Are Millennials Lazy? And the Generation Gap

So I've seen an article going around about how Millennials expect everything to be given to them and how everyone thinks they are special. Although I didn't disagree with the article I felt it was severely lacking in it's scope. (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/wait-but-why/generation-y-unhappy_b_3930620.html)

There is a mind set that Millennials are lazy, don't stay at jobs for long and in general don't care about work. This is very misleading. There is a different mindset that arrived with Millennials. We saw what the generations before us did, and wanted a change. I have heard things like "You have to be with a company for X amount of years to get ahead and get your corner office." or "Do what makes you happy and you will never work a day in your life." These are BS. There are so many issues that I personally see and have experienced.
Many companies today treat employees as commodities. Examples include:

• A national company just cut back on their regional district managers from 23 to 9 in the state of NY. They laid off 14 employees that had been with the company for years.
• I had a boss that worked 60 to 80 hours a week, even going to the hospital, for what I think was stress. He ended up leaving the company after 6 years.
• Companies no longer provide quality health insurance, a lot of co-pays are $50 for a doctor visit and $1000 for an in patient hospital stay.

My point is, staying with companies for a long time no longer makes sense to this generation. I work at a non-profit that actually provides great benefits and values me as an employee. I have to work only 40 hours a week, honestly I usually get closer to 45, I hate not finishing a task. For many, it's better to take contract work and pay for their own health insurance, or work for a company that treats them better and let's them lead a life style they like. This leads me to my next point LIFESTYLE.

I've heard it called the work like life balance, but the idea is that workers no longer want to work 60 to 80 hours a week and get nothing from it. There is a myth that working those hours will help you to move up. This just doesn't make sense. With companies down sizing and hundreds of employees clamoring for one spot, the odds are against you. The employee doesn't get any more money or incentive. I would rather have time with my family that work crazy hours, with a chance to maybe get an interview for a position. Some companies have realized this, Starbucks provides health care and stock options to employees. Cosco pays $22 an hour and has great benefits. Trader Joe's is dropping health coverage for part time employees because obamacare is cheaper, and they are providing a $500 stipend.

A lot of people in this generation think that companies don't value them. Pensions are being taken away and benefits being stripped down. So I guess my question is, What's the point? Long term this generation will be eventually running the companies and understand that this is the way it was. There are companies doing it right but a lot that aren't.

Anger Issues and spring cleaning my life out

So I got into a shouting match on the field last night at soccer. The other guy called me a f*cking moron and got a red card. I could help wondering why he pissed me off soo much. I had a half hour drive home to think about it. I have thought about giving up soccer a couple times because it seems lately I can't control my temper. This is a new one for me, if you've known me growing up, a temper is not something I really had. So what gives?

To talk about this you have to know some of my past. I grew up in a house where my dad had a bad temper. I swore I would never be that way. Often growing up I would blame myself when he would get mad, thinking I must have done something wrong cause parents are never wrong (parents may now laugh). Later that manifested itself in the form of depression. I would get angry at myself for not being good enough or not being perfect. This came to a head a few years ago when I ended up in the hospital on suicide watch. I had a hard year after that. I finally got on some meds for my depression and things have gotten better.

Ok so what does that have to do with this now? Here's what I realized on the drive home, I'm no longer blaming myself for other peoples mistakes, I'm getting angry at THEM and not me. Which normally is good, but having pent up anger for 25 years, it now tends to come out over the stop, where I called a guy a d*ck one night at soccer.

So who gives a crap if you get mad at people? I do. I call myself a protestant christian, the standards I have are not my own but those of the bible. I can't do it all right, don't even go there, but I know that swearing at someone on the soccer field is not "turning the other cheek" like Christ said. This does not mean I should be a doormat for people either. Christ flipped out on the people in the temple courts selling stuff for worshipers. The point is I need to find a healthy balance, something that is new territory for me. I also need an outlet for the anger I feel.

All in all, I feel like my life looks more a mess than it really is. It seems like more of the cards are out on the table, but I am trying to organize them. Anyone that has done spring cleaning knows, that halfway through the process the place looks messier than when you started, but it necessary to do to sort out the junk and the things to keep.

The usefulness and necessity of education.

So there was a video I watched this morning by a british spoken word artist, no not a rapper, a spoken word artist. About how education has been passed down and become a norm. This is not a bad thing, but I like the fact the artist goes beyond the given. He speaks of how we have been misled as a generation, to think that educational success will translate into real world success. "You have to go to college to get a good job" is what we have been told. While it's true that college graduates earn more on average than high school graduates (http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/money_co/2011/08/college-gradutates-pay.html), I think its a misnomer that college is required for life. Richard Branson, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerburg all did not graduate from college. I know they are not the norm, please don't think I am against education. My point is education needs to have an end goal. Most of my generation graduates from college with no idea how to transition to the real world. $40k worth of debt for a job that pays 25 to 30k, sounds like a rip off to me.

So I always complain that our generation has a lot of critical thinking and yet a large debt when it comes to creating solutions. This may not apply to everyone, but here goes. 1st, 4 year schools should cost more (wait what, you think). This would make people think about whether or not education is worth it. Our Student loan crisis has to do with people borrowing money they can't pay back. I think community colleges should be funded more. They are a great place to test and see if higher education is for students. From there the students can decide if the investment in a four year degree is worth it. I also think individuals (the students) need to take stock in the loans they need for school. I've found that students that have to pay for their own education, take a lot more stock and ownership in the cost and use.

I also think the liberal arts portion of 4 year degrees have become useless. I don't mean that a History major is useless, I mean a Computer Science major having to take a history, philosophy and arts course is a waste of time. We have a generation of people that are mediocre at everything and great at nothing. To my friends that have their PhDs in education, I am not speaking about you. You have spent years refining your craft as an educator and have worked toward a purpose.

All in all I think that our education system needs to find a balance between memorization and creativity. I find that creativity and thinking outside the box is not encouraged in our society. Maybe this is why school doesn't work for many innovators and visionaries. Not sure if this rant will make sense to some.

Integrity

So I have been really annoyed by people lately and it seemed to be for all different reasons. What I realized was at the core, all the things annoying me involved integrity. From a "designer" not telling a client they are selling them, or my landlord repeatedly lying to me. It seems like integrity is lacking in a lot of people's lives. So I guess I would ask that people be honest with me, even if it sucks. I just hope and pray I can do the same for you.

2012 Year In Review

So it the end of 2012 and what a crazy year it has been. I thought 2011 was crazy, I had no idea how much things would change in the next year. 

Work
In January 2012 I was relief staff for the center for disability services and was starting an internship at Burst Marketing. This was an amazing opportunity that helped me to get into my desired field of web development. After 3 months there I was offered a job as an assistant project manager and I accepted, I had no idea what I was getting into. It was hard, I didn't realize how much customer service was involved in it. I think I was happiest when I got to code and program. I am so thankful to Mike McKasty and Alex Vasilaskos for the opportunity there. I didn't last long as a project manager, it is a super stressful job, and I have no idea how Alex has done it for so many years. I do miss all of my friends at burst, Natalie and Chris K trying to kill me over coffee, Tomeck talking soccer, Tony Vendetta and our convos about being a dad, Andy and our ridiculous conversations, and Chris White terrible jokes that I miss. And Ben calling me stupid and shooting me with darts, Alyssa and the fun we had laughing the the bad clients, Lisa with her sage wisdom, and wendy with her honest talks. Alomst forgot venting to Dan in the dev cave.

In October I left burst, a few weeks later I accepted a job with the NYS Small Business Development Center, as a programmer. I have to say getting to code all day and work with SQL has been more fun than I could ever imagine. When I was in college I thought I would never work a desk job in my life, it just wasn't for me. Here I am at 29 working as a programmer and loving it. The first few months have been rough, I have been sick twice and was out another week for the birth of my daughter. I want to thank Al Scher and Brian Goldstien for the opportunity to do this as a job and get paid for it.

Family
In 2011 I married Barbara Sheufelt (now Frederick) and it has been great. I was listening to the radio and they said 75% of relationships are toxic where the couples fight all the time. I have to admit, that is not my marriage. We do fight, don't get me wrong, but it is not constant. She is way smarter than me and walks away from stupid arguments.
So its no surprise now, but in February we decided to try and have a baby. Our friends Dave and Asya had a little boy and we decided we were ready to have a child. Let me just tell you, Barbara did not like being pregnant. (Actually I'm not sure many women do!) but after 9/10 months Evelyn Marie Frederick was born on election day, november 6th 2012. She cost us so much sleep, and you know what, she is totally worth it. She recognizes my voice now and it is one of the most amazing feelings in the world.

School
This has been one of the hardest parts of the year. I am finishing a degree in Information Sciences so that I have a related degree for the future. It has been tough to work, go to school and be a full time husband, and now dad. Here's the thing, this is one of those delayed pay off things. Its an investment in my families future. I know right now, its not gonna make a huge difference but in the future when a job asks do you have a CS or similar degree I will be able to say yes!

I started out the year with a quote from florence and the machine, "shake it off, shake it off, when the devils on your back, so shake him off" I feel its appropraite to end this year with a quote from one of my new favorite bands Imagine Dragons, the song entitled "On top of the world" 


"‘Cause I’m on top of the world, ‘ay
I’m on top of the world, ‘ay
Waiting on this for a while now
Paying my dues to the dirt
I’ve been waiting to smile, ‘ay
Been holding it in for a while, ‘ay
Take it with me if I can
Been dreaming of this since a child
I’m on top of the world."


I never imagined that this year would be so hard and productive all at the same time. Here's to an even better 2013!