Economic Shifts
Recently, I’ve been working with young adults who are experiencing high anxiety over their inability to land a job. They complete resumes and apply on-line for random jobs only to be told via email that they will be contacted with the results when a selection is made. I have been told they (universally) believe they must sit and wait “about a month” before they will hear back with a job offer. When I make suggestions that they submit a cover letter with their resume or that they should be more proactive and reach out while everyone else is waiting they tearfully cry, “No one ever told us how to do this!”
It is sad to see how the focus of education has changed from preparing our youth to be successful individuals in life to being consumed with fear of a future they believe they cannot change. If they only knew and understood how to be successful they’d realize the future is theirs to master. Generations come and go and the most successful ones have been built upon the few courageous, inventive, fortune seekers.
In the 1980’s we had courses in Salesmanship, Marketing, Auto Shop, and Home Economics where we learned useful trades that could help get jobs. We learned about finances as well as how to take care of ourselves. The goal of education was rooted in the training of individual’s to excel after leaving school. Few students went to college unless their desired profession required it or they were seeking to promote in their field of choice. The rest of us found careers in jobs that did not require a college degree. We worked hard and promoted based on merit and skill.
Today, it feels as if the goal in education is collective failure. Universities created degrees focused on Social Studies and Politics that limited individuals to low paying government jobs. More public schools score low on National Averages and worldwide our education system ranks way below historical scores. If you want to know how our youth are fairing when it comes to life skills training, consider how many cannot move out of their parent’s home, can’t find jobs, can’t use the degrees they earned in college and now have that debt hanging over their heads.
Parents need to understand that their children were not and are not being prepared at school to live successfully. We can’t say, “When I was your age…” as it does not apply when they are not being taught the things we were taught. Therefore, parents must teach their children about finances. They need to understand what a budget is, how to save more than they spend, and how to plan for their future. Without the help of a parent who understands these things (and many parents were never taught either) the future for our youth looks like perpetual dependence on others.
“If you’re not interested in the economic scene right now, you’re mentally dead. Charlie Munger