Good Article...

[ProfessorM]

I have been saying that exact thing for the last 15 years. I haven't met a single young person who is in my trade in a decade. I feel like a dinosaur. I have always luved to get my hands dirty. The sad part is my trade was a very high paying job 30 to 40 years ago. Now it is sad that my wife makes 3 times an hour what I do pushing a pencil, going to meetings and talking on her blackberry. It's caught up with us. A whole generation of a skilled, mechanically inclined, workforce has gone by the boards and it will take 20 years to train people to get their hands dirty again. You don't learn these skilled trades over nite and the people left doing it are dying, retiring, and getting older so their go your mentors and teachers. Very sad situation. Get used to made in China.

[Crafty Angler]

Young people feel themselves to be too clever to be forced to debase themselves with learning a skilled trade involving any sort of manual labor. After all, isn't that why we tacitly approve of illegal immigration - it provides business owners with cheap labor for 'menial' - which is code for physical - labor.

Hmmmmm...let's see, exploiting immigrants for substandard wages...I've heard something like that before...yup, that's it, from my grandparents and great-grandfather. Little changes, it seems.

I really hope Obama will require that young people be given the choice of either military service or public service for perhaps a 2 year period. It would do them, the less fortunate and the country as a whole a world of good, maybe even teach them some pride and self respect. And the country will respect them back, rather than resent their lack of ambition and sheer sloth.

And what if we were to concurrently give all the unemployed money market managers, bankers and others of that ilk the opportunity to find honest, and I repeat, honest work in a WPA type program to help repair our infrastructure that was allowed to fall into ruin. Maybe a day's worth of real labor would restore a little humility to the avaricious little pricks.

The age of money for nothing may be drawing to a close for good in the very near future. Starvation can be a fairly effective motivational tool - like their forebears it may soon be a matter of survival for them to actually work for a living. Too goddammed bad if they don't like it - neither, I imagine, did our immigrant ancestors.

Hope they're clever enough to figure out how to grip a shovel, swing a hammer or mix concrete by hand. If I could learn those skills along the way over the last 45 years I've worked, I'm sure they can too.

Hey, like the comedians say, don't get me started...

[RIJIMMY]

Originally Posted by Crafty Angler

Young people feel themselves to be too clever to be forced to debase themselves with learning a skilled trade involving any sort of manual labor.
And what if we were to concurrently give all the unemployed money market managers, bankers and others of that ilk the opportunity to find honest, and I repeat, honest work in a WPA type program to help repair our infrastructure that was allowed to fall into ruin. Maybe a day's worth of real labor would restore a little humility to the avaricious little pricks.

The age of money for nothing may be drawing to a close for good in the very near future. Starvation can be a fairly effective motivational tool - like their forebears it may soon be a matter of survival for them to actually work for a living. Too goddammed bad if they don't like it - neither, I imagine, did our immigrant ancestors.

what a load of crap. Young people eat what was fed to them. My father would have kicked the crap out of me if I told him I wanted to be a machinist, plumber , whatever. So I'm to blame? Math, science and other subjects are what are FORCED on kids in school.
First, I'm not young, but I am in the easy investment business.Money for nothing? Are you f'in kidding me? Thats an ignorant comment. My wife and I bust our asses. We work 9 hour days, bring our computers home and work almost every night until 11 after the kids go to bed. I have worked through some part of every vacation I have had for over 15 years. I spent all of last weekend at work and guess what crafty? I carry a blackberry with me daily. When I am taking a dump, I get paged and have to dro everytihng (literally!)I dont get paid one freaking DIME for all of this extra work. I am not the exception I am the norm in this industry.
Honest work? Do you have any clue how ALL of americans pensions, 401ks, are managed by people BUSTING there asses? Do you know how much time people spend away from their familes traveling to research companies, implement new plans etc? theres no overtime. The day my Dad passed away, I flew from Florida to San Antonio fo work, got in at 3am, got teh call on my Dad at 7 am, flew back to Florida and stayed up arll night on my computer catching up on work! there was no time to mourn, noone who could hop in on my "unskilled" job. Big money would have been lost if I screwed up. Millions of people get checks every week because there are people in the investment indusrty doing all they can so that people can retire. WE dont drink martinis and have 2hr lunches. Life is not what hollywood portrays. Seriously, think before you jump to conclusions. the fact that you have a world wide web is because lots and lots of young people busted their asses working 80hr weeks to bring you the internet and computers you have today. Show a little gratuitude

[eastendlu]

Originally Posted by ProfessorM

I have been saying that exact thing for the last 15 years. I haven't met a single young person who is in my trade in a decade. I feel like a dinosaur. I have always luved to get my hands dirty. The sad part is my trade was a very high paying job 30 to 40 years ago. Now it is sad that my wife makes 3 times an hour what I do pushing a pencil, going to meetings and talking on her blackberry. It's caught up with us. A whole generation of a skilled, mechanically inclined, workforce has gone by the boards and it will take 20 years to train people to get their hands dirty again. You don't learn these skilled trades over nite and the people left doing it are dying, retiring, and getting older so their go your mentors and teachers. Very sad situation. Get used to made in China.

Me too

[BigBo]

That is exactly what's wrong. The manufacturing jobs we've let go in this country are jobs that we can never get back.
Right now as we speak, I'm in jeopardy of losing my job next year because our parent company feels it's in our best interest to ship all of our equipment and manufacturing capabilities overseas. This company sent us e-mails before the presidential elections urging us to vote Democrat. Their fear was that there would be higher taxes imposed by the Republican Party on goods maunfactured by "US" companies outside of the US. In that e-mail they boast how 70% of their profits came from overseas manufacturing and they wanted to increase that percentage rate in the next few years. I'm supposed to believe that it's in my best interest to go along with a 30% US based work force reduction (of which I'll most likely be a part of) to make them more profitable.

[Striperknight]

USA = Tourist destination. thats about it.
oh yea we make weapons.

[Nebe]

I totally agree.. Im pretty sure most of you know what I do for a living and i am finding that lately people have lost much appreciation for the kind of work I make. Most would rather have an Ipod than a vase.

I made this on monday..Its a sample for a lamp base. Hopefully the lighting company who asked for the sample will approve it and they will order from me as opposed to an over seas factory. its tough to compete with a chinese factory that pays their employees $5 a day

[Crafty Angler]

Originally Posted by Nebe

I totally agree.. Im pretty sure most of you know what I do for a living and i am finding that lately people have lost much appreciation for the kind of work I make. Most would rather have an Ipod than a vase.

I made this on monday..Its a sample for a lamp base. Hopefully the lighting company who asked for the sample will approve it and they will order from me as opposed to an over seas factory. its tough to compete with a chinese factory that pays their employees $5 a day

Duuuuude...pretty amazing work as always, Nebe

Good luck on landing the new account

[justplugit]

Originally Posted by ProfessorM

I have been saying that exact thing for the last 15 years. I haven't met a single young person who is in my trade in a decade. I feel like a dinosaur. I have always luved to get my hands dirty. The sad part is my trade was a very high paying job 30 to 40 years ago. Now it is sad that my wife makes 3 times an hour what I do pushing a pencil, going to meetings and talking on her blackberry. It's caught up with us. A whole generation of a skilled, mechanically inclined, workforce has gone by the boards and it will take 20 years to train people to get their hands dirty again. You don't learn these skilled trades over nite and the people left doing it are dying, retiring, and getting older so their go your mentors and teachers. Very sad situation. Get used to made in China.

P., you have to expand your skills and start making metal teeth like Paul Revere did.

[striperman36]

I would love to setup a small shop with CNC equip and do piece work