Hey Yall,
1. The parents today are spoiling thier kids so bad that they dont want to work for anything and expect everything to be given to them.
2. Most kids are going to college and getting degrees that our society has told them they will get a much higher paying job than "those skilled laborers".
3. Believe it or not, if a kid goes to Technical college they are looked down on. Heaven forbid if they decide to take a tech prep line of learning instead of a college prep line of learning.
4. Why get hot and sweaty doing a real job when you could be getting hot and sweaty playing your XBox or PS 3 and looking cool. Its not fun working, and that is what are kids are being taught now adays, work bad, play good.
I completely agree with all of this. I am a earned a BS in Nuclear Engineering and I now work as a NLO. I love the job for the hands-on aspects and learning the real world stuff of how nuclear power works. I have been in situations where I am next to a young kid interns at my plant that is dressed all nice and smelling like Axe. They all look like they are about to start their junior year in College and give me bad vibes. I have gut feeling on multiple occasions that they are looking down at my co-workers and me. They do not know my background and are already getting a chip on their shoulder because I work and sweat for a living. I don't understand how this pride they have is being engendered. You should never be too proud to do a job. It is unhealthy.
This is not limited to the young kids. The older engineers also have this problem. I was trying to find some ANSI standards in document control one day. An old engineer decided to help me and gave me his copy of the standards. He asked me what they were for and I told him I wanted them for "experience questions". I told him about my plans of taking the EIT and wanted to know if my time in OPS would count as experience. The dialog went somthing like this:
Old Engineer: " You have to have a degree to take the EIT."
Me: " I do have a degree"
Old Engineer: " You have to have a 4 year degree."
Me: "I have a 4 year degree"
Old Engineer: " You must have a 4 year degree in engineering from an ABET accredited school."
Me: "I have a BS in Nucelar Engineering from an ABET accredited school."
Old Engineer: " You have a 4 year degree in Nuke Engineering? It is not nuke engineering Technology?"
Me: "Yes it is a full engineering degree."
Old Engineer: *shakes head in disbelief* "Why did you not try to hire on as an engineer?"
Me: " I learned a lot in school but knew nothing. I can learn more as a NLO and I make more money as a NLO. I am not the only one. Half of the last NLO class are 4 year degreed engineers. One of them was even a NASA test engineer."
People don't get it. The trades are a vital need for our society and they are $hit on at every turn by academic weenies. One day I may return to school for a masters degree. I won't be getting it in engineering! The way to go is MBA with real world experience. The people with the skills and experience will be the highly prized people.