I'm a white male who grew up in a very nice suburb of Kansas City.  I only made it halfway through college before the prospect of huge amounts of debt, and my lack of drive landed me doing what I've always done: the trades (home remodeler) which I learned from my father growing up.  I'm pretty good at what I do, but it's a tough business to make money in, as people are always shopping for lowest price, and very few people have disposable income.  

Even the numerous friends I know with degrees haven't ever gotten a job that makes more than 35K a year, and almost nobody I know has bought their own house.  I currently live with my friend, who owns his house, but is so strapped that he needs a renter just to break even, and I'm so strapped, I need the low rent fee.  Nobody I know has any significant savings yet.  None have kids that were planned.  All of the college grads have well over 10K in student loan debt.  None of them feel successful at all in their careers, and usually take a job very far outside of their major or desired path.

It seemed like 30 years ago, college grads easily found work, and bought homes within 2-3 years of graduating.  Now it seems like many people in their late 20's / early 30's are living with their parents, or are in similar situations as myself.  Every time I hear the stories of the last generation, it seemed so easy.  Now many of them are falling into the same trap as this generation.

When I was a kid, I thought most of us would have "made it", but literally nobody I know has any kind of security.  It amazes me, as I grew up in one of the richest counties in America, and yet, here we are.  I'm not complaining, as I have much more than I need, but reflecting back on how things were, and comparing them to how they are today, it seems like we're going backwards.  What are your thoughts?
user
It seemed so much easier for the past generation to achieve success,
assistant
I'm a white male who grew up in a very nice suburb of Kansas City.  I only made it halfway through college before the prospect of huge amounts of debt, and my lack of drive landed me doing what I've always done: the trades (home remodeler) which I learned from my father growing up.  I'm pretty good at what I do, but it's a tough business to make money in, as people are always shopping for lowest price, and very few people have disposable income.  

Even the numerous friends I know with degrees haven't ever gotten a job that makes more than 35K a year, and almost nobody I know has bought their own house.  I currently live with my friend, who owns his house, but is so strapped that he needs a renter just to break even, and I'm so strapped, I need the low rent fee.  Nobody I know has any significant savings yet.  None have kids that were planned.  All of the college grads have well over 10K in student loan debt.  None of them feel successful at all in their careers, and usually take a job very far outside of their major or desired path.

It seemed like 30 years ago, college grads easily found work, and bought homes within 2-3 years of graduating.  Now it seems like many people in their late 20's / early 30's are living with their parents, or are in similar situations as myself.  Every time I hear the stories of the last generation, it seemed so easy.  Now many of them are falling into the same trap as this generation.

When I was a kid, I thought most of us would have "made it", but literally nobody I know has any kind of security.  It amazes me, as I grew up in one of the richest counties in America, and yet, here we are.  I'm not complaining, as I have much more than I need, but reflecting back on how things were, and comparing them to how they are today, it seems like we're going backwards.  What are your thoughts?
user
The last generation of college grads is literally living in poverty, and
assistant