos, you’d think they were ads for a brothel in Nevada rather than a group of college women preparing for their futures. Meanwhile, despite all the sisterhood connections, OSD spends her summers flipping burgers at fast-food joints—so much for her sorority helping her get “connected” with a real career.
YSD is superficially charming at first glance, but once you get to know her, that charm wears thin. My DH tried, really tried, to get her to at least put in enough effort to scrape by with C averages in her classes, but YSD didn’t want to do any work. She’s too busy hitting on other girls and going to therapy to feel validated when those girls inevitably reject her. That’s when she switches gears, suddenly deciding she’s “straight” again, and ropes in her latest boy-toy to do whatever she wants.
The last one helped her move out of her father’s house. He showed up early at DH’s home, and DH had a little chat with him, letting him know YSD was grounded for lying and sneaking around with another guy—something the poor boy had no clue about. He managed to break free from YSD’s orbit for a few weeks, but of course, she called him, and before long, he was back to texting her, caught in the web again.
Why are some young men so clueless and so eager to SIMP for women who are clearly aren’t ‘relationship material’? It’s baffling how willing they are to bend over backward for girls like YSD. I wonder where this boy’s parents are at. YSD told me that after this boy-toy’s mother met YSD, the mother didn’t like her to the point of trying to break them up (smart woman).
Two other mothers tried to keep their sons from seeing YSD. I know for a fact these three mothers were some of the most Woke-ass, liberal bleeding hearts you would ever want to see. And they still wanted their sons away from YSD. Wait...hold it...I see a pattern there.
She claimed her father was "abusive" simply because he took away her phone and lectured her about lying. If that’s her definition of abuse, I can’t imagine how she plans to handle joining the military. What’s she going to do when a drill sergeant gets in her face and starts tearing her down? Cry abuse again? Tape record the drill sergeant and report the man to his superiors. I could be wrong - But, I don't think the military is that woke - yet!
YSD has been diagnosed with BPD, and while I feel for her struggles, the reality is that her issues—eating disorders, cutting, self-harm, extreme hypersensitivity to criticism, laziness, lack of empathy to the point I wonder if she’s not psychopathic and her constant manipulation to get out of work, responsibility and accountability—aren’t exactly traits that set her up for a successful, high-paying career. Her pattern of behavior makes it hard to imagine her thriving in any high-pressure environment, let alone one that demands discipline, resilience, and hard work.
I won’t talk about the skids anymore because it's just too bad. All I will say is to their future employers: "'Abandon all hope, ye who (lets the Skids) enter. '"
As for ‘sexy,’ well, she’s
Perceptive
You're very perspective. I hope your DH appreciates it.
I've been saying how weak
I've been saying how weak this new generation is.
The young men can barely provide for themselves let alone a wife and kids
The young women have bad attitudes, petty af, and just as trifling.
This is the result of a generation of Disneyparent level coddling/lack of accountability/lack of responsibility, entitlement, and delusions of grandeur
From my own experience I was
From my own experience I was very intentional to raise my bio as someone who would be a contributor to society and have basic work ethic
The Disneyland dad I used to deal with raised lazy, coddled, entitled, demanding spawns
His son is 16 and rather than teach him work ethic he warehouses him (shoves a video game in front of his face all day/night to the point of addiction) all because he "doesn't want to drive him to a job"
Like mf how lazy can YOU be and wonder why your son isn't just as lazy if not lazier because that's what you're teaching him.
Both you and their breeder have cars and you mean to tell me you can't drop him at a JOB a few minutes away?!? So you're raising a male sugar baby?!?
Granted if you really didnt want to take him to a job then let him get paid to cut the neighbors yards, sell bottled water, sell candy, sell t-shirts......something ffs!!!!
so to answer your question about whose skids are these .... those are the Disneyland dads kids
I've said it before and I'll
I've said it before and I'll say it again... thank God we're not at war. Can you imagine a draft? Holy he- The fact that we can blow up the planet 10x over with our nuclear supply is the only reason we haven't been invaded.
The nuclear deterrent and the
The nuclear deterrent and the fact that The N American nations are highly cosupportive of each other, mostly any way, minimizes the risk of invasion. Other than what we are seeing on our Southern boarder anyway.
Our geographic isolation and the fact that no other nation has the force projection capabilities required to apply military force globally remains our strongest defense point. Other than the revolutionary, 1812, and civil wars we have not had to fight a major war on our own territory. Geography, capability, and technology will likely prevent having to ever fight a major action on our own lands.
Our military conflicts will more likely than not continue to be fought on the turf of those we are fighting.
IMHO of course.
A draft would probably
A draft would probably consist of masculine women bc these men too scared
Selective service
Selective service registration at 18 will likely eventually inlcude women. The draft, if it comes, will include all flavors of our young people above 4-F status.
I just read that same article
I just read that same article to my DW. DW is living this crap every day with a number of her recently hired NCGs. (New College Graduates). Even at hiring events the candidates who are demonstrating a highly developed level of cluelessness is baffling to her.
Her industry has seasonal high work our phases. Offer letters include clear statements that 55 billable hrs/wk is required during tax seasons. This is for associates. 55 billable hours translates to 60-65 work hours except for those who are exceptionally productive with their time.
Her firm is making a major shift in their hiring and retention practices. They are a firm that highly values their people. So much so that there is a significant number of new hires who initially accepted roles with meat grinder firms who leave those firms after accepting notable offers from those top tier (Big 4) name plate firms. Several are former interns at DW's firm who returned for the culture and values of the firm. Interestingly, those hires do not have an issue putting in the work, being reliable, communicating effectively. A large % of NCGs that are hired have low realization, low productivity, and nearly zero demonstrated ability to resolve problems, research solutions, etc....
My industry, tends to draw more self motivated people for some reason. Engineering students have a significant requirement of putting in a ton of lab hours, doing multiple major projects, having a bunch of after class study requirements.
Interestingly, the annual salary adjustments that the top performers get at DW's firm are notable. The ones struggling with actually working can get as little as nothing, and seem to entrench in their non-work rather than catching a clue, taking the example of their NCG peers who do put in time, make the effort, and step up.
Our economy and many companies are heading toward a major crisis with the growing demographic of non-performers who increasingly represent the candidate pool.
Anectdotally
Chef hired a 16 yr old kid mid June off of the nextdoor app who was portrayed by his mother as "hardworking." There was a photo of him pushing a lawnmower. Chef hired him to help load demolition junk into a dump truck for the day.
It was unusually warm that day but this kid looked miserable , stopped work every 5 minutes and stopped every time Chef took a business call. He told Chef "I HATE to sweat!"
We paid him good money for a kid that age. $200. Chef told him there was more work if he wanted.
He made some excuse about going to his Dad's for the whole summer and we never heard from him again. Probably could have hired a local Amish kid for half that, would have done much more work and no b1tching!
Why would Chef pay a non-worker $200 and invite him back?
Better ot have fired him on the spot for taking a break every 5mins or when Chef was on calls.
Better to pick up a couple of day laborers, pay them $15/hr and not play with the neighborhood teen cupcakes. My teen jobs tended to be pulling barbed wire, digging out crawlspaces under houses, loading trailers with scrap metal, or my favorite, teaching swim lessons and lifeguarding.
DW's firm is skitchy about demanding performance from underperforming new hires. They fear negative online reviews from the whiners and shredding by anyone they terminate for cause.
As with being a teacher, or a LEO, my tenure as an executive would be short as I would not tolerate the crap that is required these days. Ill behaved spawn, society wanting to coddle criminals, and corporate fear to actually lead employees ..... I am relieved that my career is winding down.
It's a soul-sucking delicate
It's a soul-sucking delicate balance. DH and I have a small business with anywhere from 15-20 people working for us at any given time. It's not a career job but we do have a solid chunk of people who have been working for us for years. We also have people who come and go so I do a lot of hiring (and occasionally firing). It takes the patience of a saint to deal with some people, I swear. I think I've gotten a lot of gray hairs and wrinkles from dealing with the BS people do.
Chef
Wanted to "give him a chance. " Chef also accidentally hired a scam artist contractor without telling me. I caught it just in time to keep from being conned out of thousands.
Finding help in this welfare state is next to impossible including day laborers bc everyone is paid by government to sit on their brains in front of screens all day.
I work with some really great
I work with some really great younger people, but our department hires carefully. out younger, most recent hire needs some instruction on professional behavior but her manager is on it. I think she'll do well.
Talking with my HR rep recently we got to talking about other things...she said HR is having historically high numbers of interventions with new, young employees right out of college. I think the turnover is very high as a result. So there is a generational difference, and the helicopter parenting, lack of basic skills, covid lack of socialization, etc. Is real.
IMHO the only generational
IMHO the only generational difference is the evolution of shit parents and lack of balls to maintain professional standards of performance.
Keeping a shit employee is far more expensive than replacing them though for some reason companies are terrified of coddled entitlement minded under performing failures who should be immediate write offs. Better to set an example, make the departure swift with advise to not put the company as a reference or even on their resume, and move on to candidates that meet a higher standard of qualification and only consider those who pass a stringent screening criteria. To cover the gaps, pay OT to those who are already hired and are performing. Even now most written offers include "OT required as directed". So, work it... or be gone.
See how these kids like having to convince someone to hire them after they have been fired from a number of roles after a very short time.
The good news, experienced people and even recent retirees will happily work and employers will happily pay them far above base wages for NCGs.
None of this can happen soon enough IMHO.
Of course the NCG kids who have character and work ethic will excel and prosper. It is they who will ultimately lead corporations. If you think Boomers, Milllenials, and X-ers are intollerant tough bosses, wait until the successful Y-ers put their leadership size 10s up the asses of their peers who are slugs. Leaders lead, they create opportunity, they create jobs, and they learn how accountability drives optimized performance. The crybabies will be the ones who even if they quality and start in professional positions or high skill trade positions will be the ones migrating to the roles that include "Would you like fries with that?" until all of those roles are eleminated by AI and automation. Other than the techs who will service and maintain the production equipment and the low skill labor that will load them with the verious elements to produce a BigMac, fries, and a drink, even the current service oriented low skill roles will go away.
The future of Amazon is already in the works. The largest headcount in the entire company will be engineering and maintenance in the next decade of so. When I worked there, the presentations on this were being made and the leaders brought into the discussions.
Hive/Swarm distribution centers are already in operation. These reduce the 5000-6000 employees in a current significantlfy automated distribution center down to a few hundred. Mostly maintenance workers. My last facility in that role had 5000 employees, 14miles of microprocessor controlled conveyance and sorting systems, and 7000 robots. My team was 75 to maintain those assets 24/7. The Hive/Swarm model will reduce production staff to a few hundred and increase maintenance to ~500. The robot count will double to triple from 7000 to 15000-20000. As autonomous vehicles advance, even the number of drivers will decline substantially.
Business will not long tolerate the degradation of reliability and capability in the work force. They will reduce dependence on the work force as much as possible. Buckle up youngsters. You will be made obsolete if you do not step up and perform.
Inside The Hive - Ocado Technology (youtube.com)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2uMfpAHdGY
I read that article and it's
I read that article and it's unfortunate that these kids have not been better prepared for the realities of working.
They are the first generation of kids that I can say were probably raised in total participation trophy.. spare their feelings.. self esteem is more important than performance their whole lives.
The ones that were marginally capable of doing the school work were unchallenged as schools put all their energies into getting even the lowest performing kids to try to pass the competency exams that dictated their school standing. They learned they did not have to put much effort out.. since things were dumbed down to a much lower common denominator. Neither of my skids had to try in school.. they were naturally smart enough to pass most everything they needed to... and often were smarter than their actual teacher. (the conversations with my DH about their workpapers being wrong.. but my DH telling me that they didn't have to put the right answer down.. but only the answer the teacher thought was right).
I would also kind of blame the fact that many of them developed poor "work hygiene habits" because of the pandemic... things like needing to be on time.. and productive went by the wayside.
And.... I have seen a trend of people who are younger wanting to cherry pick their work... they only want "meaningful" work. but employers have work that needs to get done.. not all of it is super exciting.. and guess what? as the new guy, you are going to bear the brunt of that boring stuff.. and in the end... that's also how you end up gaining experience.. showing initiative.. doing all the things that will EARN you higher work.
News flash that your "education" has not prepared you for real life.. for real work.. you don't come out of college with much value.. other than a sponge that can soak up new processes.. produce more output for them.. your degree may get you in the door.. but your case study work in college was not real life and the value of your opinions is marginal at the entry stage.. it's a time to keep your mouth shut.. ears open and nose to the grindstone.. not fun... not sexy.. but that's how it goes.. expecting everyone to see your talent as miraculous like your mom and dad did? haha. sorry to disappoint.
I read that article and it's
unfortunate but is it shocking though?
Just in these forums alone .... there is no shortage of "gentle" parenting and then these people wonder why their kids don't want to work .... well coddle a kid from 0-17 why expect anything different after this?!?
****Beware of locking in with a partner with lazy under 17 year old kids bc 18+ hits and most likely that pattern is what will play out
I will raise my hand too at
I will raise my hand too at this time on behalf of SD29 , mostly due to the lack of consistent discipline & motivation, ,lack of and the challenge in accepting feedback She tends to display such an emotional reaction to everything , as if the universe has something against her so can't take any constructiive critcism since her feelings are that fragile
. Its not surprising that she still has no job or has accomplished any goals since she ( also in classic BM fashion) just gives up too quick and doesnt follow through on anything.
I want to say she falls back like that since its the easy way out to just keep being Broken and playing the poor me victim card with a codependency problem to be handled like she is made of glass , since putting in effort to make it in life on her own is asking too much. She is in this constant state of being in defeat and learned helplessness claiming its because she "doesnt have options like anyone else" so she doesnt bother to try.
Yet, she laments all the time on how she aspires to live more comfortably financially and have the things that DH and I have ( a good home in a safe neighborhood, a car, etc) All things that we actually have had to WORK for ( which she fails to do) and it didnt fall in our laps out of the sky or come easily for us.
The girl can't even handle her own affairs let alone a steady job, like staying dedicated to apartment hunting enough for a better place,since she is disastifed with what she has, or for any task that she knows she can and needs to complete. In her words, she requires to have "Company: for everything. Its like she struggles to do much of anything like an adult without expecting everyone to hold her hand and baby her. and have others validation and even Pity every step of the way.
She can't even handle going to tutoring sessions to prepare to take the GED to at least get some more of an education so she could improve her chances. . She just blames her genes. She also still cites BM for not giving her a ride to those courses as a reason why she had yet after many many years and chances to complete that. Nevermind the fact that I know she lives in an area where public transport is an option .she knows damn well what Uber is and has a DL . The takeway is that the excuses never stops and it doesnt look too good for her in life..it also makes her generation look really bad too.
Education is valuable,
Education is valuable, experience is valuable. Together they are far more valuable than the sum of their parts. What an education does is demonstrate the ability to set and accomplish a goal requiring years to complete. Education also trains the mind to analyze information and solve problems.
I am a proponant of both education and experience. I have coached a number of my certified trades employees to work on completing their Bachelors degree while working high paying jobs in the skilled trades. I have on many occassions received graduation announcements at a frequency fo one every 3-5 years.
The demonization of education is a travesty and a tragedy IMHO. While a degree is not absolutely necessary to have a successful career, those without degrees will nearly invariably work for those who do.
Yes, there are Billionares without degrees (Gates, Dell, etc..). Keep in mind that they employ far more degreed people in Sr. roles than they do non degreed people.
As is the case with many of the examples we see in StepParent land, HS grads are decreasingly able to enter the work force or successfully progress through a college education. As is seen in the recruiting, corporate, and HR worlds, work ethic, capability, and a basic level of performance are evolving to be increasingly rare. Fortunately as is often the case with vocal dipshits, the quiet performers and functional young adults outnumber the slugs. For now anyway. Sadly, they will be the ones to end up supporting the slugs since the performers will earn, and the slugs will whine and cry to be supprted because the mean managers, employment expectations, business demands, and standards will hurt their fee fees.
An interesting thing about entitlement minded wastes of skin is they are what they are. I led a project in the former E. Germany in the late 90s. The local engineer who was the liaison was educated in E. Germany before reunification. He was a high performer. After reunividation he and his SO bought a 700+ yo gutted block of flats that was burned out during the fire bombing of Dresden during WW2. The bldg block was 3 stories made of 3+ft thick limestone blocks. It had no roof and no internal structure. During weekends he rebuilt the internal structure and finished a flat on the top floor. They were living there while they finished the lower floors. The goal was to rent all but one flat in the block and live in one.
In a number of conversations my liaison expounded on pre and post reunification conditions in the former E. Germany. According to him, prior to reunification, there was little for anyone to buy, survival was basic, food, housing, and clothing was on allotment. To get the allotment vouchers people had to work. For those without employement to get their vouchers they had to report to a supervisory station every day 5days a week for 8hrs. All they did was sit. Everyone in the household had to be there except for school aged kids who had to get their voucher book stamped at school. At the end of the day, voucher books were stamped. No show, o voucher. To get food, clothing, and housing, the stamps were needed. Not having stamps carried extremely harsh consequences.
After unification rather than supervised station entitelment, those without jobs got housing, food, clothing, and money for their discretionary use. Instead of sitting in a stadium or auditorium, etc... they got to lay around at home watching cable TV. My liaison certainly liked the opportunities of the free market economy and representative government but that the slugs were rewarded just pissed him off to no end. His fear was that once his block of flats was completed he might be forced to rent to dole minions rather than employed producers which would significantly reduce his potential income from his investment and hard work.
The ability to learn from one's own mistakes is a rarity, the even more rare ability to learn from the mistakes of others is a foundation for triumph. Sadly, comprehensively we are not demonstrating eaither ability.
Buckle up folks, the age of the basement dwelling parent suckling kidult losers is upon us. Not that my basement is available to them. No one's basement or home should be. At least for those able but too lazy to provide for themselves.
IMHO of course.
Rags, I'm pretty well
Rags, I'm pretty well educated (business degree plus a masters) and my brother was also college educated.. my parents both had advanced degrees.. from harvard. But my dad, who was a big proponent of me getting my education, would be the first to tell you that the value of degrees.. the quality of the education and the real experience of accomplishment is well diminished for most.
I would also point out that the vast majority of degreed individuals will work for other degreed individuals, it's not as if you will necessarily have a super great chance of being one of those lofty exec suite denizens. People who end up at the highest levels of performance.. and those that start those billion dollar companies often are the beneficiaries of the intersection of luck.. and preparedness.. maybe with a sprinkle of privilege wealth to underpin.
I would say that in the trades.. a lot of the people who run/start those companies do not have formal degrees, but they often have certifications etc.. I actually think that right now, being in a trade field of work is probably one of the more attainable ways for people to be their own boss.. have their own company.. and generate their own wealth. On our recent cruise in the Norweigan Haven, it was almost as many business people as it was those who owned their own fire suppression companies.. plumbing.. hvac etc..
I think at one time, getting your degree did show that you were capable of completing a goal, but the cost of those degrees now is difficult to swallow.. and critical thinking can be developed, but if you don't have the underpinning mind.. they aren't really working on that too much any more.
Do I think a degree is worthless? no.. but it is "worth less" than it was decades ago. If you want to go into the corporate grind.. you will probably need one to rise above certain levels..
What I would advocate is people working while getting their degree.. like my YSD is doing, where her company pays her back for all her classes. She has actually risen to management ranks without a degree.. so it's not impossible to get ahead without one... but I do think it's a good thing to have as long as you aren't racking up a half a million dollars on that basket weaving degree.
Again.. for some people, they will still get value out of their degrees.. but there are also a lot of people that aren't coming out of college with the critical thinking skills necessary to succeed.. hence the people posting that they should be getting "time blindness" accomodations and showing up for corporate interviews in shorts.
The reality is most people won't become billionaires... many will not even be able to aspire to being multi millionaires.. most people will work for other people.. college is no longer a golden ticket to a great career.. shoot, 30 years ago when I had my freshly minted business degree, I struggled to find an entry level corporate job.. though with time, I found my groove (and a masters degree along the way). But, I am not sad if someone wants to go to work, to learn a trade and possibly be their own boss one day, they may learn a lot of lessons on self reliance and dedication that we just don't see at the universities any more.
ESMOD, Ditto. On everything you said.
I am a huge proponent of the Trades. I have made my career leading large trade based workforces. Working and earning while knocking out the courses to get an undergrad degree is definitely the way to go IMHO. Work, grow experience, and when you graduate with a Bachelor's leverage the experience and the degree for advancement.
I did the career progression somewhat in reverse. I started my company when I was 21. I sold out to my busness partners at 26 and that is for the most part what I used to complete my undergrad in engineering. My first employer after undergrad had education benefits and that is what I used to complete my MBA with no debt. I did have $10K in undergrad debt but was able to pay it off within the first year of my post BS career. While I learned more about business, management, and work running my company than I did in B school, I also learned what I did not want to do with my life. So, 20hrs from graduation with a BA in Econ, I changed to enginering which added another 4 years to my then already 7yr undergrad career.
My parents are the first gen on both sides of my family to get a degree. My brother and I followed that example. Dad, my brother, and me all have exactly the same undergrad. My brother and I both have MBAs. Though not Harvard. The closest I got was early acceptance to Princeton but fortunately I was self aware enough to know that I was far from ready for that level of effort at that time. I had several scholarship offers out of HS, both accademic and athletic. But.... I foll0wed my parents to their alma mater. That was fun but decidedly unproductive.
My career has peaked at the Sr. Director level. My baby bro is Mr. C suite (COO) and will likely accept a CEO role very soon. I'm proud of him. He is a unique tallent and an outstanding executive leader. I have done well, just not as well as baby bro. DW and I have matched the retirement that my parents have had so while I have not done betrer than my parents, I have matched their success. DW is the rockstar in my IL clan. An amazing intellect and a work ethic beyond anyone I have ever witnessed.
I am truly a blessed man. I won the parent lottery, and the wife lottery (the second time I played), the (s)kid lottery, and have lived a life I have enjoyed and that for the most part I am proud of. Not done yet, I need to find my next role because I am at the point where I can't stand so much time with myself.
I am not out to climb the ladder any longer. I would like a role that pays me well to do what I like doing, in an organziation where I can mentor and develop talent to take it all on when I am done. One more shot to build a legacy and do some good I suppose. We shall see if I can sell that one more time. If not, I have no regrets career wise. Fortunately we have hit our retirement asset goal so if I am done, I can take my "gold watch" and ride off into the sunset into retirement without regrets.
Your dad is absolutely right about education not being what it used to be. Even Universities have adopted some level of social promotion and new grads are far less prepared for careers than they used to be. Your observation on critical thinking skills is sadly the new status quo. The screen raised spoon fed young'ins struggle to solve even basic life skill problems much less complex business or technical problems.
Yes, success occurs at the intersection of qualification and opportunity. AKA "preparedness and luck".
What is mind boggling to me is the apparent abandonment of adherance to standards and accountability in the work world. Employers no longer demand these things and of course Jr. workers don't deliver these things except at an exception level. Sad.
Now, to knock out 40hrs of CPEs in the next 6wks then renew my Cert. One more time. Maybe two more times depending on what adventures I can dig up in the next 5 or so years. My Cert renews in 3yr intervals.