Quote:That's your experience with having a very unique and rare skill, which is certainly not the norm. Not trying to downplay your accomplishments (cause I don't know them), but anyone who was working in 80's and 90's has a huge advantage over people who started in the last 8-10 years especially. They came up in a more prosperous generation which had easier access to the tools and opportunities to develop more unique skills and ability. Sure we have some of those opportunities now, but they aren't nearly as good as they were. The internet isn't new anymore, Unemployment is nowhere near 3% on the E6 like it used to be. Schooling costs 4 to 8x as much as it used to 25 to 35 years ago. Wages have been stagnant for most of the decade. It is what it is.

 

Even in fields with specialization there is always a push to replace with cheaper options as soon as possible. In most fields the company is always trying to replace you with a cheaper option or outsource, or move. Engineering, manufacturing, even healthcare 'the recession proof' profession. They import Doctors and nurses for cheaper and give them substandard wages for 3 years using H1B program to drive down wages. And then they introduce newer less skilled, but 'close enough' providers to fill the gap (see midlevels replacing primary care Doctors). Globalization has killed opportunity the last 25 years.

 

This is where you are wrong, and my case could outline it.

 

Professionally in my "day job" I work on electronics and computer systems.  I got the training to develop those skills in the 80's and 90's mainly through the military.  Some of those skills I learned on my own in what would be considered "later years" when it comes to education in the 90's because of the internet.  I would argue that more information and resources are available now because of the internet.  As an example, it used to be that in order to find out how a certain chip or micro-processor works, you would have to get paper manuals either from the manufacturer or through other sources.  Now the information can be had with a simple search online.

 

Regarding my freelance work, it mainly deals with software.  I learned the skills needed for that type of work between the late 90's and early 2000's and I learned it all online.  It has changed a lot since then, but the fundamentals are the same.

 

My point is, there is more opportunity now than there was when I was young and growing up.  What is missing now is the desire to actually acquire the knowledge and the work that it takes to gain that knowledge and really understand it.  I've worked with EE grads that literally couldn't hook up a battery correctly.  They can answer "the correct memorized answer" on paper, but putting it to practical use is beyond their ability.  The same goes with CS grads.  They can write a "cool game" or application, but can't even identify or understand why it's buggy and potentially dangerous.

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