[Hidden-tech] Thanks to all those great Web designers - curious about the new generation/work expectations

[Chris Hoogendyk]

hmm, generalizations everywhere.

I always thought of my older brothers as the boomer generation. Not me. 
It's not exactly like the whole population turns off reproduction for a 
while and then suddenly all give birth at once. "Generations" melt into 
one another.

Is there any such thing as the Sputnik generation? That would be me (a 
bit younger than the kids in "October Skies" -- nice movie based on a 
true story). We sat on a blanket in our backyard when I was a kid and 
watched Sputnik fly over. Identified constellations too. That was before 
the skies over the Denver suburbs were too light polluted to see much. 
Then, in High School, in La Junta, Colorado (where Sandra Bullock's 
character in "The Net" claimed to be from), I had 3 full years of 
Chemistry including quantitative analysis and qualitative analysis. That 
was on top of the Biology, Physics, and Math every semester all the way 
up to Calculus. All that in a relatively small rural High School. I 
think you would be hard pressed to find that level of science in most 
High Schools today.

Sometimes, in the politics of today, I think "Science" has become a bad 
word.


---------------

Chris Hoogendyk

-
   O__  ---- Systems Administrator
  c/ /'_ --- Biology & Geology Departments
 (*) \(*) -- 140 Morrill Science Center
~~~~~~~~~~ - University of Massachusetts, Amherst 

<hoogendyk at bio.umass.edu>

--------------- 

Erdös 4



nestor at fuzzy-math.com wrote:
> Ha, not yet.  Someday....  
>
> I think the key is that the boomers got a late start:  their parents 
> were a generation that held on to leadership roles long past 'normal' 
> retirement age, and so they feel they have to do the same.  I really 
> don't think that our generation will stand for that behavior, 
> especially in a more progressive economy where lean and mean is fastly 
> replacing that good old bloated hierarchy.  There just won't be room 
> for the dinosaurs at the top when it's the folks with the short 
> attention spans and social networking abilities that will keep things 
> moving. 
>
>
> On Mar 5, 2010, at 11:30 AM, Joseph Steig wrote:
>
>> Millenials are generally harder worker, smarter, and funnier . . . in 
>> my experience.
>>
>> I assume I'll be working for a Millenial at some point . . . but my 
>> concern is that I'm a member of the slacker generation (AKA Gen X). 
>>
>> I know how to paste an Excel table into Word. And I can do e-mail. 
>> That must count for something, no? Hey Fuzzy-Math, you hiring!?
>>
>> ;)
>> __________________
>>
>> Joseph Steig | more info at http://www.steig.com
>> joseph at steig.com <mailto:joseph at steig.com> | Direct: 617-500-7376
>>
>>
>> On Wed, Mar 3, 2010 at 1:27 PM, nestor at fuzzy-math.com 
>> <mailto:nestor at fuzzy-math.com> <nestor at fuzzy-math.com 
>> <mailto:nestor at fuzzy-math.com>> wrote:
>>
>>      
>>     Wow, I don't know where to start on this one.  I'd hate to say
>>     what I'm really thinking for fear of sounding like I have a
>>     "millenial" attitude, but perhaps you should re-examine your
>>     screening of candidates, your expectations, or your reasons for
>>     working with this group to begin with.  You say you don't want to
>>     beat up on 'us' kids, but you seem to be looking for others who
>>     share your experience, rather than those who can share their
>>     positive experiences and strategies for fostering such
>>     relationships.  I have a feeling that you didn't found this group
>>     as a forum to gripe about "today's kids".  The fact is that there
>>     is a generation gap, one can clearly see that from the way that
>>     your message reads to someone like me.  The experiences you have
>>     shared are atrocious, no one can argue with that.  However, I
>>     have had quite a few experiences with your generation that could
>>     cause me to stereotype anyone over 50 as a doddering,
>>     inefficient,  technophobe.  I instead choose to see these
>>     interactions as they are: as isolated incidents, and learn to
>>     avoid them.  I suggest you do the same.
>>
>>     --Ryan Nestor
>>>
>>>     I only mention this because I am curious if others have had
>>>     issues with this upcoming generation of this sort:
>>>
>>>     I actually had three kids threaten to sue me for something like
>>>     $20 withheld when they quit projects because they had better
>>>     things to do, or so they said, and didn't feel like working. 
>>>     Another 20-something threatened to sue me for $60 when I didn't
>>>     personally drop off her check at her house!! This same young
>>>     woman cited my violation of HIPPA standards, not having a clue
>>>     they relate to health care security. Sigh . . .
>>>
>>>     In all cases, plus the more recent one mentioned with some pique
>>>     by me in the last email, I offered to give each a second chance
>>>     if they were willing to come back to work and sort out what
>>>     bothered them. Also, they exhibited zero understanding of small
>>>     claims court requirements and did not seem to understand that
>>>     people who ditch out on work don't usually get paid. In fact,
>>>     they didn't realize that interns rarely get paid, though I
>>>     always pay trainees who show commitment.
>>>
>>>     My aim is to not beat up on kids, but learn a) if others share
>>>     these sorts of experiences, and b) what you have done about
>>>     them. In 20 years in business, plus 10 years running news desks
>>>     and newspapers I have NEVER encountered this sort of attitude.
>>>     Much has been written about the so-called Milleniums and their
>>>     attitude issues. Now I'm seeing what these writers and business
>>>     managers are describing first hand.
>>>
>>>     We want to encourage this generation to succeed, right?
>>>
>>>      As my new staffer, Ashely Deiana told me when she interviewed,
>>>     it's pretty tough out there for college grads today. She was
>>>     delighted to get work from me and the payment I offered for
>>>     training, which was above minimum wage. I can tell you that
>>>     Ashley and Kate Korolov, another recent staffer (now in New
>>>     Zealand) are real pros; just the sort of people I would
>>>     recommend to anyone.
>>>
>>>     So, fill me in on your experiences. I have journalists and
>>>     editors out there interested in what we have to say. NO NAMES
>>>     PLEASE.
>>>
>>>     best,
>>>
>>>     Amy Zuckerman
>>>     HT Founder
>>