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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Amy J who wrote (217314)	2/4/2005 7:20:36 AM
From: combjelly	Respond to of 1586230

"Gen Xers got socked with graduating into a recession started by the boomers boom. " So what happened to those who graduated into the layoffs and downsizing of the late '70s and early '80s?

To: Amy J who wrote (217314)	2/4/2005 8:04:02 AM
From: combjelly	Respond to of 1586230

"Thought 48 was a boomer?" I am often lumped with the Boomers, but their life was totally different. Not only was employment dicey during the late '70s and early '80s, there was still the stigma that if there was any gap in your employment record, you were some some sort of slacker. And Last Hired, First Fired was the rule. Companies were keeling over left and right. Exactly zero of the companies that I worked for through those years still exist in any form today. With unemployment and inflation running high, it was hard to save any money at all. Most of us were trying to pay off debts and so didn't have anything to invest when the stock market was taking off. And it took a long while before wage growth exceeded inflation. In this part of the country during the early '80s, engineers made about $30k a year, adjusted for inflation. Stock options were rare and most companies didn't even have a program so employees could buy stock. According to Electronic Engineering Times, engineers didn't start getting close to $100k a year anywhere in the country until the late '80s. And no, the Boomers didn't develop the 24 hour work day, or the no vacation rule, we did. It was that or not work. The Boomers were the ones talking about 30 hour work weeks and more vacation time. We were the ones with the 40+ hour work week and two part time jobs. It was that, or have to decide between renting a room or eating. Employers could be choosey, and they were. With the decline of the unions and everyone screaming about how the Japanese were going to bury us because they worked so much harder, expectations were very high and there were no protections. Sure, the new grads have some problems, but it could be worse. I am not whining. I was in the early part of the tech boom, and what a ride it was. I wouldn't trade that for anything.