(water is wet and fire is hot).
Don’t worry everyone, you 100% have the freedom to exploit the working class yourself. See? The system is fair. Oh, you’re not exploiting the working class for passive income? Maybe you’re just not smart like you think you are dummy!
/$
Nobody can convince me that passive income is real.
I get around $400/mo from the VA for being exposed to toxic chemicals that will lead to me having cancer in the next ten years.
Pretty good trade off, let me tell ya!
that reminds me I need to get the burn pit stuff going
Yes, you do. If you need help, message me. No dox, but I can help you out.
Google “intent to file VA”, and fill it out right meow. Whatever claim gets processed will be backdated to the date that form was submitted.
Lol well ok there’s one. I do surveys for money so I suppose that’s kind of passive?
I think you need a refresher on the definition of passive
This doesn’t seem like c/nottheonion material
This just puts a huge spotlight on the thing I hate the most about my line of work. I’m sure it’s not just my line of work with this problem, but there’s plenty of examples of workplaces that do not have this problem.
My career is in IT support. Whether doing systems administration or networking or something else related, it’s my lifeblood.
Almost every job I’ve ever had in this field works on the basis of tickets. A concept which, isn’t in and of itself a problem, nor is it unusual. Similar systems exist in many careers; they’re similar to a chit in the restaurant industry, which contains an order, which is passed to the kitchen for the cooks/chefs to complete. Same thing. And there’s examples of this same idea across many careers, called all kinds of things from a requisition, to a work order, they’re all variations on the same idea.
The trouble begins with how tickets are worked and completed. In other industries, you pick up a task, whether a chit or work order, you finish the task, and you mark it as complete, but in IT, it’s very different in one key way. We have to not only justify and report everything we do, but also mark down exactly how long it took. It’s this last point that’s the problem. I am under continual scrutiny, every minute of every day to justify what I’ve done, and when I did it. In every job I’ve had, my ability to fill every second of my day with records of what I’ve done and how long it took to do is praised, or the lack of that ability can create some significant issues with maintaining my employment status.
There are good reasons to keep these records, to have a record of changes, and coordinate with coworkers, in the event they need to continue work I’ve started, or vice versa, and to note when something changed so that if issues arise, those actions can be examined as a potential cause. But this requirement has become weaponized by every employer to keep a stranglehold on productivity. If you take too long on a task that they think should have taken less time, you’re suddenly found in a meeting where you have to explain why you were so inefficient. If you excel and you’re able to complete your tasks quickly, that faster pace becomes the new standard, and anyone who isn’t capable of keeping up gets reprimanded for dragging their heels and wasting time.
The goal posts continually move. I can’t so much as take an extended shit without someone taking notice.
Meanwhile, so many jobs are simply focused on being present and looking busy. Before I went into IT, I worked at a grocery store, and short of clearly and obviously standing around doing literally nothing, no manager even took notice of you. If you were doing something, literally anything that looks even remotely productive, you were left alone. Which isn’t to mention all the down time, when there isn’t anything to do, and you just go and adjust the products on the shelf needlessly because it made you look busy. That same concept can be applied to a lot of different jobs, but with IT, it’s not sufficient to simply look busy. Your time must be put into a ticket.
It’s oppressive and the way of things in IT.
IT support
And the mentality you’ve described is extra bullshit in an IT or support role, as I’m sure you’re aware.
This is paraphrased in the “Doom talk” I had to have with my boss back when I was working in systems maintenance. As in, he’d come into my office and complain, “Every time I come in here you’re just playing Doom. You need to justify your salary or otherwise maybe we don’t need to pay you.”
What MBA’s and PHB’s don’t realize is that IT and systems maintenance is not a production-oriented operation. You’re not making widgets. The metric is not how many tickets do we generate and how fast are they solved. The metric is, how can we have as few tickets as possible? Because by and large what you’re doing in support and IT is fixing stuff that’s broken. The ideal state for the business to be in is not to have anything that’s broken at all, on a minute-to-minute basis.
Boss, you want to see me in my office playing Doom. Because that means none of your millions and millions of dollars of mission critical infrastructure which your engineers rely upon to generate billable hours is on fire. If any of it catches fire today, I am on site to put it out. If anyone has a problem or a question, I am on call to solve it. If there is maintenance to be performed or new equipment to be rolled out, I’ll be doing that. But otherwise I’m not going to invent busywork just to placate middle management which, as a whole, can’t reliably remember which of the two mouse buttons to click.
Yeah, firefighter mentalities are terrible.
That said, as someone in software development, wouldn’t there be some optimization work you could do? Keeping up with the technology? Preparing training material? Figuring out the next steps for the next improvements to be done to the system? Looking at solutions to better monitor what is going on? Scripts to automate tasks?
I find it hard to believe that things are so static.
Absolutely! Those things are known to management as, variously, “wasting time,” “spending all day surfing the internet,” “submitting frivolous RFQ’s,” and heaven forbid if you want to attend training or a trade show, “accruing unnecessary travel expenses.”
Improvements/Maintenance is no ones KPI. I’m kind of baffled by this.
The perpetual problem in IT
BOSS to you “If everything is working fine, what do I pay you for?”
Also BOSS to you “Things are broken, what am I paying you for?”
Mechanics at your local car dealer likely get paid on flat rate. That means they get paid a set amount of hours based on the time estimate for the job, regardless of how long it takes. Also, manufacturers set lower times for warranty repairs than you would get paid if the customer had to pay. Also, if there is no book time, you have to guess ahead of time. If the vehicle comes back, you have to work on it for free. You also get service writers and managers breathing down your neck while you’re trying to troubleshoot and not understanding how long things take and also pressuring you to upsell unnecessary services and repairs. Anyway, I don’t work on cars anymore.
I understand why. I have had a bit of insight into how all of that works and short of being a prodigy, you can’t really get ahead.
This is why I do a lot of my routine maintenance on my own car. If all I need is a wrench, some materials and a few hours, I’ll do it myself. I’ve become quite skilled with mechanics over the years; I’m sure it’s nothing compared to what an actual mechanic knows, but brakes, tire changes/rotations, battery replacements, even coolant changes and thermostat replacements, totally do-able. I could go on with minor repair crap I’ve learned but you get the picture.
I did a brake job on my SIL’s car and discovered that the last person in there didn’t lube anything up, I had to beat it with a hammer to get the damn brake pads out. I put the right lubrication in the right places and put everything back together better than I found it. I even did the slide bolts, which I had to break out the torch to get loose. New pads, rotors, slide bolts, slide bolt boots, the whole nine yards. Pretty much everything short of doing the calipers and brake fluid.
I suspect the last few techs that touched her vehicle were trying to move so fast that they didn’t bother doing anything to the side bolts even though they would have been obviously in need of maintenance/replacement.
The thing that bothered me is that she sold the car a few months after I spent 10+ hours fixing the stupid brakes. So next time I have to go look at her vehicle, it’ll be a surprise for what things were not done, or were not done right.
grumbles
In order to avoid that kind of situation many shops will simply quote a “loaded caliper” for each side. It includes the caliper, hardware, brake pads, and bracket. You simply disconnect the brake hose and take out two bolts that hold the caliper bracket on. Give the rotor a couple of slams from the hammer, clean up the hub, reassemble everything and bleed the brakes. It might cost $600, but it saved a ton of time for the shop and prevents a comeback when the old caliper decides to get stuck anyway.
Yeah, she needed it on all four. I think I needed to torch out at least three of the slide bolts around the car. We saved a bunch of money by having me do it, but I broke my cheap torque wrench in the process, snapped the socket connector right off the end of it trying to loosen the lug nuts. I only used the torque wrench for loosening things because I didn’t have another tool long enough to pull them off (aka a breaker bar, I think it’s called). So, RIP. I told her that if she wants me to do another wheel/brake service, she’ll have to buy me an impact wrench, and I’ll send her the link to one I found that will fill the purpose (which is both compatible with the stuff I already use and was tested and recommended by the torque test YouTube channel). Because I’m not dealing with getting, and breaking, any tools to get her tires off because some crackpot at the shop decided to torque her lug nuts with an impact.
I only want to reduce my workload and not sit there standing on a breaker bar, unable to get the damn lug nuts off… I’m not light, over 200lbs, so if I need to stand on a bar to get the lug nuts to loosen, someone probably did something wrong.
Never again.
I have one of those “compatible with” Milwaukee impacts and it works great for most things. I also have a couple of really cheap 1/2" breaker bars that I bought years ago that just won’t break. I have a 3’ cheater bar that fits over them and I’ve had to put some weight into that a time or two.
This is the way.
The impact wrench I’m looking at is one of the newer lineup from DeWalt. I have DeWalt everything already (impact driver, hammer drill, circular saw, reciprocating saw… Even my hedge trimmer, string trimmer, lawnmower and snowblower), all using the 20v MAX or compatible batteries, except the snowblower, which uses the power flex 60v (which can be used in 20v tools, but 20v MAX batteries cannot be used in it). The impact wrench uses the same 20v batteries. So I just need the tool. It’s still something like $200 for it, but I don’t think I’ll need anything more for power tools for a long assed time after that.
We picked most of this stuff up over the past year starting with a kit (impact driver, hammer drill, circular/reciprocating saws, even a small light, with some batteries and a few extras) about a year and a half ago, and we’ve been steadily adding to it. I chose DeWalt because I have an old, 12v drill I used for like 10 years and it still works. The original battery has left us but the second battery I bought when it was new (it came with one and I bought an extra so I could have one in the drill while one was charging) is still kicking. I got a replacement for the original battery that shipped with it, so I still have two for that unit. It still works, and it’s fine, but there were a few times I really needed a hammer drill and the puny 12v was all that I had… But that was literally my only real gripe about it. Given that history, I wanted to keep with DeWalt because they clearly make tools that can last.
I wanted to go with one brand so I didn’t require several different battery chargers for different tools. DeWalt was only missing a snowblower, but they released one late last year and we obtained it shortly after it hit the market, which completed our large tools. There’s only a small number of handheld tools in the DeWalt lineup that I still want to get. The impact wrench is one. Another is a brad nailer (IIRC), because I have to install some baseboards/trim, but it’s hard to justify buying a $500+ tool for the job.
My entire automotive kit probably needs to be replaced. I have a complete socket set with ratcheting wrenches, and not a whole lot besides that at the moment. I will need to get a new torque wrench, breaker bar… Probably a lot more that I’m not thinking about right now. I have access to my brother’s Jack and Jack stands, so I’m ok there. For the impact wrench, I’ll need to add a small set of impact ready sockets for it, otherwise I’m going to rip my sockets to shreds.
I have a ton of electrical testing stuff for my other hobbies, so I’m good on that front, but I notably don’t have a CCA tester, which I would like to get. Among my more electronic things I have a fairly crappy, and old, OBD2 reader, which has come in handy plenty of times.
As you can imagine, I’m the “handy” guy in the family. I just find it all fascinating, but I wouldn’t want to make it my job. After working on a vehicle for a few days, I don’t even want to look at a wrench for several weeks.
By day, I work in IT, so I’m generally sat at a computer pushing buttons until the screen dots show up in the right order.
I have several socket sets and wrenches from harbor freight that are perfectly fine. The 1/4" set, the open ended ratchet set, the short impact set, and the long metric wrenches, these cover 99% of everything. If you don’t abuse your tools, then they won’t break. I even have a second 1/4" set from Aldi of all places and never had an issue with it. I’m not using them all day every day, so I’m not that worried about buying expensive stuff.
Not sure how this is millennial-specific. Everyone has been doing this for a long time. One of the few good things to come out of Covid was work from home being integrated into scheduling. Of course big business is trying to rob people of that again.
Yeah like. I’m sympathetic to this arguement, but anyone thinking the average American today works “harder” and more strenuously to the average American in like 1920 is off their gourd.
All this stuff is really hard to measure, and ultimately we just need a system where people can live decent lives and not be miserable. There’s a difference between working hard and having a happy & fruitful life out of it and working little while remaining miserable
Edit:
Only in Lemmy could you get downvoted for suggesting that maybe doing enjoyable productive work is an okay thing. Day by day I’m more convinced the average user here just wants to live in the space ship from Wall-E getting force fed milkshakes all day
Most of the news subs on Lemmy are just cynical pity parties for first world problems. Idk what to make of people here. Wealthy educated countries with historically low unemployment and yet no one can seem to find a decent job.
I will give you my two pennies on this.
I had to go back to college after the army. My BA degrees in business and criminal justice were worthless then, and still are worthless now. I got them to go through OCS. I was going to go into computer science, but got a C in C++, so went into mechanical engineering instead. Was jealous of all my coding friends, except now they are all laid off. Every single one of them.
These were the good jobs, the guys making 100-350k/yr for their programming knowledge. Now they have nothing, and no job prospects in their field. Companies are laying off workers in expensive areas and hiring unqualified people in much cheaper areas like Vietnam, China, and India to use ChatGPT to spit out code. MBA folks think they cracked the code and are out producing other firms who don’t use AI, but in reality the AI code is mostly shit. It looks good on KPIs, which are helping to fuel a massive bubble. It allows those who do nothing to act like they are more useful than those who do work.
Why don’t people work a good job like the one I have? Because not everyone can get a masters in engineering. The “good jobs” are disappearing.
I hope things get better for your friends. Tech is taking a hit right now.
I had trouble finding work after college, had to work some shit jobs and move around a lot, but I was never out of options, never at risk of going hungry or not sleeping in a bed. It takes a hell of a lot to go hungry or homeless in the US. There’s an insane amount of industry, wealth, and opportunity here.
Meanwhile, in my home country, there is 70% inflation in the past year. There is war everywhere on the borders (and conscription). There is no opportunity for young people. Inflation has destroyed most people’s ability to emigrate or get an American/European education. They’re just stuck there with a crumbling economy, a refugee crisis (about 10% of the population), an increasingly religious and oppressive government, and the constant threat of war.
It’s hard to see so many posts like these complaining about how hard everything is for people living in US, UK, Canada, France etc. from people with the most disposable income in the world, the highest carbon footprints, the biggest cars, the most meat consumption, good labor laws.
Yes, we should still strive to improve things. There are tons of problems in this system that result in conflict and inequality. But this kind of article is the epitome of first world problems from privileged people.
This whole site is filled with these cynical, self-pitying posts so we can all read them and think “yeah, everything is so unfair for me, everyone else had it so much easier” like everything is happening to us, and we have no control or agency in our own happiness and satisfaction. We bear no responsibility for our own situation. We live in the best part of the world in the best time of human history, yet we’re all miserable because everything is so terrible and hard.
In power grids (where I currently work) we have a very hard time finding field techs.
It pays around 90k your first year, 150k+/yr after depending on how many jobs you take. It’s tough work, but it’s not hard since everything is so heavy. Not a lot of manual lifting, but you are out in the elements.
All hotel and meals are paid out on sight. Hardly anyone wants the jobs. You don’t even need a trade school anymore, all training is on the job.
There are jobs out there.
Are they willing to hire people who don’t already have 10 years experience? Are they willing to train people who are fresh out of high school? If not then those companies can only blame themselves for not having workers. After the Great Recession companies got entitled because they could hire whoever they wanted with whatever experience and degrees they wanted for rock bottom prices and that entitlement never left.
You need zero experience.
Have to 21 due to state laws in high danger areas and nuclear power.
You say it takes a hell of a lot to go homeless but there’s literally homeless people everywhere in this country. I literally can’t ride my bike to the thrift store (can’t afford a car) without passing a half dozen tents on the sidewalk, and then you get to the thrift store and it’s so deeply picked over there’s nothing worth buying. None of that is a sign that things are good. America is a great place if you’re rich not if you’re poor
Gen X and I’m not making much more now than I did in 2008.
The US never really recovered from 2008.
You say this as corporations are making record profits.
The US recovered just fine, the elites just didn’t think it necessary to include us in that recovery.
My issue is that I have to believe my lying eyes. Rates of homelessness, buying power, financial solvency, they all dropped through the tank and never really came back after what amounted to a financial earthquake for many many families. Whole extended families dropped through the cracks and never came back. There was basically no relief for the working families most effected by the incident, and basically no consequences for those that cause/ profited from it. Covid and the financial repercussions seems about the same. We’ve “recovered” from it “economically” because those permanently impacted by it that will never recover stopped being counted.
Millennial and I’m making over twice at much as I was in 2012. 🤷♀️
Even adjusted for inflation?
Nope, 66% increase then, just checked.
So am I. My rent however is three times as much (for a worse apartment), food is 2-6x as expensive, gas is… shockingly about the same but it was killer in 2012 too. Utilities are up, insurance is at 250%, medical aid remains unaffordable even with insurance, and I’m older will more medical problems, less energy, and it’s harder to learn new things. Oh and I’m in much more debt due to all the previously mentioned things, so I don’t even have space on credit cards for emergency purchases.
And 9/10 people I talk to are in the same situation.
Sounds rough. But I wasn’t trying to invalidate the other guy (nor you now), just making a point that individual circumstances don’t dictate the state of things overall.
Guess the juxtaposition by itself was too subtle to convey that, lol. Oh well.
Millennial and I’m making over twice at much as I was in 2012. 🤷♀️
And able to afford a third as much…
Sounds like they’re just lazy
/s
I’m an older millennial and I look at the younger generarions with horror. We still had some good years. They only had worst and worst times. Disasters, wars, economic craches, pandemics, more wars… fuck! Guys you need to change the world!
You joke, but that has been pounded into our heads our entire life, and even me (a gen x’er) feels like it’s my own fault because the world has been beating me down for not reaching whatever arbitrary standard it’s set for us.
Don’t worry, the oligarchy commends your lifelong efforts with a pizza party … :/
I know. I’m right there too.
We should get all of us together, pool what little money we have, and buy us a huge compound somewhere and have our own community. I mean, what could go wrong, right? 👀
People do this already, check Foundation for Intentional Community. You can find communities near you that are open to visitors or new residents and check them out.
Make sure you’re well acquainted with the traits of cults to keep yourself safe. There are groups out there that are fundraising and building infrastructure for new communities, as well, so there are many ways to get involved.
man this sounded so cool until I realized they were all going to be weird sex cults.
“Just be careful, you might accidentally join a cult” lol I totally get your point but that just made me laugh.
Don’t want to end up like waco
Speak for yourself
Sounds good to me. Kool aid?
Hands you a cup
It’s Ecto Cooler flavor.
Twice as exhausting for us boomers. You think you’re tired. 60 and 2 jobs is bullshit.
This points out why the idea that boomers (as a whole) caused many of our modern problems upsets me
I sincerely doubt you voted for the situation you’re in now
This in-fighting and blaming does nothing but detract from the real issue of who’s doing this to us (spoiler alert: it’s the politicians and it always has been)
Yeah some dude has a failed acting career, and now I have to hope my for profit insurance will cover a doctor or I’ll be eating ramen for the rest of my life
At least he didn’t fail art school in Austria
