What has happened to Americas' Youth?

That's a huge part of the problem, in my opinion, and I put myself in the "highly educated" crowd. The problem is that companies often care more about diplomas and certifications than talent. That's just the way it is.

FastDriver said:

That's a huge part of the problem, in my opinion, and I put myself in the "highly educated" crowd. The problem is that companies often care more about diplomas and certifications than talent. That's just the way it is.

Click to expand...

seriously, i barely passed highschool in 2006, (mostly due to the fact that i didnt give a ****) and i make 50k/year right now, a month away from earning my electrical journeyman's license. in the future, i am lining myself up to make 500+ k if all works out the way i like. i own 3 vehicles and a brand new 4x4 ATV. hopefully ill buy a house in the next year.

the valedictorian of my graduating class is over 50k in student loan debt and works a cash register at k-mart...

someday, when i run my own business, i will look at a degree as a potential black mark on someone's resume, instead, i will be looking for military service and prior employment history to decide whom i employ.

Forget car stuff for a minute, what really irks me are these guitar hero games. Kids would spend hours and hours playing a stupid plastic "guitar" with 5 buttons. Give them a real instrument to let them learn it. Not only does it teach music, it gets them laid in high school, teaches them what hard work can do, to focus and not give up. I can't stand these guitar zero games lol...

Boss 351 said:

Forget car stuff for a minute, what really irks me are these guitar hero games. Kids would spend hours and hours playing a stupid plastic "guitar" with 5 buttons. Give them a real instrument to let them learn it. Not only does it teach music, it gets them laid in high school, teaches them what hard work can do, to focus and not give up. I can't stand these guitar zero games lol...

Click to expand...

that and those goddamn banana sandwiches they are ridiculous

I remember when frankforters cost a nickel

Gearbanger 101 said:

Meh....I remember my buddy asking me a few weeks back if he could use my Mustang in a Wedding. I said sure....but she does know this is a "Fox Body" Mustang right. Its really nothing special? He assures me she just wants to be seen getting out of a Mustang, of any kind.

Day of the wedding comes up and she takes one look at my car and says...."Oh...this is what you were talking about? I thought it was going to be one of those classic ones."

I laughed out loud.

I'm absolutely floored how many people even under 20 now a days don't know what you're talking about when you say "Fox Mustang". Not a clue. Even most 25-year-olds I know are still pretty hazy on the details.

Click to expand...

We were married one year ago and my wife insisted we left in the Fox (oh and we're 23 years old). But I've had 17 year olds asking "what kind of car is that?" I say mustang and they don't believe me!

I like to think of myself as one of the last gearheads. Cars and girls are the ONLY thing I think about 24/7. But when school is in session I try to focus on that, so far all A's and B's in all honors crap, so I guess I'm not totally obsessed with cars. I'm turning 16 in a few months and am a Sophomore in high school. In my auto-tech class there are so many dumbasses it's not even funny. Over half the class didn't even know "lefty loosey, righty tighty" when we went out into the shop. The sad thing is some of them were seniors. There's one true gearhead in there. He works with his dad on diesels and stuff in his spare time, and had a 85 Fox that ran 7.80s up until a few months ago. Other than that, the rest that are somewhat knowledgeable all think that ferraris are the best thing on earth. Little do they know that a Fox can beat almost any ferrari with about $25k spent on it. They all LOVE my cars though, which is awesome. I'm the only one in the class with a "quick" car, other than one of my friends who's dad has a Porsche and my friend just got a WRX. I have done a pretty good bit of work on cars for being 15 I think. I have totally rebuilt my coupe BY MYSELF from the ground up, except for body work and the final assembly on the motor. Plus I saved my 89 LX hatch from being cut into 1 million pieces and have totally redid it from the ground up. All I have left is dropping the motor in. The "advanced" auto-tech 3 class is almost as big of a joke as auto-tech 1. I walked around the shop and noticed they were tearing down a 350 SBC. But they were too damn lazy to walk across the shop to get bolts for the engine stand, so they just took all but 1 bolt out of the engine stand that was sitting next to theirs. IT HAD A MOTOR ON IT. When I noticed it, the one bolt was twisted to hell and the motor was just barely hanging on to the engine stand. Smart huh?

FastDriver said:

That's a huge part of the problem, in my opinion, and I put myself in the "highly educated" crowd. The problem is that companies often care more about diplomas and certifications than talent. That's just the way it is.

Click to expand...

For most of you that haven't figured it out, I am an IT guy with a pretty good electronic & mechanical background. The degrees and certifications get you interviews, the experience and maturity get you hired.

I can paper a door with all the IT certifications I have, and they were very valuable in teaching me how things work. That gave me the opportunities to apply what I had learned, and that really made it stick in my mind. To be a well balanced person, you need both book and hands on leaning opportunities. If you fail at one, the other will not be sufficent to get you to the top of your potential.

If you could find a guy with education, talent, AND hard-work that's great, but if you had to pick any two of those qualities, which two would be the best?

The problem is that it's difficult to discern the last two qualities.

I have to say that I'd also put myself in the "highly educated" category, though I know that the proper combination of qualities is the only thing that will allow someone to be truly successful at a career. I have a MS in Energy Management and Facilities Management, state certifications in industrial refrigeration, and a resume a mile long. Before graduate school I got a BS in Evolutionary Anthropolgy and was an active contract archaeologist for SUNY Stony Brook. I know that my resume got me the interview, but my personality and combination of work ethic and the diversity of my life experiences got me the job.

With all the education I have, I currently run high pressure steam turbines and turn wrenches on them daily. People ask me all the time why I don't wear a suit and sit behind a desk. I tell them what I make an hour, and more importantly, why I enjoy doing what I do, and they usually shut right up.

I will take hard work any day of the week over talent/education. You cant teach hard work. As a long time practioneer of Muay Thai and a short time teacher of said ring sport (about 4 years) I have seen some guys with serious talent. But, they dont have will power/the drive/focus/heart . I can see the talent, but it is wasted. They are smart and talented and that can get you far, but not as far as hard work.