I work in engineering and currently work with some youngins. Here is what I glean from professional class GenZ:
1.) A lot more women. That Stem focus for girls in the 2000’s worked. That’s good!
2.) But with this, comes a weird sense of entitlement. Now I’m all for allowing discussion, getting all sides, etc. But a 1st year female EIT giving their opinion on how a project should be run makes my blood boil. Just work. Put your head down and hustle. You don’t have the experience or knowledge to speak up in a large meeting. Shut up, nod your head, and churn. That speaks louder than any words.
3.) The younger male engineers seemed unmoored. They don’t seem all that ambitious. I know we millennials got so much shit for the same things but there is an element of ‘why bust my ass, shut is borked’ anywayism. I’ve been told multiple times of guys not dating bc they feel they can’t measure up. They feel the standards that girls place on them are too high so why try. This comes across as lazy. And entitled in its own way. They don’t know where to fit in society. They see macho culture as an easier time. What they don’t realize is that time of single income families produced a lot of drunk and absent dads who beat the shit out of you. Moms on uppers or downers to kill the soul crushing emptiness of the same shit every day. Not so great!
4.) They feel poor. Even with great jobs, they feel squeezed. They don’t know if they ever will buy a house. And they have social media selling snake oil and get rich quick bs. Again, they don’t know how to hustle.
5.) Their whole life has been post 9/11. And that’s why I cut them some slack. Just think about growing up in a time of fear like that? School shootings? Yep. Financial crisis? Yep. Covid? Yep. Donald Trump has been around for half their life. He’s the norm! They’ve got culture PTSD.