I recently had a discussion with a 27 years old unemployed engineer. (2014, degrees)
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While this doesn't look well, we don't know enough information to make an informed judgment.
Maybe the guy is currently unemployed, but was recently employed at the market rate, had some savings, and decided to treat himself to an occasional night out.
Like above, maybe he recently graduated in an area with a bad job market and simply hasn't found anything. He could have wealthy friends or family that don't mind him going out.
We have no idea if the guy is heavy drinker or just an occasional pub goer.
At the end of the day, we don't know enough to make an informed decision, and although this doesn't look like exemplary behavior, is it really anyone else's business?
We were at a pub. He was a smoker. He was drinking $5 beers. His arms were sleeves of tattoos.
He told me that he spent his days on line filling out resume's and going to job fairs.
He's been unemployed since graduating low in his class.
I offered him a job with my business (contracting and painting) but he had no interest in "manual labor".
What are your thoughts?
My thoughts?
Anyone can post anything online, and if no verifiable facts are involved, such posts prove nothing more than an individual's person experiences.
Without knowing what pay or benefits you're offering or what the current financial situation is of this supposed engineer, it is impossible to say if he made the right decision. He might be a "trust fund baby" for all we know, or perhaps your job offer - which was not discussed here in any detail - may have been a bad move for him based upon other resources he has.
That being said, I find the notion of a smoking, heavily tattooed engineer in this day and age suspicious. I am an engineer - I graduated 3rd from my class in 2000 - and the number of engineers who smoked or who had tattoos of any sort in the school could be counted on one hand. Maybe it's changed a bit on the tattoo front, but a young engineer who smokes simply hasn't been paying any attention to reality... I also find it extremely hard to believe he admitted to graduating near the bottom of his class. Engineers have a lot of pride in what they do - they don't admit to things like that unless there's some huge benefit for doing so - that, plus the focus on appearance and the money he was throwing around - casts doubt on the whole event, IMHO.
Last edited by Rambler123; 05-19-2014 at 08:40 AM..
I'm not a fan of manual work but I'd still take it if I were in his shoes.. I wouldn't actively seek such a role but if it falls in my lap, I'd still take it and make as much out of it as possible (i.e. learning new skills)
If he has an engineering degree and is jobless at that age, he doesn't want to work, he wants to complain there are no jobs. Some people are happiest in their own misery and I have a feeling you met one of those folks.
That being said, I find the notion of a smoking, heavily tattooed engineer in this day and age suspicious. I am an engineer - I graduated 3rd from my class in 2000 - and the number of engineers who smoked or who had tattoos of any sort in the school could be counted on one hand.
The guy who graduated top in my class drank like a fish, had full sleeves and was in a rock band and worked at a bar during college.
He'd come back at 3AM from the bar drunk, and then wake up and take a test at 9AM the next day and get one of the top grades in the class.
He still does the rock band and it's weird to see him in tank tops with sleeves rocking on the guitar, and then cleaned up wearing long sleeved shirts at work looking like a nerdy engineer. He designs subs these days.
I have a tattoos, but i doubt any of my coworkers know (other than a few of the cute women i socialize with outside of work). I drink too. If you saw me on a Sat or Sunday you'd probably never realize I was an engineer. I sure as hell don't fit the stereotype
If he is a software or other type of technology engineer then what you offered was really nothing! He would know from talking to classmates that it's better to have some ownership with a salary and benefits. While I understand your need for workers. Intelligent people today know better than to expect manual labor to get them anywhere. If he was low in his class that probably means he's not a dullard that just follows orders. that means he might be creative. Which means he's worth much more that an A student is.
The guy who graduated top in my class drank like a fish, had full sleeves and was in a rock band and worked at a bar during college.
He'd come back at 3AM from the bar drunk, and then wake up and take a test at 9AM the next day and get one of the top grades in the class.
He still does the rock band and it's weird to see him in tank tops with sleeves rocking on the guitar, and then cleaned up wearing long sleeved shirts at work looking like a nerdy engineer. He designs subs these days.
I have a tattoos, but i doubt any of my coworkers know (other than a few of the cute women i socialize with outside of work). I drink too. If you saw me on a Sat or Sunday you'd probably never realize I was an engineer. I sure as hell don't fit the stereotype
There are exceptions to every rule, of course - I only speak from my own engineering experience, though since most of my work is in the DoD field, they tend to be more "old school" about tattoos and such.
I just find the picture painted - an unemployed engineer who smokes, has tattoos, spends lots of money on beer, admits to being a poor student, and who refuses a supposed job offer - a little too suspicious. It seems to be a caricature created to prove a point about "those lazy unemployed people" vs. an actual human being.
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