For those who think that there is a skills shortage, let me tell you about my Google job interview

[DaveJ]

50. Twins.fan, the system sucks but it's not just STEM workers

The system expects people to :

1) graduate at 21,
2) spend up to 5 years finding oneself,
3) get a corporate job,
4) get 3% raises every year, putting 6% into 401k,
5) retire at a reasonable age.

If you do the math you'll find that retirement can happen that way. Anyone deviating from that plan is tossed aside.

It's a major flaw in the system. Life is not that perfect. Shit happens to a lot of people, like me, for instance, but there are no safety nets other than meager SS that only financial geniuses could live on.

Please just don't think it's only STEM workers, or blame it on Google or MS. I like MS personally. I love what I can create and how the applications I make benefit the company I work for. Sorry they stole your technology. They really ought to be more grateful, maybe send you some cookies, but I know that wouldn't be adequate. But I certainly do not want them to fail. Then we'd be relying on crappy open source applications, and man, that would suck... like OpenOffice.org.

I fervently believe it is corporate culture that is the problem. We make a fuss over who to elect, but what really effects our lives is how companies operate. I wish we could elect company CEO's and have a say in how corporations operate.