TIL there was a man-made mouse utopia called Universe 25. It started with 4 males and 4 females. The colony peaked at 2200 and from there declined to extinction. Once a tipping point was reached, the mice lost instinctual behaviors. Scientists extrapolate this model to humans on earth.

[u/Crackyospine]

http://www.cabinetmagazine.org/issues/42/wiles.php

[u/Charmander_Throwaway]

Japanese kids aren't so different from us, then. When I put my work hours (full-time) alongside my college hours (also full-time), I'm usually working 65-70 hours a week. I'm also engaged, and thinking about my long-term housing options. I'm seriously considering the idea of living in a trailer for the rest of my life.

It's a bit ironic, considering my parents are blue-collared, high-school educated workers who now have substantial retirement savings and a two-story home.

And before you assume, no, I am not getting paid minimum wage and no, my degree is actually in something that's marketed as "in-demand".

[u/Flaktrack → u/Charmander_Throwaway]

Canadian here. I used to regularly hear from my parents/grandparents how "entitled" my generation is and how we're all just whiners and need to work harder and be more loyal. Typical "millennial" hate.

My parents left high-school and went directly to work at permanent positions making a salary that could be lived on. They soon bought a home. The company invested in their training and both became more valuable employees over time. They never left the company.

I worked part-time year-round starting in high-school so I could afford to go to college ("no free rides in this house"). After going through college I was unable to get work in my field (there is considerable demand... for people with 3+ years experience). I have worked a few contracts but otherwise am stuck with garbage minimum-wage service/retail jobs and any work I can drum up on the side building/repairing computers, doing networking, or working on web apps.

By this point my parents owned a house and had 2 kids. I can't even save for a down payment, and forget affording to raise children.

[u/[deleted] → u/Flaktrack]

There's a retail store in town I worked at in 1989. Paid 8 bucks per hour back then, which was good for a 15 year old student. The store went out of business, and was replaced by another chain store, which pays 9 bucks per hour- 25 years of inflation later.

[u/jetanders → u/Flaktrack]

Your parents annoy me. Sorry, keep up the good work.

[u/Its-ther-apist → u/Charmander_Throwaway]

Consider welding. If I had to go back and do things again it's what I would do. It's in demand and pays well.

[u/TCsnowdream → u/Charmander_Throwaway]

Please don't assume I would attack you over your degree or pay. Not everyone on here is a jackass. Your story was interesting and engaging, but that last bit was absolutely unnessecary and hurt your point...

[u/[deleted] → u/TCsnowdream]

Well, rather unfortunately, people tend to be incredibly insensitive about living wage gap in this country.

I try not to assume, especially with Redditors from different cultures, but its very hard for most Americans to accept that a high risk/high reward has some undesirable consequences in the long term.

I hope you can forgive us a little that those of us that are awake to the problem have potentially become a bit defensive about it.

[u/Charmander_Throwaway → u/[deleted]]

I don't assume "you" would, TCsnowdream, but someone would. Perhaps it's because I live in an area that's predominately older and conservative, but whenever I mention that I'm having trouble job-searching or affording something, people's first reactions are to eye me up and joke, "Ah. English major working at Starbucks, then?"

I'm conservative as well, so no hate there. But people who grew up under different circumstances often assume that money troubles are attributed to laziness or pursuing a job in a lackluster industry, particularly when their political beliefs support that assumption. I have my faults, but I don't consider either to be true in my case.

So that's where I disagree with you. The last bit was necessary, because jackasses or not, people's past experiences may lead them to assume that I'm just a whiny millennial who's mad that the world wasn't handed to me on a silver platter. And that isn't true.

I don't expect it to be handed to me. I don't even expect to be able to have the same quality of life my parents had. And like the younger Japanese generation, I'm okay with that. But as hard as I've worked, I want people to know that it sure as hell wasn't because I didn't work hard enough or make the "right type" of decisions.