Comments for Babs Ray

Comment on Be the Change by Andreea

Andreea — Sun, 06 May 2012 22:04:23 +0000

Hey,
I am a 22 year old student struggling (still) to find my path and finishing (or not) college. I just want to say that the gap year where young people would do community service or just plain working on different jobs trying to find something they want and gain maturity is a very great idea. I myself wish that I could take a year off and do some exploring and work – so that I gain some confidence in my ability to work. But, I need to mention that this shouldn’t be an obligation for everybody, because some know what they want and have a serious plan for their lives and maybe don’t need that year. And frankly, this good plan might turn a chore if the state obliged you to do it…I think a better idea would be that this new possibility would be brought in front by the media or organizations, advertised to society and families as a great opportunity for young adults to grow and mature. I mean: I think that a first step to maturity is the ability to choose. And this great idea of a year of exploring, working , serving should first be a choice. That way pressure won’t be added to a youngster’s shoulders who would otherwise think:Oh no, not another thing I am OBLIGED to do!
Great article by the way.

Comment on Parents Are Spending $7500 Annually on 20-Something Children by bobnvera

bobnvera — Fri, 04 May 2012 22:25:06 +0000

Your post led me to look around the world for other examples. Italy has a “worse” problem, the French slightly less, and Denmark the least examples of young people staying at home. One big reason for this is the government pays college students a monthly stipend if they are away at school, and half as much if you stay home. They have some of the highest taxes in the world, and the lowest unemployment. Are we missing something here? Like a government that works?

Comment on Engineers vs liberal arts: Engineering salaries win out but at what cost? by neil

neil — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 04:40:26 +0000

These comments are shortsighted and defensive. I was a computer science/math major at a liberal arts college. You bet I worked hard. But I also appreciate the perspective that a liberal arts education has offered me. I’m a manager at a large healthcare IT company; I do interviews, performance rankings, etc. I also do development, interact with customers, and manage projects. What we find, time and time again, is that it’s not your degree that defines you, but your drive, perspective, and ability to work with people. You all are too eager to be defined by your degree. It’s naive to say “Well I know some engineers who read! Thus, specialized individuals really do have the same perspective as people who attended college hoping to attain perspective rather than specialization.” or “I’ve never seen a liberal arts major try to code.” (some of us have) or “Liberal arts majors are better because they have a broad perspective” — you’re defining yourself by your degree, not by your abilities. That’s silly. It takes more than just perspective, or more than simply an ability to think mathematically, to be truly successful. The author touches on a good point about perspective vs specialization, and to disregard it shows a bias towards a particular type of thinking. Obviously the working force is gearing further towards specialization, but we still need people with perspective to guide and bring in new ideas. It’s a balance – one isn’t necessarily better than the other. To say “engineering is real thinking” ignores great philosophers, musicians, artists – it completely disregards their talents as superfluous and unnecessary. The truly wise among us know better – all skills are worthwhile; all skills have merit. Some just happen to pay more right out of college.

Comment on “Older workers tire more easily” and other myths an Atlantic Magazine article promotes by BarryK

BarryK — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 15:01:46 +0000

I think aside from the economic impact of discrimination of the over 50 crowd is the value loss of removing diversity of perspective from work cultures. As a youngster growing up I learned from my elders. What I liked about what they did and what I did NOT like about what they did. I used to pick their brains regarding leadership, process and risk management.

Employers denying access based on age prejudice are hurting themselves by removing the diverse cross generational learning element. That it is impossible to prove makes it safe to do, but it is simply not very smart. However, the world is not in the shape it is in because our leaders are smart and/or diligent. Self absorbed and personal agenda driven, yes…smart,..not so much.

Comment on “Older workers tire more easily” and other myths an Atlantic Magazine article promotes by Deborah Edmonds

Deborah Edmonds — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 16:11:04 +0000

Thank you for fighting the myths of older workers and providing an additional insight of how the generations need to adapt and learn from each other. I will be looking for more of your articles.

Comment on “Older workers tire more easily” and other myths an Atlantic Magazine article promotes by Dick Bonnet

Dick Bonnet — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 13:23:12 +0000

We work smarter not harder. Young people need us “Twilighters” if for no other reason than we have “been there done that” they can learn from our experience and vice versa. Most of our growth has been from productivity increases and is why we are still the largest manufacturer in the world.
As we have discussed here in the past, we need to rethink the demands of our economy and retool our educational system to better reflect that reality.

Comment on Obama to support community colleges as a path to middle-class jobs by Dick Bonnet

Dick Bonnet — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 13:40:59 +0000

We had a local manufacturer who would pay for your community college education in maintenance tech but then refused to hire without 2 years experience, Dumb? The idea of a mentor and summer job will more likely produce the employees they are looking for. And for the record, I think local colleges should be able to do this without Dept of Education and Labor bureauocrats mucking it up.

Comment on Engineers vs liberal arts: Engineering salaries win out but at what cost? by Kuiper

Kuiper — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:05:38 +0000

“But at what cost? The liberal arts taught you how to think, which we all could use a little more of these days. More thinking, less yelling.”

The irony in this statement is thick enough to slice with a butter knife. In what way are engineers not taught to “think?” If anything, it’s engineering curricula more than any other that are geared to force students to think, rather than regurgitate information. The very core of engineering is the *application* of knowledge. Synthesizing data to formulate and design a solution…sure sounds like “thinking” to me! If there’s any “yelling” that’s going on, it’s in fields where the only fruit you have to show for your labor is a pile of words, rather than things like more efficient delivery mechanisms for vaccines, or architecture with better structural integrity.

Moreover, it has been my experience that engineers are more likely to be “renaissance men” than those in the field of liberal arts. It’s very common for me to see an engineering colleague spend a weekend reading a novel and come back to work the following Monday with a critique of it. It’s much rarer for my artsy friends put their “creative” endeavors on hold to engage in something like coding. This is even more apparent if you look at undergraduate populations. Look in an introductory physics class, and you will be hard-pressed to find any students present who aren’t majoring in STEM fields. On the other hand, take an intro-level course for philosophy, film, creative writing, etc. and you will probably find at least a handful of engineering students.

Comment on About Me by Barbara Ray

Barbara Ray — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 19:09:58 +0000

Blocked!? WTF Glad you found the site, even though you’ll have to read it at home apparently. Maybe it’s a way to keep you from shirking your duties (kidding). They probably block all blogs!

Comment on About Me by mrsterrythomas

mrsterrythomas — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 18:56:09 +0000

Hey B, it’s my first time on your blog… love it. Unfortunately after reading your “Past Tense” post I tried to click on another but it is blocked at my school… profanity?!?! You?? Must be a bug in our school’s filter system Anyway I still enjoy your writing after all these years (and I still have a copy of your Palau article). Great to see you are doing so well!!